  Molecular clouds act as primary targets for cosmic-ray interactions and are
expected to shine in gamma-rays as a by-product of these interactions. Indeed
several detected gamma-ray sources both in HE and VHE gamma-rays (HE: 100 MeV <
E < 100 GeV; VHE: E > 100 GeV) have been directly or indirectly associated with
molecular clouds. Information on the local diffusion coefficient and the local
cosmic-ray population can be deduced from the observed gamma-ray signals. In
this work we concentrate on the capability of the forthcoming Cherenkov
Telescope Array Observatory (CTA) to provide such measurements. We investigate
the expected emission from clouds hosting an accelerator, exploring the
parameter space for different modes of acceleration, age of the source, cloud
density profile, and cosmic ray diffusion coefficient. We present some of the
most interesting cases for CTA regarding this science topic. The simulated
gamma-ray fluxes depend strongly on the input parameters. In some cases, from
CTA data it will be possible to constrain both the properties of the
accelerator and the propagation mode of cosmic rays in the cloud.
