Montresta

Montresta is a village in the Planargia, on trachytic high ground between Bosa and the Alghero hinterland. Its history as a settlement founded by families brought from Corsica in the eighteenth century is reflected in local traditions, including basket weaving with rush and asphodel. The surrounding landscape includes prehistoric tombs and the Punic site of sa Turre.

Why it matters

Montresta was established around 1750 as part of a resettlement project under Carlo Emanuele III. The arriving families came by way of Corsica, and the village developed on uplands that had earlier held medieval settlements. The settlement’s distinct founding history remains part of its local identity.

What to notice

The village stands among trachytic peaks and cork-oak woodland, with Monte Navrino nearby. In the surrounding countryside are domus de janas, Nuragic sites and sa Turre, a quadrangular fortified site associated with Punic settlement. Rush-and-asphodel weaving is a local craft tradition. The parish church of the Sacro Cuore was built in the 1960s over earlier remains.

Context and history

Before the eighteenth-century resettlement, the area included the medieval settlements of Suttamonte and Megorgor. In 1750, 148 Greek settlers in 52 households were brought to the area from Corsica under the initiative of Carlo Emanuele III. The colony declined through hardship and emigration; by 1836, Alberto La Marmora recorded only two Greek families remaining. Later arrivals from elsewhere in Sardinia contributed to the village’s subsequent growth.