An imposing and well-preserved nuragic monument, keeper of cultic mysteries, is a symbol of a small center in Barigadu, in central-western Sardinia.
With its bulk, from a small hill, it dominates the Tirso valley: it is one of the largest and best-preserved monuments of the Bronze Age in central Sardinia. The nuraghe Santa Barbara – named after the one in Macomer – stands in the areaTanca sa Cresia, in the territory of Villanova Truschedu, a small village twenty kilometers from Oristano: you will reach it from provincial road 9, which passes by the ancient sanctuary of San Gemiliano, after crossing a bridge over the river and walking a short path. It is a shining example of a ‘tancato’ structure, consisting of two circular towers, one originally larger and one smaller added later, connected by a curtain wall that encloses a courtyard, bordered by embedded stones.
You will access the larger tower through a door with a lintel and a corridor that features a spiral staircase to the left and a niche to the right. You will notice the architectural care: the rows of basalt and trachyte blocks are stacked in concentric rings that narrow towards the top. The internal chamber, with a diameter of seven meters, is closed by a vault.tholosalmost intact, with two opposing niches. In the center of the floor, you will see a hearth, and at the top of the wall, another staircase that leads to a secondary cell. The chamber was functional for divinatory practices: it can be hypothesized that the priest ascended to the first floor via the main staircase, where he entered into spiritual contact with the deity, allowing himself to be permeated, then descended the ‘minor’ staircase to convey the divine will to the faithful. The Santa Barbara can be considered a case of ‘theophany’: the light that filters through the window above the entrance architrave projects, thanks to the shape of the stones, the figure of a bull protome (symbol of the god Taurus) where the altar was probably located. In the suggestive light effect during the winter solstice and the mid-southern lunar standstill, the Nuragic people saw the manifestation of the deity. In front of the main tower, there is the entrance to the secondary one, similar in construction methods but much smaller, perhaps a service room equipped with six loopholes that allowed for air circulation, used as a furnace or workshop for bronze.
(from Sardegna Turismo)
The photos of the nuraghe Santa Barbara are by: Nicola Castangia, Sergio Melis, and Marco Cocco
