Ispinigoli
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The Grotta di Ispinigoli is a
karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...
cave in the
Supramonte The Supramonte is a mountain range located in central-eastern Sardinia, Italy. It lies northeast of the Gennargentu massif, traveling eastwards until it reaches the Tyrrhenian Sea at the Gulf of Orosei. It has an area of about 35,000 hectares, en ...
range, near
Dorgali Dorgali () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northeast of Cagliari and about east of Nuoro in the Seaside Supramonte mountain area. Economy is mostly based on the vine and wi ...
,
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.


Overview

One of the largest caves on the island, it contains the tallest column, the tallest in Europe and one of the tallest in the world, measuring circa 38 m in total. The cave also includes the so-called ''Abisso delle Vergini'' ("Abyss of the Virgins"), a c. 60 m-deep hole leading to a 12 km series of caves connecting Ispingoli to San Giovanni su Anzu cave. Inside the cave were found traces of human bones and jewelry dating back the Bronze Age, the site was used as burial place by the
Nuragic The nuraghe, or nurhag, is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia, Italy, developed during the Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 BC. Today it has come to be the symbol of Sardinia and its distinctive culture known a ...
people. At the bottom of the abyss, were found traces of the extinct giant otter ''
Megalenhydris ''Megalenhydris barbaricina'' is an extinct species of giant otter from the Late Pleistocene of Sardinia. It is known from a single partial skeleton, discovered in the '' Grotta di Ispinigoli'' near Dorgali, and was described in 1987. It was lar ...
''. This animal is one of four species of extinct endemic otters on the island.


See also

* Bue Marino Grotto *
Tiscali Cave Tessellis S.p.A. (formerly Tiscali S.p.A.) is an Italian telecommunications company founded in 1998 and based in Cagliari, Sardinia, that provides Internet and telecommunications services in Italy, and, previously had operations in other Euro ...
*
List of caves This is a list of caves of the world that have articles or that are properly cited. They are sorted by continent and then country. Caves which are in overseas territories on a different continent than the home country are sorted by the territory' ...
*
List of caves in Italy The following article shows a list of caves in Italy. Overview Main concentration of Italian caves (, singular: ''grotta'') is close to the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, principally due to karst. The Italian caves attract around 1.5 million t ...


External links


Page about the grottoes
{{in lang, it Ispingoli Landforms of Sardinia Ispinigoli Ispingoli Province of Nuoro