Su Mannau Cave

The SU Mannau Cave is in the Municipality of Fluminimaggiore (CI) few kilometers far from the Costa Verde. It winds for almost 9 km of length in limestone dating back to the Middle Cambrian, 540 million years ago. It comes from two small rivers that originate a spring of about 60 liters per second. Large and impressive halls alternate with splendid hanging lakes. Among the most beautiful rooms, there are the Sleep Room with imposing columns and a fantastic pond and the Pisoliti Room adorned with beautiful aragonites and thousands of cave pearls. The White Room and the Virgin Room located at almost 2 km depth are rich in very white aragonites and superb castings. The Cavity also has some complicated siphons to overcome with further branches of great spectacularity such as the Fir Trees Hall and the Bizarre Room. The cavity has an age of about 15 million years and inside it several overlapping branches highlight the various evolutionary phases. At different points, the levels unite through imposing collapse halls – the Rodriguez Hall on the left and the Ribaldone Hall along the right branch. The cave originated from the Placido River on the left and the Rapido River on the right. The cave is well known at a speleological level thanks to the spectacular nature of the rooms and concretions and it is a common destination for many Italian and European speleologists. Today, a part of the cave is equipped for tourism for about 500 meters of development between the Archaeological Hall and part of the left branch.

The Tourist Branch of the Su Mannau Cave develops from the first Archaeological Hall, a rare underground temple dedicated to the worship of the Mother Goddess symbolized by the presence of a small lake. The Hall has areas full of votive lamps of various shapes which testify to its sacred use from the Nuragic to the Punic period and up to the late Roman period. A partially artificial opening leads to the real cave with the imposing Central Hall. A large walkway allows passing it towards the Laco degli Stenasellus –endemic isopod of the cave. Continuing through imposing concretions and small waterfalls you will arrive at the Puddu tunnel flow. The tourist branch continues to the fossil gallery and from here begins to descend towards the Rodriguez Well. A large panoramic viewpoint, at a height of 20 meters, stands out over the Rodriguez Hall whose descent is made following a splendid staircase, first towards the left branch and then towards the base of the Rodriguez Hall. The guided visit lasts about 1 hour/1 hour and 10. The construction of a new section is planned for the future. This section will continue towards the Placido River for 350 meters and from here it will reconnect to the Central Hall at the entrance. With the realization of the ring, the visitor will be able to see all the evolutionary phases of the cave from the high ditch branches to the current ones where the river flows in a temporal excursus of at least 10-15 million years. The cave is also easy to access for children and the elderly.