Why this ride
From Goni it runs 445 km to Goni; allow about 8 h 20 of riding. The stops in between: Su Nuraxi di Barumini, Necropolis of Mandras, Necropolis of Istevéne and Necropolis of Brodu. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu and Necropolis of Brodu
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 445 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 8 h 20
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu
The south of Sardinia is not all beaches. Inland, on the edge of the Gerrei hills, lies Pranu Mutteddu, a flat upland of granite, cork oak and scrub that holds one of the island's more striking prehistoric sites. The name means something like the plain of the little stones in Sardinian, and the place is known for its menhirs, standing stones raised several thousand years ago by Neolithic people, many of them still upright and arranged in rows or groups across the clearing.
Read the complete Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu is where the day begins. Next is Su Nuraxi di Barumini.
2. Su Nuraxi di Barumini
Nobody quite knew what lay under the mound outside Barumini until the 1950s, when the archaeologist Giovanni Lilliu, himself a native of the village, began to dig. What emerged was the most complete nuragic complex on Sardinia: a central stone tower built in the Bronze Age, later surrounded by a bastion with four corner towers and an outer wall, and beyond that the remains of a village of round huts. Su Nuraxi was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1997, and it remains the best place on the island to understand the nuragic civilisation, which left thousands of these towers across Sardinia.
Read the complete Su Nuraxi di Barumini write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Su Nuraxi di Barumini comes up about 44 km into the recorded legs. Next is Necropolis of Mandras.
3. Necropolis of Mandras
Cut into a slope of volcanic rock above the valley of the Tirso, near the village of Ardauli in central Sardinia, the Necropolis of Mandras is a cluster of prehistoric tombs that the Sardinians call domus de janas, houses of the fairies or witches. They were carved out of the rock with stone tools by farming communities, mostly in the late Neolithic, and some of the chambers imitate the inside of a house, with carved beams, doorways and pillars. Folklore said they were built by tiny women who wove gold at night, and in a sense the name says more about how ancient they felt to later generations than any date could.
Read the complete Necropolis of Mandras write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 112 km into the recorded legs you reach Necropolis of Mandras. Next is Necropolis of Istevéne.
4. Necropolis of Istevéne
In Sardinian folklore, the little rock-cut tombs scattered across the island were the homes of janas, tiny fairies or witches who wove on golden looms and came out at night. Archaeologists call them domus de janas, fairy houses, and date them to the Neolithic and Copper Age, thousands of years before the famous nuraghi towers. The necropolis of Istevéne, near Mamoiada in the heart of the Barbagia, is a group of these chambers cut into the granite, some with carved details imitating the beams and doorways of real houses, and it belongs among the prehistoric Sardinian tombs that have gained UNESCO recognition.
Read the complete Necropolis of Istevéne write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Necropolis of Istevéne, about halfway. Next is Necropolis of Brodu.
5. Necropolis of Brodu
Barbagia is the rugged heart of Sardinia, a land of granite hills, shepherds and fiercely held traditions, and on its western edge, near the village of Oniferi, the rock-cut tombs of Brodu are among the most elaborate on the island. Like other domus de janas, these chambers were carved into the stone by the people of the Neolithic Ozieri culture and later, but here several of them have carved decoration inside: false doors, imitation roof beams and, in some, the curved horn motifs that are thought to represent the bull, a symbol of strength and fertility that appears again and again in Sardinian prehistory.
Read the complete Necropolis of Brodu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Necropolis of Brodu sits at 162 km, about halfway. Next is back through Necropolis of Istevéne.
6. back through Necropolis of Istevéne
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Necropolis of Istevéne write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Necropolis of Istevéne comes up about 260 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Necropolis of Mandras.
7. back through Necropolis of Mandras
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Necropolis of Mandras write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 333 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Necropolis of Mandras. Next is back through Su Nuraxi di Barumini.
8. back through Su Nuraxi di Barumini
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Su Nuraxi di Barumini write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Su Nuraxi di Barumini, late in the day. Next is Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu.
9. Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 445 km.
Leg by leg
Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu to Su Nuraxi di Barumini
Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu → Su Nuraxi di Barumini is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Su Nuraxi di Barumini to Necropolis of Mandras
Su Nuraxi di Barumini → Necropolis of Mandras is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Necropolis of Mandras to Necropolis of Istevéne
Necropolis of Mandras → Necropolis of Istevéne is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Necropolis of Istevéne to Necropolis of Brodu
Necropolis of Istevéne → Necropolis of Brodu is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Necropolis of Brodu to back through Necropolis of Istevéne
Necropolis of Brodu → back through Necropolis of Istevéne is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Necropolis of Istevéne to back through Necropolis of Mandras
back through Necropolis of Istevéne → back through Necropolis of Mandras is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Necropolis of Mandras to back through Su Nuraxi di Barumini
back through Necropolis of Mandras → back through Su Nuraxi di Barumini is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Su Nuraxi di Barumini to Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu
back through Su Nuraxi di Barumini → Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.