The Genna Maria Archaeological Museum is housed in a historical building built in the second half of the nineteenth century, and formerly designate as a wheat bank. Opened in 1982, it houses one of Sardinia’s most important collections.
On the ground floor, amidst the hundreds of objects, it houses findings uncovered in the largest home in the Nuragic village, inhabited by about a hundred people who worked in agriculture, livestock rearing and hunting. There were also a variety of female activities, as is clear from the whorls for fabrics and the grinders for grain. The pintaderas used to decorate votive bread are unusual as are the pyriform vases and the holy water containers. Numerous items of fire dominion, such as ember holders, andirons and portable burners have been preserved together with various bronze tools, including sickles and daggers. One of the most unusual items is a baby’s bottle to feed newborn babies.
On the upper floor, we find the various rooms of artifacts covering an extensive time period ranging from Neolithic times to the Middle Ages, found not only in the countryside of Villanovaforru, but the entire area of Marmilla. The Punic-Roman room preserves a wealth of votive funeral goods found inside the Nuraghe, funeral items in various locations and a section dedicated to milling, which allows visitors to learn about and try out the different grinding systems used in ancient times.
All the rooms in the Museum can be accessed by the physically challenged and there is a Tactile Section for the blind. Three multimedia stations have been installed with 3D reconstructions of the Nuraghe which, thanks to the captivating videos, illustrate the monument’s life history. In a traditional antique house alongside the museum, we find the temporary exhibition room, for various artistic exhibitions.
