In southern Sardinia on the border between the municipalities of San Vito and Villasalto stands the imposing Monte Lora. The enormous relief, about 600 meters high, is made up of limestone formed in the Paleozoic and more precisely in a geological period called the Devonian dating back to about 400 million years. The mountain, where numerous goats still graze today, is characterized by very white rocky walls surrounded by Mediterranean scrub, ancient olive trees and centuries-old oaks. Between 1800 and 1900 the area was exploited as a mining area for the extraction of small quantities of fluorspar. A tragic news story dates back to the early 1900s: a gigantic landslide destroyed a large portion of the mountain, killing a flock of sheep and causing the death of two families of shepherds who lived on the mountain seasonally. Still, after a trek of about 2 hours, the gigantic landslide can be observed. One of the most fascinating elements of Monte Lora is the profile of the mountain which, along the road, coming by car from San Vito to go towards Ballao, takes the form of a pretty sleeping girl who is called “The Sphinx”.
Monte Lora Mountain
