Sardinia Italy Photographs - Click on the miniatures to get the full size picture.

This is the Nuraghe di Santa Barbara in Macomer area in the Nuoro province. The nuraghe is sitting on a high location overlooking the town of Macomer and the valley which start below Macomer and extends to the south towards Ghilarza and Oristano.

In general nuraghi construction are diffused in all Sardinia island, usually from one nuraghe you can see at least another one around. Between simple and complex type nuraghi and nuraghi villages there are around 7,000 constructions of the kind in the island and many of them are still, sometimes after about 3,500 years, in similar good shape.

It is very important to understand that the nuraghi constructions were left to us by an ancient civilization that existed and developed only in Sardinia and for this reason there are no similar constructions anywhere else in the world, we can say that the nuraghi for Sardinia are like the pyramids for Egipt.

This is the Nuragica Civilization. The first attempt of nuraghi constructions in Sardinia were made around 1800 BCE, from around 1500 BCE we have examples of the typical nuraghi construction (the simple truncated cone ones), further developments came later in the form of nuraghi with side extensions, castle type nuraghi and nuraghi complexes that also included nuraghi villages around a central complex nuraghe.

The Nuraghe di Santa Barbara is a nuraghe with a central tower and 4 side extensions, all with a circular base. Entering the central body you can turn to the right and go up the stair which run between the sandwich tower walls. Inside the nuraghe it is very dark and a torch is needed to appreciate the interior.

This nuraghe is near Macomer and is possible to reach it from the State Road SS No 131, this roads connects south and north of Sardinia, direction from Cagliari to Sassari. Between South and North exits for Macomer in SS No 131 you will find the sign indicating the nuraghe. Park the car and after a 15 minute walk you will see the nuraghe appear in front of you.

The town of Macomer can be considered the center of Sardinia transport routes, both roads and rails, and we have ideally seen this nuraghe to be at the heart of Sardinia but there is much more to be seen and considered about the Nuragica civilization. There are many sites and museums to admire the constructions and handcrafts in various materials and metals (casting bronze and in later times iron was a peculiarity of the Nuragica Civilization).

We can suggest that you read a guide book before coming to the island to visit the best sites and museums, there is a lot to discover and most of it the feeling of magic that comes from the Nuragica Civilization.

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