Monte San Mauro, Archaeological site in Caltagirone, Italy.

Monte San Mauro is an archaeological site on five hills arranged in a fan above the Signore and Maroglio valleys, southwest of Caltagirone. On hill 3, a large building discovered in 1904 by Paolo Orsi was divided by a terrace of irregular local stone blocks; it existed by the 9th century BC and was later reused in the Archaic period, probably as a Sicel princely residence and then by Greek colonists. Excavations resumed by Umberto Spigo in 1983 uncovered two rooms on the western short side, one raised on three steps, with food containers, transport amphorae, loom weights and lava-stone millstones.

The site was occupied from the Bronze Age, and by the late 7th century BC Greek colonists practising agriculture and trade settled among the indigenous centre. On hill 3, Paolo Orsi found in 1904 a large building already standing in the 9th century BC, probably a Sicel princely residence later reused by the Greeks; Umberto Spigo's excavations resumed in 1983. A 58-tomb necropolis was dug at the foot of the hill in 1903-1904.

The tombs reveal how people who lived here conducted their burial rites and what objects they valued enough to place with the dead. Walking through the site, you can observe the patterns of how graves were arranged and decorated over centuries.

The site is located in open terrain with natural rock formations, so you should wear sturdy shoes and be careful during rainy weather. Information about objects found here can be seen in nearby museums and in Syracuse, which provide helpful context for understanding what you see.

On the northern and north-western edge of hill 3, Paolo Orsi identified a defensive system of wall sections alternating with natural rock. On the summit, elliptical structures of indigenous dwellings were also found, one dated between the second half of the 8th and the first half of the 7th century BC.