Cagliari: Amazing Bosa and Prehistoric Sardinia

Departing from Cagliari, drive for 2 hours in a minivan through the amazing Sardinian countryside towards the northwest of the Island. Full day tour to discover the nuraghe of Santu Antine (San Costantino) in Torralba. The complex is one of the best-preserved Nuragic architectures and with a small labyrinthine interior. You will discover the charm of the Nuragic civilization in one of the best-preserved complexes on the Island... an architectural gem in a splendid natural setting. In the historical region of Logudoro, which occupies the central-northern part of Sardinia, there is a vast and spectacular archaeological burial area, where three tombs stand out because of their size and their state of preservation. Visit the Domus de Janas "Fairy Houses" of Sant'Andrea Priu, collective burials of the Neolithic period. You will be captivated by the architecture and symbolism of one of the most important prehistoric burial complexes in the Mediterranean, which later became one of the first Christian churches. With 18 rooms, one of its underground burial sites is among the most extensive in the Mediterranean. The burial complex is made up of twenty Domus de Janas dating back to the Neo-Eneolithic age (4th-3rd millennium BC), dug out of the wall, and on the plain of a trachyte outcrop 10 meters high and 180 meters long. Inside them, architectural residential details have been reproduced to recreate environments similar to the house of the deceased person. Three Domus in the necropolis will amaze you with their sizes and state of preservation. The 'Tomba del Capo' (tomb of the Head) has an extension of 250 square meters and contains 18 rooms arranged like a maze around two main spaces. An entrance leads to the semi-circular anteroom (seven meters in diameter). The two cells at the back are rectangular and arranged in longitudinal succession. On their walls, little rooms open up and lead to numerous secondary cells with niches and counters. The 'Tomba a Capanna' (Hut Tomb) is round (three meters in diameter) and can be entered via a rectangular space. The two rooms have votive cupules: three in the anteroom and 15 in the central cell. The ceiling is decorated by a sunburst of grooves carved in the rock: they allude to the roof trusses of the Eneolithic huts. The 'Tomba a Camera' (Room Tomb) reproduces the architecture of a dwelling: an entrance pavilion leads to the main room, which is rectangular. The second space has two pillars and a ceiling that depicts a double pitched roof. Other burial places show symbolic elements: on the floor of a smaller tomb, there is a hearth with a raised circular ring. Above the ridge where the graves are located, you will see a majestic and unique rock known as 'the bell-tower.' It has also been named 'sacred bull' because of its shape: it was thought to be a monumental sculpture, but, in reality, it is a trachyte monolith shaped by the weather. The necropolis was reused for a long time. In the Roman age and then the Byzantine era, the 'Tomba del Capo' was turned into a rural church built into the rock, one of the first during the period of the persecutions. It has been plastered several times and frescoed with scenes from the New Testament, which you will notice inside it, and it was named after Sant'Adrea (Saint Andrew), from where the name of the site comes.

The tour continuous to Torralba; we can visit an architectural gem and the most impressive in the Valley of the Nuraghi, one of the areas with the highest concentration of ancient buildings in Sardinia. Santu Antine was built between the Middle Bronze Age (16th century) and the Iron Age (9th century BC). It is vast and is made of massive, perfectly shaped basalt blocks, which gradually get smaller from the base towards the top of the building. Its masonry is entire of dry stone. Its central tower is 17 meters high and has a diameter of 15 meters. It originally had three floors and is protected by a trilobed bastion (with three towers). The entrance leads to a passageway where there is a corridor that runs around the rooms and is lit up via nine slits positioned at a regular distance from each other. You will be able to move along the corridor towards the internal spaces. It gives you the impression that the great stones from which its structure is built might collapse at any moment. However, this is not so! They have been able to endure thousands of years, thanks to the Nuragic people's skills in the art of building. From a helicoidal staircase, also lit up via slits, you will reach two rooms on the first and second floors, the first of which is equipped with a counter-seat and two niches. A final flight of steps originally led to the terrace. The square bastion, the side of which is 40 meters long, has two towers at the front and a third one at the back. All three are circular, 6 meters in diameter, and contain slits. They are connected to the courtyard by short passageways and the tower at the back by a long tunnel. In front of the bastion, there are 14 circular huts, in which the population of the village lived. Some have seats, hearths, partition walls, niches, and cabinets, which helps us understand what they were used in those days. In front of the entrance to the Nuraghe, there is the 'meetings hut' with a seat and a hearth. In some huts, traces of the Roman era have been found, bearing witness to the fact that the buildings were also used long after the Nuragic period between the 1st century BC and the 4th century AD.

The tour will then approach the charming town of Bosa, dominated by the castle of Malaspina, with its colorful architecture and crossed by the river Temo, the only navigable in Sardinia. Known as one of Italy's most picturesque villages, Bosa is set with its multicolored houses along the mouth of the river Temo, which divides it into two with its soft contours. Bosa is a fabulous village where history and modernity come together, generating curiosity and fascination. The Old Village, also known as Sa Costa, lies around the Serravalle Castle, built by the Malaspinas between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Easily accessible on foot, it will reward you by showing you the charm of the town from a scenic location that will remain forever in your memory. Bosa is also a place of great culinary and craftsmanship tradition that welcomes you with a nice glass of Malvasia. The excellences of the Village include jewelry from coral fished in the sea, baskets of Asphodel, fabrics, and the filet of ancient feminine knowledge. You will find many churches and monuments in the Village. Spend a little time at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, the town's Cathedral, featuring beautiful frescoes. Within the walls of Serravalle castle stands the church of Our Lady de Sos Regnos Altos, embellished with a set of frescoes dating back to 1370. Your local guide will be keen to make the tour as personal as possible. He will assist you with his expertise and recall amusing anecdotes for you before driving you back to your hotel.