1. Feasts and popular traditions Sant’Antonio Istituto Tecnico Commerciale e Geometri L. Oggiano Discovering Siniscola Come and see my town At the foot of the Mount Albo, a steep calcareous ridge, along the homonym river, Siniscola faces towards the beaches and the cliffs of the east Sardinian coast. The territory offers a series of agrarian and natural landscapes of surprising variety from the limestone dolomites mountains of Mount Albo to the cultivation (groves, vineyards, pastures) of the plain furrowed by water courses that flow into the ample coastal lagoons that extend from the hamlet of La Caletta to the stupendous beach of Berchida. The zone is very rich in woods and springs and has a territory of great naturalistic interest because of the presence of plants and rare animals among which the Bonelli royal eagle, the mouflon, the boar and the owl. The prevalent activities consist in sheep and cattle rearing, workmanship of the dairy products, extractive and artisan activities, harbour and fishing. In the territory numerous testimonies of the ancient presence of man are present. In the countryside of Siniscola there are about 26 Nuraghi, some giants graves and only one Domus de Janas of which only ruins remain. Sant' Antonio’s festival takes place on the 16th and 17th of January. A few days before the religious festival, the women in a lot of houses prepare the typical sweets of this holiday Su Pistiddu. For this occasion the people gather up the rosemary and take it to Sant' Antonio’s churchyard; before unloading it the tractors drive around the village. The people pile up the rosemary around the pole to make a high bonfire. According to the tradition the people walk around the fire three times to 1)Elene Portiche2) Gana ‘e Gortoe 3) Sa Nurra de Fruncu 'e Oche Cave 4) Sa Conca Manna de Locoli Cave receive good luck. A pig is put at the top of the pale, when the fire has been lighted young boys climb up the bonfire to get it. Sant'Antonio’s festival is a tradition which unites all the village. San Giacomo San Giacomo's festival is celebrated on the 1st of May. Many people go to the church square, where a committee organises a dinner for the public. In the afternoon some folk groups perform the typical folk dances of Siniscola. Sant’Efisio Sant' Efisio's festival is in September. He's similar to San Giacomo's festival, they organise a lunch and there are typical folk groups of Siniscola who perform in very famous Sardinian dances. Festa delle Grazie Festa delle Grazie's festival is celebrated beginning from the second Friday of October till Monday. A lot of stalles offer and sell typical Sardinian foods like torrone. Su Petticoccone On the second of November, All Soul's day the children take a pillow, go around the village knocking at the doors and asking for sweets and bonbons. During that occasion Siniscola's people prepare typical Sardinian's sweets like papassini and casatinas. The students of I.T.C.G. welcome you to Siniscola with the intention to meet your requirement, to lead you towards the wonders of our Island and to discover the ancient tastes of an old land Project Manager Maria Francesca Carta English Teachers: Giuseppa Maria Gerardi Giuseppina Virdis Fredericks Carol May 2002

2. The Caves at the exit of Siniscola towards Olbia, opens in the courtyard of a home. It’s been explored by Nuoro’s Speleo Club. It has an horizontal cave and develops along 966 m. but it hasn’t been entirely explored yet. Elene Portiche is a big cave in the west of Monte Lattu. The shape is not the original one because it has been devasted by illegal excavation. Inside it there is a room with sub-circular floor plan where there is a stalagmite column and small niches on the left side of the entrance. Sa Nurra de Fruncu 'e Oche Cave develops in a sub-horizontal way and presents a big entry which opens into a large room full of clay stone and numerous niches. The second entry is higher up to the right and opens into another large room which hasn't been completely explored. Sa Conca Manna de Locoli Cave presents an entrance which conducts to a lake. Past the lake there is a passage rich in forms of erosion but with no stalagmites and stalactites. The third lake is at 140 m. from entrance and can be crossed only by a rubber-dinghy. At the end of the last lake there are two branches: the left one is made of architectural features created by erosion and tortuous paths; the right one leads to a syphon which French speleosubs have explored for about 1000 mt.of underground caves. A vast part of Siniscola's territory is characterized by a surronding rich in carsism phenomenon which originated from the melting of the calcareous rock caused by atmospheric agents. Limestone isn't a soluble rock but the water, passing through the ground, becomes rich in minerals which transform it in soluble rock changing its morphology. The water filtering through the cracks, widens them and slowly dissolves the rock originating in a new cave. A lot of caves exist but the most spectacular ones are those created by the passing of the centuries thanks to the slow dissolution of the limestone. Both vertical caves of wells and chasms as well as horizontal caves of galleries and labyrinths can be formed. In the later there are more natural decorations caused by erosion. The drops of water which fall on the ground form the famous stalagmites that can join with the stalactites originating pillars. Nowadays fossil caves exist and active caves in which the erosive action continues up today and tourists can admire this wonderful panorama. Monte Albo is characterized by carst caves of modest dimensions which have fossil origins. Only in some of them we can find abundant dripping caused by winter atmospheric agents. In Sa conca manna de Locoli there are small lakes and a brook flows through Gana ‘e Gortoe. Some caves are important for the fauna and for the presence of troglodyte animals, which had adapted to underground life. Some of them are of archaeological interest and they were inhabited by man in prehistory. The cave of Gana ‘e Gortoe,