Cagliari Nora Archaeological Site Tour from Chia

Cagliari Nora Archaeological Site Tour from Chia

Excursion through the ancient roman ruins of the first Sardinian Phoenician City: Nora. The theatre, the thermal baths, the patrician villas, the marketplace and the tower recall a glorious and never forgotten past. Among the extraordinary streets it will be possible to discover the urban and artistic technique used by ancient Mediterranean population.

History is alive and in abundance on the island of Sardinia. This is your opportunity to visit some of what remains of a civilization that is approximately 3,000 years old! Enjoy a guided visit tour to Nora and the hidden gem town of Pula.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Bitan - Daily Tours, Via Vittorio Emanuele III 11, 09010, Domus de Maria, Sardinia Italy

Departing from Chia, your trip to Nora will be about 20 minutes.

Duration: 20 minutes

Stop At: Area Archeologica di Nora, 09010, Pula, Sardinia Italy

It was the first Phoenician city in Sardinia (8th century BC), an important commercial crosswords and port of enviable location, in the isthmus of Capo Pula, from which it was possible to set sail in any weather. Nora, which developed fully in the 4th century BC under Punic rule, was conquered by the Romans in 238 BC and became a municipium in the 1st century AC. During the two following centuries, it lived its maximum splendour: urban growth and eight thousand inhabitants, in addition to being caput viae, the starting point of all of the roads on the islands. Of this flourishing city, fascinating remains can be seen at the archaeological park of Pula, a handful of minutes from the tourist centre, and findings exhibited at Patroni Museum. Go snorkelling and admire Roman roads and remains in the bottom of the isthmus, at Punta del Coltellazzo, dominated by a 16th-century tower.
Almost all evidence of Phoenician-Punic times were covered by Roman edifications. Excavations began in 1889, when a coastal storm revealed a Phoenician-Punic cemetery (tophet), bringing to light the remains of the Temple of Tanit, a Carthaginian goddess, and the Nora Stone, in the Museo Archeologico di Cagliari (National Archaeological Museum). On the stele, the most ancient document of the Western world, the name Shrdn, Sardinia, appears for the first time. The tophet sits near the Romanesque little church, the place of martyrdom of the warrior saint remembered every year during Sagra di Sant’Efisio, of whom the Pula population is particularly devout.
At the entrance to the park, you will find remains of the thermal baths that made Nora famous. Take the cobbled streets to enter the heart of the ancient city: Piazza del Foro. Nearby there is a temple with a six-column entrance hall (pronao), while to the north you will find the necropolis and the aqueduct. On the coast, you will come across a nobleman’s house, the house of tetrastyle atrium from the 3rd century AC, with a four-column portico and rooms lined with mosaics (do not miss “Nereid on a marine centaur”). Keep walking and you will see its main attraction, the amphitheatre: originally lined with marble, it had twenty terraces and could seat one thousand people. Today it hosts the La Notte dei Poeti festival. To the south, Aesculapius’s sanctuary, with a mosaic-lined terraced from the 4th century: perhaps the set of the incubation rituals, to ask the gods for remedies. It is the last greatest building: Nora began to decline in the 5th century.



Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Pula, Pula, Province of Cagliari, Sardinia

You will also visit the nearby town of Pula. A hidden gem in the southern Sardinia, with charming alleys and patrician homes. You can browse your perfect souvenir here, there are many craft shops and if times allow maybe you can enter one of their traditional restaurants. Here and throughout this incredible experience, your guide will strive to make your time as personalized as possible.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Chia, Chia, Domus de Maria, Province of Cagliari, Sardinia

Your local guide will be keen to make the tour as personal as possible. He will assist you with his expertise and recall interesting anecdotes for you before driving you back to your hotel.

Duration: 20 minutes