VIVA - New Active Tourism Itineraries in Villanova

Set in the valley of Bonu Ighinu, which takes its name from the shrine of the same name, the Cave of Filiestru is part of a system of caves frequented by man since prehistoric times for the abundance of water and environmental resources.
The cave was explored in the early ‘70s by Don Renato Loria and became the object of systematic excavations by D. Trump in 1979-80, as part of a project to retrace the phases of life and the environment of the valley.

The cave, located at the foot of a limestone cliff at 410 metres above sea level, is characterised by a main room with optimal living space and 3 other narrow spaces.
Together with another nearby cave known as “Sa Ucca de su Tintirriolu”, the Cave of Filiestru is still one of the most important archaeological deposits for retracing the phases of attendance of man within the Neolithic Era in Sardinia.
In fact, surveys have served to highlight a stratigraphic sequence from the most recent period of the Neolithic Era (called facies of Filiestru-Grotta Verde-Alghero dating back to the sixth millennium BC), with discontinuous attendance by man for about 7000 years, that is up to the Middle Ages.
Thousands of ceramics, often characterised by rich decorations, but also animal bones and flint tools, obsidian and food remains, partially exposed at the Museum “G.A. Sanna” of Sassari, represent the most striking evidence of the uses and customs and the beliefs of the people who inhabited the island during the distant past.