“On a vast granitic plateau battered by winds, at 800 m above sea level, in a grazing territory interrupted by cork oak forests, the remains of the nuragic sanctuary Romanzesu are preserved.
The site is located 18 km from Bitti and can be reached by taking the road 389 Bitti-Buddusò.
The origin of the toponym, referring to a large area, is due to the presence of numerous Roman-era evidence related to productive settlements in rustic villas located along an important road that started from ‘Caput Tirsi’ in the territory of Buddusò.
It crossed the plateaus of Bitti, Orune, Nuoro and reached, in the territory of Fonni, the ‘mansio’ of Sorabile considered as the most internal military post in Sardinia.
The Romanization of the Bitti plateau is also confirmed by the finding in the area of Sa Patzata of a funerary inscription of the soldier Decumanus Cniensis, son of Cirneco, who died at the age of 32, serving in the cohort of the Aquitani from the age of 17.
The widespread Romanization gradually took hold over an already existing very dense network of prehistoric settlements, predominantly from the nuragic era, positioned in strategic areas at the edge of the plateau to ensure control over important transhumance routes.
These choices influenced the type of nuragic constructions.
The nuragic complex rises in a dense cork oak forest that hides the numerous huts of the village, whose extension covers several hectares.”
(Excerpt from an article by Maria Ausilia Fadda and Fernando Posi in “The Treasures of Archaeology” edited by Alberto Moravetti).
The photos of the nuragic sanctuary Romanzesu in Bitti are by: Nicola Barbicha Tornello, Beatrice Auguadro, Alberto Valdès, and Cooperativa Istelai.
