L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE resemble a lot, in structure and shape, to medieval tower houses, which were typically used for defensive purposes. Although common, this theory has been also widely criti- cized: for a start, there seemed not to be enough space inside a nuraghe to allow a number of people to survive potentially long attacks. Archaeologists found no space for weapons or even food storage. Their sheer number on the Sardinian territory also seems an issue: with more than 7,000 units across a relatively small ter- ritory, we should believe the Nuragic civilization lived in a state of perennial war. While this is not impossible, there isn't any archaeological or historical proof pointing in that direction. They had a religious role Another theory wants nura- ghi to be religious buildings symbolizing the way Man mana- ged to conquer and subdue the land around, a sign of how civili- zation won a war against nature. A bit controversial as an exple- nation, if you ask me. The spiritual role of nuraghi has also been interpreted in another manner, that is, as a way to connect the Earth and the Sky and mirroring the spiritual, "above" dimension, on Earth. They may have had more than one use Alas, as it often is the case, nuraghi may, in the end, have been built and used with more than one aim in mind. They may have been watchtowers that also had powerful symbolic functions, but the truth is we don't have any solid archaeological and histori- cal proof for any of this. The mystery of nuraghi, then, conti- nues. Their uniqueness transformed nuraghi in real symbols of Sar- dinia. The most famous of them all is the Nuraghe of Barumini, also known as Su Nuraxi. Among the most complete struc- turally, Su Nuraxi was chosen by UNESCO to represent all Sardi- nian nuraghi for their Heritage List. You'll find it near Cagliari, on the way leading to Oristano. Nuraghe Arrubbiu is the lar- gest nuraghe in Sardinia and is characterized by a peculiar reddi- sh color of the stones it was built with, caused by a lichen living on them. Nuraghe Losa is part of the Abbasanta municipality, in the province of Oristano and it's known for being triangular, which is pretty peculiar for a nuraghe. Nuraghe Losa is also one of the spookiest, because archaeologists found a large amount of human bones while excavating it. Its very name, losa means graveyard. Last but not certainly least, wee should remember the nura- ghe Santu Antine, near Torralba in the Cabu Abbas valley (Sassa- ri). This is an interesting location because the nuragic tower is sur- rounded by the remains of a small village: a proof of the importance of these buildings in the everyday life of ancient Nuragic people. Regardless to their actual meaning and use, nuraghi remain the most important vestige of a civilization predating the Romans of centuries and whose presence made and shaped the culture and looks of one of Italy's most beau- tiful regions, Sardinia. Continued from page 12 For some researchers, nuraghi had a military function and were built to control their surroundings (Copyright: Dreamstime)

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