Nuraghi are conical stone towers dotted around the Italian island of Sardinia (‘Sardegna’). These were built in prehistoric times (between 1900 BC and 730 BC,) by the Nuragic civilization which shaped the island’s development from the Neolithic age until 238 B.C. when Sardinia was brought under the Roman Empire. The towers (7,000 or so survive) were sited strategically (in defensive positions), and were built without mortar. The most famous Nuraghe location which is the Su Nuraxi di Barumini complex which gained UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1997. Other examples are the group at Serra Orrios east of Nuoro and the Nuraghi Losa, Santa Barbara, and Sant’Antine between Oristano and Sassari (Burton Anderson: 1990, p.295). The main IGT denomination for Sardinian wine is called Isola dei Nuraghi or ‘the island of the Nuraghi’, honouring what is known as the island’s Nuragic Age. Sardinia’s Nuragus (white) grape variety which is found in the Nuragus di Cagliari DOC also makes use of the name.

Bibliography

Burton Anderson, The Wine Atlas of Italy (Mitchell Beazley, London, 1990).