It is located in the
province of Rieti northeast of
Antrodoco and dominates, with a
prominence of about 1,300 m, the lower part of the Velino Gorge that separates it from the
Terminillo massif to the west, with the Monte Nuria mountain range to the south and the Monte Calvo mountain range to the east representing its natural geomorphological continuation; to the north it connects directly to the
Monti Reatini, while to the northeast it faces the Cascina Plain and the Mountains of Alto Aterno. The main peak reaches 1,820 meters, but there are other peaks, including Croce di Monte Giano (1,779.3 m) that exceed 1,700 meters. Between these is the Monte Giano Meadows plateau.
The "DUX pine forest" The mountain owes some notoriety to the presence, on its western slope, of a pine forest that forms the inscription "DVX" (
duce, from the Latin
dux,
ducis). The inscription overlooks the
Velino valley and is visible from several kilometers away, approaching
Antrodoco on the
Via Salaria; on days with little mist, especially when the mountain is snow-covered, the inscription is visible even from the city of
Rome. The pine forest covers about eight hectares and is composed of about 20,000 pine trees; it was intended to defend the town of
Antrodoco from landslides caused by heavy winter rains, which had repeatedly caused death and devastation, and was a tribute to
Benito Mussolini. It was built in 1939 (during the
Fascist period) by
Cittaducale's Forest Guard Cadet School, with the contribution of many local youths, through the
reforestation of an originally desolate
limestone coastline. From the post-war period onward, the erasure of the inscription has been repeatedly called for, although it has been opposed by those who consider it an integral part of the town's landscape and history, as well as by those nostalgic for the
20-year period. In the 1950s new reforestation was carried out, whereby the rectangle below the word DUX was created, so as to make the inscription less obvious. Abandonment of the forest over the years gradually made the inscription less recognizable. Due to new landslides and rock falls, in 1995 the Lazio region (
Badaloni junta) approved work to restore the pine forest, On August 24, 2017, the pine forest was severely damaged by a fire. It may have been accidental or
deliberate. In February 2018, a group of
CasaPound volunteers proceeded to plant 1,000 pine trees on Mt. Giano in order to restore the inscription. The operation was deemed unnecessary by members of the local community due to the wrong timing. == See also ==