Su Nuraxi di Barumini and Necropolis of Puttu Codinu

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Necropolis of Ispiluncas.

2. 2. Necropolis of Ispiluncas

   In central Sardinia, on a slope above the village of Sedilo, a cluster of rock-cut tombs opens into the hillside like a row of small dark doorways. These are domus de janas, "houses of the fairies" in the local language, burial chambers carved into the soft rock by the island's prehistoric inhabitants several thousand years ago. Ispiluncas is one of the larger groups, with tombs of varied plans, some with multiple chambers and carved details imitating the beams and doorframes of houses. In 2025 the domus de janas were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, recognising one of the most distinctive funerary traditions in the Mediterranean.

   Read the complete Necropolis of Ispiluncas write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Necropolis of Ispiluncas comes up about 110 km into the recorded legs. Next is Necropolis of Puttu Codinu.

3. 3. Necropolis of Puttu Codinu

   Domus de janas means houses of the fairies, and that is what Sardinians called the small chambers cut into rock faces across the island, believing them to be the homes of tiny supernatural women. They are in fact tombs, carved out by the island's Neolithic and Copper Age people some five thousand years ago, often with rooms arranged like houses, carved doorways, false roof beams and symbols such as bulls' horns. The necropolis of Puttu Codinu, near Villanova Monteleone in north-west Sardinia, is a group of these tombs cut into a low limestone outcrop amid fields and scrub, one of thousands across the island.

   Read the complete Necropolis of Puttu Codinu write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 186 km into the recorded legs you reach Necropolis of Puttu Codinu. Next is back through Necropolis of Ispiluncas.

4. 4. back through Necropolis of Ispiluncas

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Necropolis of Ispiluncas 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 Ispiluncas, late in the day. Next is Su Nuraxi di Barumini.

5. 5. 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 at Su Nuraxi di Barumini. That is the ride.