Province of Medio Campidano
The province of Medio Campidano, born in 2005 after being separated from the province of Cagliari, facing west on the Sea of Sardinia, and is surrounded by the provinces of Oristano and Cagliari, and Carbonia-Iglesias. It is a territory that harmoniously combines sea, mountains, hills and plains, and offers tourists beautiful landscapes, interesting archaeological and historical sites, in addition to Typically food products such as cheese, olive oil, olives, cured meats, sweets and especially saffron.
The products of the area includes hotels, restaurants, farmhouses and bed & breakfast. In particular, on the coast of Arbus you can find tourist facilities of great prestige nell'incontaminata immersed maquis.
The territory of the Province of Medio Campidano
The richness and landscape diversity of the Middle Campidano make this province very fascinating: from the immense sand dunes Piscinas, the Massif Linas, covered by forests, to the hills of the plateau and the Marmilla Giara of Gesturi.
The mountains, for the most granite eroded by time and weather, are rounded, with little steep profile, while touching considerable height. Sinuous contour of the hills there are steep gorges, precipices, chasms, up to the Marmilla, a land of rolling hills and plateaus of basalt alone that takes its name from its shape to the breast area. Here stands the hill of Las Plassas, an almost perfect cone shaped by nature. This is the land of horses sardi now uncontested masters of the territory, which living in the wild in the wonderful frame of the Giara Gesturi.
Finally, the magnificent Costa Verde, one of the most beautiful corner of Sardinia, which offers nature and of great archaeological beauty. Jewel of the Costa Verde is Piscinas, with its impressive sand dunes, among the highest in Europe, a paradise of sand and forest. Its wild beauty, perfumes and its natural wild flowers make it unique.
The spatial variety of the province of Medio Campidano allows you to practice several outdoor sports: hiking, mountain biking or horseback, paragliding, canyoning be practiced in open water of the mountains and near waterfalls, and l ' climbing.
Sanluri
The village of Sanluri is, like Villacidro, capital of the province of the Middle Campidano. The territory has been inhabited since nuragica, and in Roman times it assumes the existence of a temple and an urban settlement. Because of its location has always played a strategic role for communication, especially in political and military. For this reason Sanluri around since 1300 became an important stronghold to defend the Giudicato of Arborea.
The monument of greater importance is the Castle of Eleonora d'Arborea, probably built between the thirteenth and early fourteenth century and subsequently extended to the mid-fourteenth century. It is the only medieval castle of Sardinia to be still living, although now, after recent renovations, houses the museum of the Risorgimento''Duca d'Aosta''; interesting is also the Ethnographic Museum of the Capuchins.
Villacidro
The city of Villacidro is the most populous of the new province of the Middle Campidano, and shares with Sanluri the name of provincial capital. The upper part of this modern city winds around the square which faces the Church of Santa Barbara, dating back to the sixteenth century, at the bottom, in piazza dei Mille, you can see the characteristic washhouse public.
The country is also home to several small but interesting Museums: In addition to the Museum of Sacred Art, you can visit the Museo Archeologico Leni Villa, located within the Mount Granat, historic building from the mid-nineteenth century, originally used for harvesting grain, and the Museum Pharmaceutical Sa Potecarìa, property Fanni dell'attigua Pharmacy, which proposes a route between ancient instruments pharmaceuticals. The greatest wealth, however, that Villacidro is jealously guarded by its beautiful environment, its mountains with its hills, which made it famous for its cherries, for its citrus fruits, and its olive oil.
A few kilometers from the center of Villacidro lies the charming park of San Sisinnio, where impressive surround-old olive trees with their majesty the seventeenth-century church of San Sisinnio, the most important church in the rural town. The town of Sa Spendula, about a kilometer outside of Villacidro, every year is the destination of many visitors thanks to the spectacle offered by the beautiful waterfall, the last jump of the Rio Coxinas dall'altura name.
Archeology and History
The province of Middle Campidano is rich in resources, historical, artistic and cultural activities. The long association of the area dates back to remote times and has left deep traces in the monuments, traditions and the most varied expressions of local culture. The beauty of sites and monuments are often complemented by the great suggestion of the landscape and environmental setting in which they are inserted, which makes the visit even more fascinating.
The Middle Campidano, and particularly the Marmilla holds true jewels of archeology island, such as nuragico di Barumini complex, the largest fortress nuragica of Sardinia, the sacred well of a Sant'Anastasia Sardara, the complex of Genna Marìa Villanovaforru to the megalithic tomb at sa Domu es'Orcu Siddi, one of the most impressive of the island, the Phoenician city of Neapolis in Guspini, and the Roman Baths of Sardara.
And then the rural medieval churches, surrounded by forests of oak and olive trees, sacred buildings often located in remote areas and sometimes small. These included c hiesa of Santa Maria de is a Acquas Sardara, Santa Severa to Gonnosfanadiga, the sanctuary campestre di Santa Marina in Villanovaforru, the sanctuary of the Madonna in the Itria Gesturi, the church of San Sisinnio, immersed in a forest of a thousand years old olive trees, and the church of St. Joseph, in the valley of cherry trees in a Villascema Villacidro.
Finally, monuments dating back to the Judicial: the castles of Arcuentu, Las Plassas, Monreale and Sanluri unique medieval dwelling still living in Sardinia, and the church of San Gavino in common the same name, which holds within it four figures, carved in corbels dell'abside, representing the family of the sovereign courts of Arborea, among which stands out the unique figure of the judge Eleonora d'Arborea.
Of note the presence of several archaeological sites of industrial sites, villages and tunnels of the rich mineral deposits, from which they extracted copper, silver and lead, immersed in natural environments that make the visit even more enchanting.
Typical Products
The Middle Campidano province is known for its cuisine linked to the territory and variety of food products: wheat, beans, artichokes and saffron, quality Sardinian thorny and quality violet. Important the production of olives and olive oil, which has recently been given the PDO label, as well as cheeses and sausages made from meat from local farms: sausage, ham, bacon and especially mustela, a fillet of pork flavored and seasoned.
The bread is a civraxiu durum wheat semolina typical Campidano and especially Sanluri, the wrinkled brown crust and soft, fragrant; other bread Campidano is the c occoi, semolina, tasty and crunchy, decorated with simple patterns for everyday use or more whimsical and archaic for the holidays. Do not forget, finally, the confectionery products, which are used primarily almonds, ricotta and excellent honey that is produced in that area, you can find sweets made of a blend of sweet almond flour and love, and pardulas, Stuffed with ricotta or cottage cheese and flavored with saffron.