Discover Caverna delle Arene Candide, Finale Ligure

The Caverna delle Arene Candide is an important archaeological cave site at Finale Ligure, in the province of Savona.

Its name belongs to a dune that is no longer there. The cave is named for a coastal dune of white sand — arena candida — which lay at the foot of the cliffs forming the western flank of the Caprazoppa promontory, in which the cave opens, at least until the early 1920s.

It is the burials that make it matter. Nineteen Palaeolithic burials were found here. Besides constituting one of the most substantial Palaeolithic funerary complexes in the world, they are without doubt by far the best preserved — with everything that implies for the quality of the scientific information anthropologists can take from them. (The comune's own overview instead describes a primitive cemetery of fifteen individuals.)

It is state property, run locally, and open. The site belongs to the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali and was entrusted in 2018 to the Comune di Finale Ligure and the Museo Archeologico del Finale, which — after works to make it safe and to lay out a visit route — has promoted a regular opening to the public since July 2019.

Can I just walk in?

No. The cave is accessible exclusively with a guided visit and booking is compulsory on 019 690 020. Guided visits are taken by telephone only, and dates are published as an events calendar rather than as opening hours.

How long is the walk up?

About thirty minutes on foot. Access is from above — the cave opens on the upper edge of the west rim of the disused Ghigliazza quarry, roughly 90 m above sea level.

Who was the Giovane Principe?

A Gravettian adolescent, buried on a bed of red ochre seven metres down, facing south, with a cap of gilt Nassa shells, shell and bone ornaments, worked deer antlers and a long flint in his hand. He was athletic and habitually ate meat, fish and molluscs. The cave's own record calls him fifteen and dates him to about 26,000 years before present; the comune's overview says sixteen or seventeen and about 24,000 years ago. His mortal wound to the chin had been made good with yellow ochre before burial.

Why is the cap such a big deal?

Because it matches others. Contemporary caps were found with the Donna di Paglicci and the Donna di Ostuni in Puglia and the Donna di Caviglione at the Balzi Rossi, and similar headgear appears on figurines such as the Signora di Brassempouy. The pattern supports the hypothesis that these were real headgear worn in life, not objects made for the grave.

Where are the finds?

In three museums, none of them at the cave. The Museo di archeologia ligure at Pegli in Genoa holds the Prince; the Museo archeologico del Finale at Finalborgo holds the Finalese material and runs the visits; and the Museo Pigorini is in Rome.

Can I see the other caves too?

Not all of them. The Caverna delle Fate, in the Arma delle Manie, yielded Upper and Middle Palaeolithic material and is closed to visits. The Caverna della Pollera, one of the largest in the province, produced Neolithic pottery with quadrilobate mouths, and the Arma delle Manie was a seat of Neanderthal man; their finds are in the archaeological museum at Finalborgo.