Escalaplano

Escalaplano occupies a plateau in the Gerrei between the Flumendosa and Flumineddu valleys. Its historic centre is marked by stone houses with characteristic arches and the sixteenth-century church of San Sebastiano; nearby, the Fossada necropolis contains seven domus de janas.

Why it matters

The village's setting and archaeological remains connect its prehistoric past with the medieval settlement documented as Villanova de Scala de Plan. Its churches, stone architecture and local traditions reflect the history of the Gerrei.

What to notice

The church of San Sebastiano has Gothic-Aragonese forms and an inlaid rose window. Traditional stone houses with arches survive in the historic centre. Outside the village, the necropolis of Fossada forms a group of seven rock-cut tombs in the San Giovanni area, with entrances oriented towards the Fossada valley. Other archaeological remains in the territory include nuraghi and sacred wells at Is Clamoris. San Salvatore, a rural church built of mud-and-straw bricks, stands on the Is Sceasa plateau.

Context and history

A document from the mid-fourteenth century records a newly founded, tax-exempt village called Villanova de Scala de Plan. Tradition places an earlier settlement at Is Arantas, but its relationship to the later village is uncertain. Escalaplano later passed under the Carroz family and into the Duchy of Mandas. Prehistoric remains around the plateau predate the medieval settlement.