Attractions and Places To See around Paulle/Paulilatino - Top 20

The path to the waterfall has been closed and inaccessible for three years.

In 1857, Giovanni Spano published an article that included a graphic overview of the monument. The Canon describes and interprets the sacred well in a rather convoluted way: he classifies it as a nuragic structure but is unable to discern its true function, mistaking it for a prison due to its similarity to other finds. In 1860, La Marmora, in his Itinéraire, praised the monument and compared it "to the Treasury of Atreus in Mycenae, Greece, described and illustrated by James Stuart." In the early years of the 20th century, other sacred wells in Sardinia were investigated: Antonio Taramelli, an archaeologist of the first half of the 20th century, finally surmised their function. His work is complemented by Raffaele Pettazzoni, who, in his book on the beliefs of the ancient Proto-Sardinians, describes the cult of water, also drawing on comparisons from outside the island.

«The country church of St. Christina, located in the territory of Paùli-Latìno, a quarter (4 km) from this town, also belongs to this priory (of Bonarcado), while it is two hours from Bonarcado. Nearby there are some casipole for the novenanti who compete there on the first of May. The main festival falls with great frequency on the 10th of the same and a pious procession to the fountain named after the saint, which has a peculiar shape and structure. On July 24th there is a memorial day on which the glorious death of the same is commemorated.»

In 1860, La Marmora, in his Itinéraire, praised the monument, comparing it "to the Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae, Greece, described and illustrated by James Stuart". In the early years of the 20th century, other sacred wells were investigated in Sardinia: Antonio Taramelli, an archaeologist of the first half of the 20th century, finally guessed their function. His work is completed by Raffaele Pettazzoni, who, in his book on the beliefs of the ancient proto-Sardinians, describes the cult of water, also referring to comparisons outside the island. Despite the importance of the monument and its excellent state of preservation, it was necessary to wait until 1953 for the first excavations and restorations, which then continued with the Athnitzi campaigns of 1967-73 and 1977-83. [9] The last excavation campaigns were carried out by Bernardini in 1989-90 and by Arnold Lebeuf between 2005 and 2010. Further research is planned, focusing mainly on the area of the Nuragic village (which, however, had not yet been carried out as of 2012).

In 1860, La Marmora, in his Itinéraire, praised the monument, comparing it "to the Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae, Greece, described and illustrated by James Stuart". [4] In the early years of the 20th century, other sacred wells were investigated in Sardinia: Antonio Taramelli, an archaeologist of the first half of the 20th century, finally guessed their function. [5][6][7] His work is completed by Raffaele Pettazzoni, who, in his book on the beliefs of the ancient proto-Sardinians[8], describes the cult of water, also referring to comparisons outside the island. Despite the importance of the monument and its excellent state of preservation, it was necessary to wait until 1953 for the first excavations and restorations, which then continued with the Athnitzi campaigns of 1967-73 and 1977-83. [9] The last excavation campaigns were carried out by Bernardini in 1989-90 and by Arnold Lebeuf[10] between 2005 and 2010. Further research is planned, focusing mainly on the area of the Nuragic village[1] (which, however, had not yet been carried out as of 2012).

In 1841, Angius published a first summary description of the monumental complex in the Angius-Casalis dictionary:[2] «The country church of St. Christina, located in the territory of Paùli-Latìno, a quarter (4 km) from this town, also belongs to this priory (of Bonarcado), while it is two hours from Bonarcado. Nearby there are some casipole for the novenanti who compete there on the first of May. The main festival falls with great frequency on the 10th of the same and a pious procession to the fountain named after the saint, which has a peculiar shape and structure. On July 24th there is a memorial day on which the glorious death of the same is commemorated."

The site is essentially composed of two parts: the first, the best known and best studied, consists of the Well Temple, a sacred well of the nuragic period, to which are attached structures: a meeting hut, a perimeter enclosure and other smaller huts. The second part of the complex, about two hundred meters to the southwest, consists of a single-tower nuraghe, some elongated stone huts of unknown date and a nuragic village that has yet to be excavated and of which few illuminating elements are visible[1]. Although of limited archaeological interest, the Christian devotional area of the Church and Novenum of St. Christina integrates the complex, intended as a place where the novena is celebrated in honor of the saint.

The Nuragic Sanctuary of Santa Cristina is an archaeological area located in the municipality of Paulilatino, in the province of Oristano, in central-western Sardinia and in the southern part of the Abbasanta plateau. The site takes its name from the country church of Santa Cristina, which is located nearby.