Neptune's Grotto (; ) is a

stalactite A stalactite (, ; , ) is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble and that can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension (chemistry ...

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

near the town of

Alghero Alghero (; ; ; ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian province of Sassari in the north west of the island of Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ''Aleguerium'', which is a mediaeval Latin word m ...

on the island of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, Italy. The cave was discovered by local fishermen in the 18th century and has since developed into a popular tourist attraction. The grotto gets its name from the

Roman god Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the Latin literature, literature and Roman art, visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these ...

of the sea,

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

Overview

The entrance to the grotto lies only about above sea level at the foot of the high ''Capo Caccia'' cliffs and the cave can therefore only be visited when the waters below are calm. A stairway cut into the cliff in 1954, the 654-step ''escala del cabirol'' (goat's steps), leads from a car park at the top of the cliff down to the entrance. The grotto is also accessible via a short boat trip from the port of Alghero; these trips are arranged hourly during the summer, but less frequently during spring and autumn. Two other grottoes lie nearby, the "Green grotto", which is not open to tourists, and the ''Grotta di Ricami'', which is only accessible from the sea. Under water all around there are many big under water marine

s, paradise for the

scuba-diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scuba'' is an acronym for ...

fans, the bigger and the most famous is the

Nereo Cave Nereo Cave (; ) is a huge underwater sea-cave situated on the north-west of Sardinia in the ''Coral riviera'' of Alghero, Italy. The name was given by the discoverers in honour of the mythological figure Nereus, who is often billed as the Old M ...

, visited each year by thousands of

scuba divers Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scuba'' is an acronym for ...

. The combined length of the cave system is estimated to be around , but only approximately are accessible to the public. Inside are passages of lit stalactite and stalagmite formations, and a long saltwater lake, which is at sea level. The cave was once a habitat for the

Mediterranean monk seal The Mediterranean monk seal (''Monachus monachus'') is a monk seal belonging to the family Phocidae. , it is estimated that fewer than 700 individuals survive in three or four isolated subpopulations in the Mediterranean, (especially) in the A ...

, which has become extinct in the area.

Tourism

Tourists visiting Neptune's Grotto are given guided tours and led single-file through a lit pathway, with tour guides providing information about the cave in Italian and English. The visit lasts for one hour. The grotto is widely visited, and during the peak tourist season in August, can contain around 200 people at a time.

In popular culture

Neptune's Grotto was the set of the

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

movie '' Island of the Fishmen'' (1979). The movie stars

Barbara Bach Barbara Bach, Lady Starkey (née Goldbach; August 27, 1946) is an American actress and former model. She played the Bond girl Anya Amasova in The Spy Who Loved Me (film), ''The Spy Who Loved Me''. She is married to former The Beatles, Beatles ...

and

Claudio Cassinelli Claudio Cassinelli (13 September 1938 – 13 July 1985) was an Italian film, stage and television actor. Life and career Born in Bologna to Giuseppina Tafani and Antonio Cassinelli, a well known opera singer, he had two sisters, Paola Cr ...

, and it was directed by

Sergio Martino Sergio Martino (born 19 July 1938) is an Italian film director and producer, notable for his contributions to the giallo genre. Martino is the brother of the late producer Luciano Martino (who died in 2013). They collaborated frequently in their ...

. For approximately two months in the summer of 1978, the grotto was transformed into a gigantic set.

References

External links

Official site about the Neptune Cave

{{Authority control Caves of Italy Landforms of Sardinia Show caves in Italy Limestone caves Province of Sassari Alghero Tourist attractions in Sardinia Neptune (mythology)

Overview

Tourism

In popular culture

See also

References

External links