Santuario di Santa Vittoria

The Sanctuary of Santa Vittoria occupies the edge of the Giara di Serri, where a Bronze Age sacred well and associated buildings form one of Sardinia's major nuragic cult sites. Later Punic and Roman activity and a medieval church add further layers to the complex.

Why it matters

The sanctuary covers about three hectares in the territory of Serri. Finds of objects from Etruria, Phoenicia and Cyprus testify to contacts across the Mediterranean. A church dedicated to Santa Maria della Vittoria was built at the western end of the site and later rebuilt in Romanesque style.

What to notice

The sacred well temple has an elliptical enclosure, a paved atrium and a flight of thirteen steps descending to a cylindrical chamber. A sacred way leads to another temple with two altars. The festival enclosure is an elliptical court about 73 by 50 metres, surrounded by porticoes and including a communal kitchen and market rooms. Nearby, a circular hall with seating for around fifty people may have served as an assembly space. Bronze votive figures, weapons, bracelets and models of nuraghi document the sanctuary's ritual life.

Context and history

A corridor nuraghe stood at the site around 1500 BC. The sanctuary developed between the eleventh and ninth centuries BC and remained in use through later Punic and Roman phases. The sectors east of the assembly hall had been abandoned by the eighth century BC, while other parts continued in use. Archaeologist Antonio Taramelli excavated the area between 1909 and 1929; later campaigns led by Maria Gabriella Puddu in the 1990s revised and expanded the findings.