"...and all started one morning in the Cambrian ..."
Looking at a Sardinian geological Map, we can soon spot a variety of different colours. The Goddess of geology has been particularly generous towards Sardinia, gifting her of a vast array of colours that represent its ancient history. In this context, the Sulcis Iglesiente depicts the beginning. It all started over half a billion years ago, during what the geologists call Cambrian period. At the bottom of the sea, a sea looking much different to what a sea looks today, rock deposition became the mountainous chains of the Sulcis Iglesiente. The mountains we know at present are the results of a tormented morphology, witnesses of many different geological phases. The Area interested comprises the coastal cliff that, starting from Buggerru through Monteponi and Masua, reaches and joins the Marganai massif and its eastern walls, to terminate up into the territory of Fluminimaggiore. This forms a sort of “belt” which, because of important metal ores, it is named “anello metallifero del Marganai”, which translates as the Marganai Metal Belt or Ring.
The name “Ring” reminds of something precious which is in harmony with the plentiness of the sub-soil. The important metal ores of Lead, Zinc, Silver, Copper, Mercury and Fluorite gave birth to a golden Age of mining extraction. In this metal reach old stones, the meteoric waters, which are lukewarm waters coming from beneath the soil transporting strong acids, are the reason for the formation of a rich natural cave net.
This context lies at a height of about 200 meters above sea levels, we find ourselves on the southern edge of this ring, more precisely on the southern side of the Marganai massif, of which “Punta Perd’e Cerbu” (514m above sea level) and Mount Acqua (540m above sea level) represent the terminal heights south direction. The peaks decrease towards the Cixerri plan and the town of Domusnovas.
