What to do in Sardinia Besides Beaches

Explore Sardinia’s Ancient Nuraghe: A Bronze Age Adventure

If you enjoy archeology, Sardinia, Italy should be high on your list of places to visit. There are a number of Bronze Age (approximately 1900 BC to 730 BC) settlements throughout the island. The main towers of these settlements are called Nuraghe (essentially ancient towers/castles surrounded by small villages) and they are unique to Sardinia. According to Wikipedia, more than 7,000 of these structures have been found on the island. Very little is known about the people who inhabited these structures or what they used these structures for.

Amazingly, a number of Nuraghe are in an excellent state of preservation and can be visited, including the interiors. The stone work is quite incredible and standing in these 3,000 year-old rooms and climbing the stairways of these towers was a fun experience, not unlike visiting the ancient pyramids of Egypt. Most sites allow you to visit the structures on your own, the only one that required a guide was Su Nuraxi Barumini, one the largest of these settlements in Sardinia. As with many ancient archeological sites, the builders in Sardinia understood much about astronomy and were close observers of the night sky.

The approximate location of the Nuraghe sites we visited are shown on the map of Sardinia above.

We visited 5 Nuraghe sites, which provided a nice sampling of Sardinia’s rich Bronze Age history.

Below is a brief overview of the sites we visited.

Nuraghe la Prisgiona & Coddu Vecchiu

Nuraghe la Prisgiona was one of the smaller nuraghe sites we visited. There are a number of interesting archeological sites near Arzachena, Sardinia (including this one), a person could easily spend a day or more exploring all the nearby sites.
Within walking distance of Nuraghe la Prisgiona is Coddu Vecchiu, called the Giants Tomb. The tomb is from the same era and part of the Nuraghic civilization, about 1800 BC.

Nuraghe Majori – Complete with Bats!

Nuraghe Majori is another small Nuraghe site. At the ticket office, they give you a flashlight so you can see the bats inside the main tower – right photo above: look closely to see the bats hanging from the roof interior.
Left – Majori Nuraghe tower, Middle – one of the Nuraghe wall entrances, Right – view of the surrounding countryside. Most Nuraghe occupy a strategic location, such as a hilltop.

Nuraghe Santu Antine

A view of Nuraghe Santu Antine from the exterior. It doesn’t look that impressive or large from the exterior; however we were surprised how large and extensive the interior was once we entered.
Nuraghe Santu Antine – courtyard views – including a well in the left photo above.
Interior views of Nuraghe Santu Antine – tall room, passageway, and stairway to 2nd level.

Nuraghe Santa Cristina

Santa Cristina may have been my favorite site, perhaps because there is so much to see here. There are Nuraghe ruins, including a fascinating ancient well, and medieval-era buildings also. It has been a site used for religious purposes for centuries.

Sacred Well

Sacred Well from ground level. I was amazed how the stones and stairway have held up over 3,000 years – the Well dates from the 11th century BC.
View from the bottom of the well stairway.
Above – images at the bottom of the Sacred Well. Note the precise stone work.

Nuraghe

Nuraghe at Santa Cristina, part of the same complex as the Well and the Medieval village.

Medieval Church

Left – The little church at Santa Cristina was built around 1200 AD. Right – Monks’ quarters next to the church. These structures are between the Sacred Well and the Nuraghe. Be prepared to do a little walking at Santa Cristina.

Su Nuraxi di Barumini

Su Nuraxi di Barumini is one of the largest, if not the largest Nuraghe site in Sardinia. It is a World Heritage Site, and when you purchase your ticket you must join a group with a guide to visit. Our tour guide was very kind and patient, he explained the features of the site in French and English, given the mix of our small group.

Above left – the main tower of Su Nuraxi from a distance. The image in the center shows what the Nuraghe looked like in its prime – very similar to a medieval castle. Right – the village dwellings below the main tower.
Above – views of the village ruins.
Images of the doorways and courtyard of Su Naraxi.
Above – interior passage ways and rooms of Su Naraxi.

In addition to the glorious beaches of Sardinia, it is certainly worth your time to visit a few of the fascinating archeological sites. Be careful in the structures. Some of the stairway stones are very slick and trust me, it’s easy to slip. Also, watch your head, many of the passageways are short and narrow. The sites we visited were well sign-posted, had parking available and are well-maintained.