Before we dig into the history of Sardinia, here are a couple of quick facts:

  • Sardinia is the second most large island, after Scicily, in the

Mediterranean Sea. It is classified as an autonomous region by the
Italian government.

  • It is located in the part of the Mediterranean called Tyrrhenian Sea.
  • The island is 190 km from the Italian coast, in Tuscany. 
  • Fun fact: the island of Corsica, part of France, is closer to Italy than Sardinia is. These 2 territories share a long history together
  • Sardinia was always a crossroad for many cultures, from the Phoenecians, the Romans and the Byzantines to the Spanish and the Savoy. All this has left deep traces in the island's culture and language.
  • Fun fact: the local language is Sardinian that has strong similarities with Genoese, Catalan and Corsican. It represents the largest linguistic minority in Italy with 1.7 million of native speakers
  •  Despite its size, It has a population of only 1.5 million. This is due to the low-densely inhabited territory in the inner part of the island.
  • Thanks to its low population, Sardinia maintained a large part of its environment intact.

You will find plenty of reasons to visit Sardinia but there is one that you probably didn’t know. Indeed, only few people know that Sardinia was the
first Italian land to emerge from the sea, more than 500 million years ago.
This also makes it one of the oldest lands in Europe.
Besides geology, Sardinia also boasts a very rich historical and landscape heritage. Proof of this are the human traces left on the island from the Neolithic period onwards (6,000-2,900 B.C.), the period we studied at school to be the last phase of the Stone Age (along with the Palaeolithic and
Mesolithic).
The wonder increases if we look at its peak, the Copper Age (Eneolithic) and, most importantly, the intriguing 'Nuragic Civilization’ (1900 - 500 B.C.).
The latter and Neolithic share a common thread, Megalithism. A phenomenon that is not only Sardinian, which has left some of the most impressive evidence on the island, from the 'domus de janas' to the actual 'nuraghi' and 'tombs of the giants'.
The dawn of the oldest Mediterranean island Sardinia emerged from the depths of the Mediterranean Sea 500 million years ago in the Cambrian era. The first area of the island to emerge was Sulcis, south-west of Sardinia (Sant'Antioco Island). Along with Corsica, they form a single geological block that is well separated from the Italian peninsula.
Its soil is a mixture of largely different compositions that makes it geologically distinct from the rest of the island. It ranges from granites to basalts, from schists to limestone, sandy and clayey areas.
This land is one of the most geologically stable regions in Italy and Europe, thanks to the age of its soil. Therefore it’s the only Italian region to be
“earthquake-free”.
The black gold of Antiquity Sardinia was able to exploit its geographical position and mineral wealth, making it already inhabited 450,000 years ago. In the Neolithic period, island Civilisations reached their peak thanks to rich craft production and trade in the Mediterranean.
Deposits of obsidian notably, a kind of natural glass, provided a valuable trade commodity. The mineral formed after the quick cooling of lava from
volcanoes and therefore it’s usually deep black in colour.
It allowed the manufacture of weapons and tools (e.g. arrows and knives), Monte Arci (province of Oristano) being home to the largest mine in the
Mediterranean. The secrets of if, called the 'black gold of antiquity, can be discovered in the “Conca e Cannas” museum.
The age of giant stones - Megalithism Sardinians came into contact with the French cultures of the Pyrenees and the Atlantic, through this commercial activity. These civilisations introduced Megalithic art to the island and it was for centuries surrounded by mystery
throughout Europe.
Its characteristics are the structures composed of huge blocks (from 'megas', big, and 'lithos', stone), 'wedged' without any glue (such as plaster). For this reason, it was not clear in the past how men could cut and lift such massive stones. Legends and myths arised, making Sardinian folklore a colourful
tapestry for people’s imagination.


Tombs of the giants


One of the most famous testimonies of this period are the 'tombs of the giants', collective burial complexes. A rectangular stone with a round top, makes them look like some of our modern tombstones.


Necropolis of Li Muri


In the municipality of Arzachena lies the Necropolis of Li muri,one of the richest and best-preserved site. In the early years of its discovery (1940-50), one
could still see the lodgings that held the corpses of the dead on top of thestones, with no more flesh after weeks under the sun.

Nuragic Civilisations


Megalithism, which developed in the Neolithic period, continued to expand in Sardinia until it finally flourished during the Nuragic period. This age owes
its name to constructions made of large stone blocks, the nuraghi.
The island experienced prosperity and wealth during this phase, also driven by the skillful processing of ceramics and metals that boomed on the
resource-rich island. The nuraghi symbolises this prosperous phase, even if we still don't know much about it.
Their construction began around 1900 B.C. as isolated circles of megalithic boulders, wider than high. Slowly their shape grew longer and longer until they reached more than 20 metres (27 metres in the case of the Arrubiu Nuraghe).

Nuragic site of Su Nuraxi


Furthermore, these structures merged into small complexes, connected by tunnels. Villages developed around them, as in the case of the well-known archaeological site of Su Nuraxi (in the municipality of Barumini, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Here is an impressive complex of towers and well-connected walls, which suggest military use. At the time, it was one of the most densely populated villages on the island.
Despite this, historians have not completely cleared away the fog on the true function of these constructions. Some say they were defensive turrets, occupying strategic positions. Some say they were astronomical observatories. Others attribute religious functions to them.
They are undoubtedly a vivid testimony to the sensitivity and complexity shown by the civilisations that inhabited Sardinia before the arrival of the Romans in the Mediterranean.