Lonely and well-preserved, the Orolio nuraghe of Silanus has for thousands of years dominated the green hills behind a picturesque village in the Marghine, in north-central Sardinia
The twelve-metre-high granite tower houses two overlapping chambers, which exceptionally still retain their tholos roofing and an unusual, elaborate staircase system. The nuraghe, also known by the name of Madrone, stands at an altitude of over 400 metres on a hill to the north-east of Silanus, about one kilometre from the village of Marghine. It was originally a complex nuraghe, probably three-lobed, but today only the truncated cone-shaped keep is preserved in excellent condition. You will enter the structure from an entrance surmounted by a mighty architrave, then through a corridor you will reach the first chamber. Here you will notice three niches, one in front of the entrance and the other two arranged transversally, drawing a cross. On the left side is the stairwell, which leads to the chamber located on the second level. As in the room below, you will admire the intact tholos, despite traces of a collapse in the wall face, two niches and a further opening, perhaps a window, an unusual architectural element in a nuraghe. A further stairwell, superimposed on the previous one, seems to lead to a mezzanine, the function of which is still unknown. The keep also had a third level, of which only a single row of perimeter ashlars remains. Around the tower you will notice the remains of other structures, still to be investigated, among which are most probably the village huts.
Source: Sardinia Tourism.
The photos of the nuraghe Orolio or Madrone are by Valentino Selis, Maurizio Cossu, Vittorio Pirozzi, Romano Stangherlin and Alessandro Pilia.
