Behind the Church of San Giorgio, perched on a rock overlooking the valley, is the nuraghe de Sas trinta battallas, once known as nuraghe Lodine – hence the name of the town. 

It was built taking full advantage of the rock walls beneath it and provided a clear 360-degree view of the landscape. Unfortunately, today it is in such poor condition, with only part of the exterior walls and internal staircase remaining, that it is hard to appreciate its original structure. As happened for many other sites across Sardinia, in ancient times it was raided for stones to build houses and enclosures.

The nuraghe stands next to a Christian church, similarly to how the church of Santa Sabina in Silanus, the church of San Basilio in Ollolai, and the church of Sa Itria were built in areas containing archaeological remains from the Neolithic onwards.

During the Byzantine occupation of Sardinia, many pagan temples, nuraghes or sanctuaries were turned into Christian churches in order to spread Christianity throughout the island. Small country churches were eventually built next to them, some of which are still standing today.

The abundance of nuraghe settlements, domus de janas and giants’ graves in this area suggests that this nuraghe was part of a wider network of intertwined communities that used to thrive here.

Text by Laura Melis