Monte Sant'Elia, Mountain peak in Palmi, Italy

Monte Sant'Elia is a mountain peak located along the Calabrian coast near Palmi, rising roughly 580 meters above sea level. The summit offers panoramic views stretching across the Tyrrhenian Sea toward Sicily and occasionally visible to Mount Etna on the horizon.

The few surviving historical records about the mountain concern almost only the convents and monks of the church of Sant'Elia, destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries because of earthquakes and wars. Places of worship with annexed convents stood on the summit from 884, including a church built by Sant'Elia lo Juniore. The present church dates from 1958.

The mountain's name comes from Sant'Elia lo Juniore, who founded a monastery here in 884; the summit church, rebuilt in 1958, holds statues of the Madonna della Montagna and Sant'Elia profeta. Near the top, the Impronta del Diavolo is a rock whose hollows and scratches local tradition reads as the devil's claw marks after being hurled into the sea by the saint. The Sentiero del Tracciolino crosses the north-east slope at mid-height.

The mountain can be reached via a hiking trail of approximately 9 kilometers starting from the SS18 road. Parking is available near the trailhead, making it convenient to begin the ascent on foot.

At the summit, a group of natural hollows and grooves on a boulder is known as the Impronta del Diavolo, or Devil's Footprint. Local tradition says the devil struck the rock with his nails as he was hurled toward the sea by Sant'Elia di Enna, who had withdrawn to the mountain to pray. Some versions add claw and tail marks, or link the smoke of Stromboli to the fleeing demon.