There is a massive and lofty stalactite located in the middle of a circular cavern, between walls that look carved by an unbeatable artist.  This spectacular site is the Ispinigoli's cave, in the Ogliastra area, only a few km. from the eastern coast.  Its name is already a description, meaning a thorn in the throat.  It's a monolith almost 40 m high, the biggest in Europe and maybe in the world.  It was probably a place of veneration and the discovery of very ancient bones clearly evidences past of human sacrifices, as the first explorers argued.  A natural altar still exists and there is also a cavity that seems able to swallow up anything.  The speleologists called it the virgins' abyss and the discovered skeletons and jewels that are currently on exhibition in the Museum of Nuoro.