DiscoverSouthSardinia | Domus de Maria

Domus de Maria

Domus de Maria was likely founded in 1730, when the Scolopian Fathers arrived to protect the people of Bithia from pirate raids.

Contacts

Via Garibaldi, 4, 09010 Domus De Maria SU, Italia

Phone: +39 0709235015
Email: domus.protocollo@globalcert.it
Website: https://www.comune.domusdemaria.su.it

A monastery and a farm were established to exploit the territory, followed by several families from nearby areas forming the historic centre's first nucleus. Developed on the slopes of Monte Maria, the settlement was incorporated into the barony of Pula, belonging to the marquisate of Quirra, a feud firstly owned by the Centelles and then the Osorio family, to whom it was redeemed in 1839 with the suppression of the feudal system.

Domus de Maria, Parish Church Madonna del Rosario. Aerial view

The parish church, located in the northern part of the town and dedicated to Nostra Signora del Rosario, is the town's major place of worship. Building began in May 1791, following the late Baroque architectural style characterized by a façade divided into three orders with a central portal surmounted by a window.

Domus de Maria, Casa Museo. La piazza antistante l'ingresso

In the historic centre is an early 20^th century building that housed the old town hall and its offices. The remarkable archaeological collection from the ancient city of Bithia can be admired in a late 19^th century building in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, also in the historic centre.
The war memorial, a stone sculpture made between 1945 and 1950 with the engraved names of soldiers who died in World War I and World War II, stands in the southwestern part of the town.

The local district of Domus de Maria, on the coast of southern Sardinia, covers about 100 square kilometres and borders the municipalities of Santadi, Pula and Teulada. Inhabited since the Bronze Age (c. 1800-1000 B.C.), it boasts numerous nuraghi and tombs of the giants scattered throughout its countryside and hills. The nuraghe Baccu Idda, with its four circular towers, is one of the best preserved.

Domus de Maria, nuraghe Baccu Idda. La torre laterale

Domus de Maria, acropoli di Bithia. Vista zenitale dei ruderi e la torre

However, the best-known archaeological site is that of Bithia. Here, already in the early 20^th century archaeologists found some traces of the settlement, temple and necropolis that were built around the 8^th century B.C. (especially notable was the statue of the god Bes, now exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Cagliari). The Torre di Chia was built during the Spanish era, in the late 1500s, and it stands 13 metres high with a diameter of 10 metres at the base. The lighthouse at Capo Spartivento, now a luxury hotel, dates to the second half of the 19^th century.

The area’s landscapes range from the high granite reliefs that host the extensive holm-oak forest of Is Cannoneris, to some of the most beautiful beaches in Sardinia: Chia, Sa Colonia, Su Portu, Cala del Morto, Campana, Su Giudeu and Cala Cipolla. In many of these beaches, tall dunes of white and golden sand are dotted with centuries-old junipers.