Situated in close neighbourhood of Alghero, the limestone rocks of promontory Capo Caccia hide the pleasant surprise for vivid travellers.
There is a group of interesting grottoes which once served as a shelter for Neptune, the god of the sea, hence their name – Grotte di Nettuno.
While the presence of Neptune here may be only the part of local tradition, the caves with small sand beach in front were once favourite place of Monk Seals, unfortunately almost impossible to be seen on the Maditerranean the present time. In 18th century the grottoes were discovered for the present world by local fishermen, and soon became the popular place to visit.
Today only the small, but the most sttractive part of the largest one, over 4 km long – Grotta di Nettuno is opened for the tourists, while the other ones may be visited with the permission of local tourist administration. Nearby Grotto Verde ( Green Grotto ) hides graffiti and tombs of Neolithic era. The other traces of ancient human activity wait for scientific research in Grotta della Dragunara.
The sedimentation rock was formed some 2 millions years ago of white limestone with addition of red ochre. The soft rock was slowly washed away by the underground sweet water, which run to the sea leaving huge empty spaces, like the 130 m long underground lake La Marmora in Grotta di Nettuno. The inner walls are embroided with stalactites, which in some places grew to 20 m in length, stalactites and other fantasy rock formations.
For a long time Grotta di Nettuno was accessible only by the sea from nearby Alghero, the entrance was limited to good weather conditions, and finally after years of discussing various projects the new way to the grotto was finished in 1959. The panoramic route from Capo Caccia named l’Escala del Cabirol (staircase of deer) features 654 steps down to the cave.
The staircase offers the splendid views, but the perspective of going several hundred steps back may not be especially tempting.
To see here are several hundred meters of corridors and chambers, which got their names from the shape of the surrounding rocks.
For example in Stanza dell’Organo ( Organ Chamber) the stalactites resemble the organ pipes, and the shape of the crown in chamber La Reggia.
One of the last rooms Piattaforma Musicale has relatively flat surface used for evening summer concerts.
The schedule of the concerts and the opening times of the grotto you can find at the local tourist office :
Azienda Autonoma di Soggiorno e Turismo
Località Capo Caccia,
07041 Alghero Sassari,
Italy 079 946540
[ photo courtesy of Edgley Cesar]
