Digging Up the Past in Sardinia

We left Cagliari and drove south to visit the ruins of Nora, originally a Phoenician settlement but developed as a Roman town. Roman towns usually have straight wide streets but this one is different. The roads were narrow and curved and show no cart tracks – it seems to have been a pedestrian only settlement! It was in a wonderful position, right on the coast with a beautiful sandy beach nearby. The Roman baths were quite remarkable and you could still see the steps going down into the pool.


Our delve into the past continued as we headed into the centre of the island to visit Su Naraxi Nuraghe near the village of Barumini. This is Sardinia’s only UNESCO listed site. The Nuragic civilization is from the Bronze Age. The defence tower was at the heart of the settlement and the village was all around it. The preservation was quite amazing. We were able to go into the tower, crawled through narrow passages and up and down steep steps to reach the centre. This is one of the great places we have visited.

We headed cross country back to the coast across country. We drove through a series of tiny villages, meeting up with sheep and goats. Eventually we ended up at Torre Grand, just outside Oristano and finished the day with a swim.

                                          The Roman town at Nora.

                                       This is the family bathroom at Su Naraxi.

                                          The tower at Naraxi.