June
VILLACIDRO
At the foot of Mount Linas, beautifully sited in one of the richest and most
interesting woods of Sardinia, the important Campidano village of Villacidro
offers the visitor an extraordinary synthesis of art, culture and nature, and
the opportunity to live an unforgettable holiday. The surroundings of the village
were inhabited since the old times: this is testified by the presence of a nuraghic
village and a few pit-temples. Other findings suggest the existence (in the
neighbourhood of the present town hall) of a Roman necropolis, whose size leads
one to believe that the village was an important Roman Oppido. The Middle Ages
saw the development of a rich monastic civilization. The first settlers were
the Byzantine hermits (VIII century); later, the Benedettini Vittorini from
Marseille, the monks of the Ordine d’Alto Pascio, the Minori Osservanti and
the Mercenari built a great number of monasteries. The whole territory fell
under the Pisan, Aragonese, Spanish and Piedmontese rule. In the XVIII century,
Villacidro got a certain pre
stige:
in fact, the town became the summer residence of the bishops of Ales. The town
centre holds various worth seeing monuments of great historical and artistic
value. First of all, the parish church devoted to Santa Barbara: the church
holds a pipe-organ and a beautiful altar of polychromatic marble dating from
the the XVIII century; wooden statues; church ornaments (such as the silver
shrine of the Vera Croce); finally, several remarkable pieces of documentation.
Other interesting buildings are: the XVIII century Oratorio delle Anime Purganti,
the XVII century Oratorio di Nostra Signora del Rosario, which is going to hold
a museum, and the Oratorio di San Giuseppe, built in 1774 in the area of Villascema.
The Chiesa del Carmelo, too, endowed with a panoramic view and situated in the
pinewood above the village, and the little XIII century country church of San
Sisinnio (where a summer festival takes place every year on the first Friday
of August), are to be held in due consideration. Among the old civil buildings,
let us mention the Palazzo Comunale (= the Town Hall building), built in 1874;
the XVIII century Palazzo Vescovile 
(=
Bishop’s Palace) which frequently houses temporary arts and handicraft exhibitions;
and, above all, the modern-style Lavatoio (= wash-house), built in 1893, made
of iron and cast iron. The lavatory consists of sixteen central basins and ten
side basins: in the past, women used it as a laundry, as “Paese d’ombre”, by
Giuseppe Dessy, fully explains. It is also possible to visit the house of the
writer, who, every year, is awarded by the municipality. The surroundings of
Villacidro boast an extraordinary, varied landscape, the best place for trekking
and walking. The woods give shelter to deer, mouflons and Royal eagles; there
is a flourishing vegetation consisting of cork oaks, wild olives, holm-oaks,
lentisk, arbutus. In the valley, the streams of River Leni, Coxinas, Narti and
Seddanus foster the growth of large, flourishing orchards. A few kilometres
from the village is “Sa Spendula”, one of the few waterfalls in Sardinia where
water flows in summer, too. Not to miss are the excursions to Monti Mannu, with
the waterfalls of Piscin’Irgas and Muru mannu, which can be reached going up
River Leni, passing the lake of Cuccur’Arbus; to the peak of Mount Miali; to
the nuraghic village of Matzanni, whereas the park of Villascema and the park
of San Sisinnio are the best place for peaceful walks and agreeable picnics.
The numerous cultural and religious festivals of Villacidro are always attended
by many people. Let us mention, besides the feast devoted to San Sisinnio, the
feast of Sant’Isidoro (the patron saint of farmers), taking place in May. Among
the non-religious tourist festivals is “Viviverde”, taking place from April
to June, consisting of cross-country races, canoeing, motocross, motorcycle
rally, parapenting and ecologic walks; and the Villascema festival of cherries.
VILLANOVAFORRU
Villanovaforru, an old agropastoral village (situated in the middle of southern
Marmilla) whose historical traces date back to the year one thousand, is famous
for the exploitation of its priceless archaeological resources. The territory
of Villanovaforru can boast a few jewels such as Genna Maria and a rich archaeological
museum. Genna Maria, whose name means “the door of sea”, is a nuraghic complex
with a fortified village. The village was built by different stages: the Bronze
Age produced the big central tower; later, a three-lobed rampart and a connecting
corridor were added; still later, a boundary wall (provided with six corner
towers and an external stiffening wall) was built all around. The museum is
well-organized: the basement keeps bronzes, tools, pottery and handicraft dating
from the Nuraghic age; whereas on the first floor there is a collection of votive
findings devoted to Demetra e Cor
e,
discovered in the central part of the nuraghe. Among the archaeological beauties
of Villanovaforru, let us also mention other important sites such as Pinn’e
Maiolu, Baccus Simeone, Sant’Antiogu, Marramutta, Perdu porcu and Prascocca.
The museum and the nuraghe are open all year. They can be visited every day
at the following times: in winter, 9.30 am-13.00 am/3.30 pm-6.00 pm; in summer,
9.30 am-13.00 am/3.30 pm- 7.00 pm. There are also many other cultural events
taking place in Villanovaforru in the four seasons, such as conferences and
temporary exhibitions. Besides the archaeological beauties, we recommend a visit
to the XVII century parish church of San Francesco. Among the traditional feasts,
one should not miss the interesting festival of Santa Marina, taking place (on
16th –17th July) beside the XIII century Pisan-Romanesque country church of
the same name.
