The Stonehenge of the Mediterranean
A unique, inimitable land. Stones guarding secrets that have lasted four thousand years, evidence of the first civilizations that appeared in the Mediterranean
Sardinia has an age-old story, told by the archaeological evidence dotted throughout the territory. The tangible signs of the prehistoric island are endless: menhir, dolmen, domus de Janas, sacred wells, tombs of the giants and countless Nuraghe complexes. Enormous stones that have been guarding secrets for four thousand years. Buildings, often intact, of the first civilizations ever to exist in Europe, the only sites of their kind in the world, a patrimony to be discovered and experienced: this is the Stonehenge of the Mediterranean.
Eyes to admire and a soul to understand. It is the immediate feeling when faced with the impressive ruins of prehistoric Sardinia. Megalithic monuments, stones that recount stories and protagonists, identifying populations and beliefs. Visiting the island means reliving the same itineraries, once again hearing the sounds of the stones telling a distant story. Evocative places steeped in charm, to be visited on foot or on two wheels, in contact with nature and history.
A day in Sardinia is like flipping through hundreds of pages of a book on archaeology: you will come across some of the most important sites and complexes in the world. Deserving, more than any other, of the title of Sardinian Stonehenge, is the area of Pranu Muttedu: the Perdas Fittas are the most obvious traces of the Neolithic civilization. From the Mediterranean scrub, visitors will see numerous blocks of Megalithic buildings. Legends and fairy tales that get lost over time, like those of the Janas of Barbagia, accompany travellers on their visit to the prehistoric ruins.
Seven thousand stone towers, and many others could still be uncovered. To be exact, one every three square kilometres. The nuraghi, symbols of the Island, were probably the centre of social life of a civilization that emerged at the beginning of the Bronze Age (in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC) and lasted until the Iron Age (9th century BC) and stands out compared to all the Mediterranean cultures. In some areas, as in the Valle dei Nuraghi (in Logudoro) there are thirty of them, just a few hundred metres from each other. That of Barumini, Su Nuraxi, has been proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
