Its vertiginous height of 270m, makes su Sterru Europe’s deepest single-span chasm. Formed in the heart of the Golgo plateau (400m high), within the Baunei (OG) territory, the chasm is a place filled with mysteries and ancient legends: according to legend, it was once a snake’s lair whose menace was warded off by the building, in the 17th century, of the Church of San Pietro nearby.
The chasm was initially believed to be a volcano 100-150m deep, but its complete exploration, in 1957, revealed the enormous karstic abyss created by erosion. Today, it is only explored by experienced speleologists. The chasm opens suddenly on the plateau, 13km from the town of Baunei. The mouth of the chasm is made of dark basaltic rocks, while the inner part is formed by white limestone. Its 25m of diameter increase to 40m in the bottom. It can be reached on foot by crossing a fascinating landscape: lava flow on limestone, ferns and holm oaks covered in moss, small ponds (piscinas).
It is an open-air museum: wells to celebrate ancestral rituals, domus de Janas, which attest to human presence since the Neolithic, Giants’ tombs and almost 20 Nuragic complexes, placed as sentinels at the accesses to the valley. A complex network of fortresses built after 1500 BC: it feels like a walk through pre-history.
Fondazione Sardegna Film Commission
Via Malta 63 — 09124 Cagliari
Phone: +39 070 2041961
Email: filmcommission@regione.sardegna.it
