Tavolara
Unique and original, Tavolara is the largest and most charming island
in the territory of the marine protected area. In the Paleolithic
period, about 37 thousand years ago, a deep watercourse ran between
Tavolara and Molara. The current archipelago was linked to the land and
could be reached on foot by crossing woods and Mediterranean maquis.
The first human traces in Tavolara date back to this period: as a
matter of fact in Grotta del Papa, whose name derives from the
resemblance of some rocks to the papal tiara, rupestrian paintings and
other traces of the Bonu Ighinu culture have been found (middle
Neolithic). Since about 8 thousand years, the Cave is only accessible
from the sea and islands have formed.
Tavolara is characterized by
high and steep ridges (cliffs) on which the result of the water erosion
is evident: it takes the shape of showers of calcareous dissolution,
natural arches, coastal pipes and caves intercalated by detritus
layers, conglomerate and sandstone fossiliferous banks, among which the
wonderful beach of Spalmatore di terra, witnessing the last
interglacial period characterized by a subtropical climate.
