Nuxis

Nuxis lies in the lower Sulcis of south-western Sardinia, amid hills, former mines and agricultural land. Its territory includes the Nuragic sacred well of Tattinu and the small church of Sant'Elia di Tattinu, monuments from widely separated periods.

Why it matters

The two sanctuaries reveal different religious histories within the same countryside. Mining, quarrying, farming and pastoral life add other strands to the area's cultural landscape.

What to notice

The sacred well has an unusual layout without a vestibule, with a stair descending towards a bottle-shaped shaft. Sant'Elia has a Greek-cross plan and barrel-vaulted arms beneath a central dome. The present dome is a reconstruction following the collapse of 1909, an important distinction from the church's medieval fabric.

Context and history

Ceramic offerings connect the well with the Final Bronze Age. Sant'Elia's architecture belongs to a Byzantine tradition and is generally dated around the year 1000. The later settlement developed through the grouping of rural homesteads known locally as medaus or furriadroxius. Nuxis became an autonomous municipality in the twentieth century.