Its name was derived from the eponymous dune of white (candida) sand (arena) that could be found at the base of the cliff until the 1920s in the Caprazoppa promontory, where the Arene Candide cave is located.

The cave is locally known as Grotta dei Frati or Armassa, and received its popular name in 1864, when Arturo Issel visited it, who was the first in a long series of archaeologists and geologists and researchers.

[10] The favorable environmental conditions in the cave proved to be the key to the good state of conservation of the organic material like bone fossils and charcoal fragments.

Due to their extraordinary preservation condition, the nineteen paleolithic burial pits, that were discovered in Arene Candide rank among the most significant funerary complexes in the world, as the material enabled researchers to conduct extensive and comprehensive anthropological studies in the framework of contemporary available scientific methods.

[13] The body was positioned lying on its back on a layer of red ochre, 6.7 m (22 ft) below the surface sediment, looking to the south and accompanied by an extremely rich set of grave goods including a cap made of shells and deer canines, jewels made of shellfish, mammoth ivory pendants, four deer antler batons, and a 23 centimetres (9.1 in) stone blade in his right hand.