Before I moved to Sardinia I had never heard of Nuraghes before, because they are inexplicably scarcely mentioned in history books. However, more than 7.000 Nurghes have been found, which is a huge number, and there are also several typologies of them. The simplest are called “a corridoio” or “protonuraghi”, the more complex ones “a tholos” and they consist of one or more towers surrounded by walls. They represent the evidence of a powerful civilisation, that was able to build extraordinarily complex works since 1800 a.c for a thousand years. As soon as I saw them, I was deeply amazed by them and I fell in love at first sight. Nuraghes dominate the territory throughout the Island, making it extremely fascinating, impossible not to stop for a while: wheter they are open access or part of archeological sites, they are all worth a visit.

Walking closer you become aware of their huge size and by approaching the threshold the excitement grows. It is like stepping into a fortress with ancient and titanic features, which resembles a stone giant that receives us proud to tell his story. As we pass under the architrave, we become aware of the great effort needed for his build and we feel the overwhelming desire to caress those huge stones, carefully arranged by skilled and strong hands. The interior consists of one or more circular rooms with majestic dry stone walls standing around us careless of the time passing-by. The walls converge in a conical shape, that is sealed on his top by a stone: impossible not to admire such a masterpiece of engineering. Unfortunately, in the majority of Nuraghes this part doesn’t exist anymore, there is a gorgeous skylight instead.

Gazing at the sky full of clouds that chase each other reminds us about the flow of time, the one that separates us from the extraordinary civilization who was able to build this. Depending on the Nuraghe that you are visiting, you have the chance to enjoy a gentle breeze blowing through the stones or you can look down at the bottom of the well in the courtyard, still full of water. It is possible to see marks on the floor, clear evidence of the life that took place in the building. The colours are the same of the stones of the surrounding, making the Nuraghe perfectly homogeneous with the landscape. You could also be lucky enough to sit into it, just staying there respectful, enjoying the atmosphere of this ancient place.

Nuraghes represent the evidence of an advanced, well structured and extremely unique civilization, that is certainly worth to be deeply studied. In addition to Nuraghes, they left us sacred wells, wonderful temple with water gardens and the giants of “Mont ‘e Prama”, huge and mysterious human sculptures with perfect proportions and rich in details. Thousands of archeological sites are waiting for you throughout the Island, ready to tell their ancient history and to show you unique evidences. I’m sure you will fall in love with this too and by visiting it you will feel like you just got in touch with something amazingly ancient and unique.