Not far from the town of Villanovaforru, we find the Nuraghe Genna Maria, located on the top of a high ground in a nature reserve. The place name comes from the Latin Janua Maris, which means “Door to the Sea”, defining the use of the passage below, a communication route between the hinterland and the western coast.
It is the most panoramic archaeological site in Sardinia. The formidable view spans from the Golfo di Oristano as far as the sea at Cagliari, while to the north-east the Giara di Gesturi and the Gennargentu mountain range are clearly visible. 53 towns can be taken in from the 360° view. Considering its important strategic position, the settlement was probably in visual contact with at least another one hundred Nuraghe.
The Nuraghe, built in the Middle Bronze Age (1750 – 1450 B.C.), has a central tower, originally standing six metres high, and three side towers. It is surrounded by a turreted defence wall. There was a 5-metre deep well in the courtyard. The Nuraghe was abandoned at the end of the Bronze Age (XI-X century B.C.). In the first half of the Iron Age (X-IX century B.C.), a village with huts with central courtyard and wine-making and small metal smelting workshops was built on its ruins. Around 800 B.C., a devastating fire destroyed the village, and the inhabitants abandoned it definitively leaving behind all their tools.
Between the IV and V centuries A.D., the Nuraghe became a place of worship dedicated to a god connected with the agricultural cycle. This is clear from the discovery of hundreds of lanterns, thuribles, fragrance burners, little mirrors, bronze coins and even valuables, including a gold mask, now on display at the Museo Archeologico Genna Maria.
