Elephant Rock (Roccia dell’Elefante)
Natural rock formation · Castelsardo, Sardinia, Italy
Photo: Antonello.franzil / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), as also published on Street Art Utopia.
The Roccia dell’Elefante is a block of volcanic rock about 4 metres high beside the SS 134 road outside Castelsardo, worn by wind and weather into the shape of a sitting elephant. Source Source Checked Two prehistoric Domus de Janas tombs are cut into it, and in July 2025 its tombs became part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing of Sardinia’s domus de janas. Source Source Checked
Seen Jul 2026: on 4 July 2026 the town of Castelsardo said the area of the monument was closed to the public, fenced and watched by the local police under an ordinance of 27 May 2026. Source Reported The newest dated photograph we found on Wikimedia Commons shows the rock on 24 April 2026 (in More photos below); the photo above was taken on 5 July 2017. Source Checked
More photos
💡 5 things to know
- A tomb inside an elephantTwo Domus de Janas, prehistoric rock-cut tombs, are dug into the boulder at two levels. Italy’s Ministry of Culture dates them to the final Neolithic, 3200–2800 BC, and the UNESCO project page calls the rock the most significant example of a domus de janas in an erratic boulder. Source Source Reported
- It slid down a hillThe block was once part of the rock mass of Monte Castellazzu and broke away down the slope; wind, rain and time then gave it its elephant shape. Source Source Checked
- The pierced stoneIts original name is Pedra pertunta, the “pierced stone”. The Ministry of Culture says it took its current name only after 1914, with the work of Edoardo Benetti. Source Source Checked
- Moving the roadIn March 2026 the road agency Anas began straightening the SS 134 at km 4.3 to move traffic away from the rock, with a roundabout in place of the junction in front of it. In April L’Unione Sarda reported that the gap between road and monument would be about 4.5 metres. Source Source Checked
- Closed over cracksSassari Oggi, reporting a motion by the opposition group Castelsardo Bene Comune, wrote that the heritage office (Soprintendenza) had sent the town a report on 20 May 2026 pointing to gaps in the rock, cracks below the road and a concrete risk of collapse, and that a mayor’s ordinance of 27 May ordered temporary shoring. On 4 July the town said the area was closed to the public and that the shoring had to be designed with the Soprintendenza. Source Source Reported
📍 Where it is
Beside the SS 134 at Località Multeddu, about km 4.3 on the road from Castelsardo to Sedini, Sardinia. Source Source Checked
Opens Google Maps at the rock’s coordinates (40°53′22″ N, 8°44′46″ E, from the UNESCO project page).
🗓️ Sightings
- 1887
First reported by Domenico Lovisato · Domus de Janas UNESCO project
- 1914
Named Roccia dell’Elefante only after this year, with Edoardo Benetti’s work · Ministry of Culture
- 198210 Jul
Declared of cultural interest · Ministry of Culture
- 201030 Apr
Photographed with spring flowers at its foot · Wikimedia Commons
- 201325 Aug
Bull-head relief inside the tomb photographed · Wikimedia Commons
- 20175 Jul
Photographed beside the road · Wikimedia Commons
- 202517 Jul
Reported among 17 sites recognised by UNESCO · L’Unione Sarda
- 202512 Sep
Photographed from the road with visitors · Wikimedia Commons
- 202627 Mar
Anas starts moving the SS 134 away from the rock · SassariToday
- 202614 Apr
Town hands over works to enhance the site · L’Unione Sarda
- 202624 Apr
Photographed beside the SS 134 · Wikimedia Commons
- 20264 Jul
Town says the area is closed to the public · Sassari Oggi
Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark dated records and reports.
🗞️ In the sources
Castelsardo, Roccia dell’Elefante nell’Unesco: al via la valorizzazione
“Tra i 17 siti riconosciuti dall’Unesco spicca la Domus de Janas della Roccia dell’Elefante a Castelsardo”
Among the 17 sites recognised by UNESCO, the Domus de Janas of the Elephant Rock in Castelsardo stands out.
Roccia dell’Elefante: addio alla strada a sfioro sul monumento, tutta l’area verrà riqualificata
“Anas ha avviato i lavori al km 4,3 della SS 134, nel tratto che collega Castelsardo a Sedini”
Anas has started works at km 4.3 of the SS 134, on the stretch between Castelsardo and Sedini.
Roccia dell’Elefante: via ai lavori di valorizzazione del sito Unesco
“Lo spazio interposto tra la strada e il monumento sarà pari a circa 4,50 metri.”
The space between the road and the monument will be about 4.5 metres.
Roccia dell’Elefante a rischio crollo a Castelsardo
“diffuse lacune nella roccia, lesioni a valle della strada e un rischio concreto di crolli”
Widespread gaps in the rock, cracks below the road and a concrete risk of collapse (the Soprintendenza’s report, as summarised by Sassari Oggi in its article on the opposition’s motion).
✅ The facts
- Geological age
- Miocene (Burdigalian), 18–20 million years ago, according to the Sardinia Geomining Park Source Reported
- Upper tomb
- The Ministry of Culture says only traces of three small rooms are left of the badly damaged upper tomb, and the UNESCO project page says it has almost disappeared; L’Unione Sarda wrote in July 2025 that three rooms of the upper tomb can still be made out and are well preserved. We lean towards the two official pages, which describe the tomb itself; the newspaper line is unattributed. The two official pages also number the tombs differently (Tomb I upper on the Ministry page, Tomba II upper on the UNESCO project page) Source Source Source Conflicting
🔗 Related
All sources & image credits
- Domus de Janas UNESCO project: Domus de janas della Roccia dell’Elefante
- Ministry of Culture (IDESE): Roccia dell’Elefante, Castelsardo
- Sardinia Geomining Park: Castelsardo Elephant (24 July 2023)
- L’Unione Sarda: Castelsardo, Roccia dell’Elefante nell’Unesco (17 July 2025)
- SassariToday: Roccia dell’Elefante, addio alla strada a sfioro sul monumento (27 March 2026)
- L’Unione Sarda: Roccia dell’Elefante, via ai lavori di valorizzazione del sito Unesco (14 April 2026)
- Sassari Oggi: Roccia dell’Elefante a rischio crollo a Castelsardo (4 July 2026)
- Sassari Oggi: Polemiche sulla Roccia dell’Elefante a Castelsardo, parla il sindaco (4 July 2026)
- Wikimedia Commons: Castelsardo Roccia dell’Elefante, 5 July 2017
- Wikimedia Commons: Roccia dell’Elefante, 30 April 2010
- Wikimedia Commons: Domus de janas, bull-head relief, 25 August 2013
- Wikimedia Commons: Elephant Rock (74068), 12 September 2025
- Wikimedia Commons: Elefantenfelsen 01, 24 April 2026
- Image: Antonello.franzil / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (file page), as also published on Street Art Utopia; a 16:9 share image was made from it. More photos: Vid Pogacnik (2010, CC BY-SA 4.0), Sailko (2013, CC BY 3.0) and Holger Uwe Schmitt (2026, CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
Last checked: 4 November 2026. How we verify art