The Supramonte is a mountain range located in central-eastern

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 ...

. It lies northeast of the

Gennargentu Gennargentu (; ) is a large massif in central-southern Sardinia, Italy, encompassing the provinces of Nuoro and Ogliastra. It includes the highest peaks on the island, such as Punta La Marmora (), Monte Spada (), Punta Erbas Virdes (), Br ...

massif, traveling eastwards until it reaches the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (, ; or ) , , , , is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenians, Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy. Geography The sea is bounded by the islands of C ...

at the

Gulf of Orosei A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of salt water that ar ...

. It has an area of about 35,000 hectares, encompassing most of the territories of the ''

comuni A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipalities) of

Baunei Baunei is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian island of Sardinia. It is notable for being the location of the multi-day Selvaggio Blu coastal trek. Geography The municipality of Baunei is located about northeast ...

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 ...

Oliena Oliena ( ; ) is a commune in the province of Nuoro, Sardinia, Italy. History The territory of Oliena has been inhabited since the Palaeolithic Era until today. The first proofs about the above-mentioned presences have been found inside the ...

Orgosolo Orgosolo () is a ''comune'' (municipality) located in the Province of Nuoro, in the autonomous region of Sardinia, at about north of Cagliari and about south of Nuoro. The municipality is famous for its murals. These political paintings can be ...

and

Urzulei Urzulei (Orthullè in Sardinian language) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northeast of Cagliari and about northwest of Tortolì. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population o ...

. The populated areas of these ''comuni'' lie at the borders of the Supramonte, which, for the most part, is a largely uninhabited area of sharp limestone cliffs and deep, lush canyons.

Geography

Its highest peak is

Monte Corrasi Monte Corrasi is a mountain in the territory of Oliena, Province of Nuoro, eastern Sardinia, Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Itali ...

(1,463 m), and the average altitude of the chain is about 900 m. The Supramonte is characterized by

Karstic Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. There is some eviden ...

highlands in which rivers have created deep ravines and canyons. The rivers flow mostly underground, creating several caves, such as the

Grotta del Bue Marino Grotta may refer to: * Grotto (Italian: ''Grotta''), a small natural or artificial cave * Grótta, a tied island in Seltjarnarnes, Iceland * Grótta Sports Club in Iceland * , an archaeological site in Naxos after which the Grotta-Pelos culture ...

, the

Grotta di Ispinigoli The Grotta di Ispinigoli is a karst cave in the Supramonte range, near Dorgali, Sardinia, Italy. 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 ...

(with the highest ''

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

'' in Europe, measuring 38 m), and the caves of

Sa O'he Sa, SA, S.A. or s.a. may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Music * Initialism for "soprano and alto", voice types for which a piece of music is written * SA (Samurai Attack), a Japanese punk rock band * SA Martinez, a vocalist and DJ for th ...

("The outlet", for the fact that there lies a little lake within, and it has a tributary river which pours out of the cave) and Su Bentu ("The Wind"). Springs such as

Su Gologone Su Gologone is a karst spring in the Supramonte range northeast of Oliena, in the province of Nuoro, Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one o ...

can also be found. Other notable features on the range include the Plain of Donani'horo, the

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...

of Su Sercone (in Orgosolo's language "Su Siel'hone"), the deep

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. Ravines may also be called a cleuch, dell, ...

of Gorropu and the

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

mountain of Monte Novo San Giovanni (1,316 m). The so-called "Supramonte Marino" ("Seaside Supramonte", to distinguish it from the inner "Supramonte Montano", "Mountain Supramonte") lies within the territories of Dorgali and Baunei, bordering the Gulf of Orosei and includes several renowned beaches (Cala Luna, Cala Sisine, Cala Mariolu,

Cala Goloritzé Cala Goloritzè is a beach that is located in the town of Baunei, in the southern part of the Gulf of Orosei, in Ogliastra, Sardinia. The beach, one of the most evocative of Sardinia, was created by a landslide in 1962; it is famous for its high p ...

) that are often located at the end of deep valleys called ''codulas''.

Archeology

In prehistoric times, the Supramonte area was more densely populated than it is today, as attested by traces of at least 76 villages, 46

nuraghe The nuraghe, or nurhag, is the main type of ancient megalithic Building, edifice found in Sardinia, Italy, developed during the History of Sardinia#Nuragic period, Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 BC. Today it has come to be the symbol of ...

s, 14

dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

s, 40

Giants' grave Giants' grave (; or ) is the name given by Sardinians, local people and archaeologists to a type of Sardinian megalithic gallery grave built during the Bronze Age by the Nuragic civilization. They were collective tombs and can be found throughou ...

s, 17

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

s and 3

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...

ic walls. Notable archeological sites include the village of Serra Orrios (located slightly north of the northern edge of the limestone lands), which contained about 70 circular huts and two

megaron The ''megaron'' (; , , : ''megara'' ) was the great hall in very early Mycenae, Mycenean and Ancient Greece, ancient Greek palace complexes. Architecturally, it was a rectangular hall that was supported by four columns, fronted by an open, two- ...

-like temples, and the nuraghe village of

Tiscali 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 Eur ...

, located in a strategically high position between the valleys of Lanaittu and Oddoene. Supramonte do Orgosolo

External links

Gorropu.info - Official website of the most spectacular canyon in Europe

Page at the website of the municipality of Dorgali

{{Authority control Mountains of Sardinia Landforms of Sardinia

Geography

Archeology

See also

External links