Holiday in Sardinia: walking in the "City of Stone", Tempio Pausania

Holiday in Sardinia is in Tempio Pausania. A city surrounded by greenery, with a city centre historic made of stone, rich in history and traditions. Tempio Pausania is located in the heart of Gallura, in the north of Sardinia, at the foot of Mount Limbara, just 30 km from the famous resorts of the coast with the emerald sea and the enchanting white beaches.

The ancient, majestic and prestigious buildings with wrought iron balconies and the peculiar granite floors that have given it the name of “Stone City” characterize the city.
The picturesque old town is the ideal place for walks combining the ancient and the modern in a perfect union, with the opportunity to choose between religious, archaeological or naturalistic itineraries.

The most part of the city centre wide area, has been obtained from the cloister and church of the Capuchin nuns convent, founded in the seventeenth century and demolished in the mid-nineteenth century to the construction of the Town Hall and Piazza Gallura, on whose surface has recently been reproduced, in satin, the plan of ancient little church.
Piazza Gallura overlooks the former Episcopal Seminary, previously palace of the Marquis Pes di Villamarina, the most notable of which, Don Giacomo, was viceroy of Sardinia 1816-1818. Following recent excavations of Piazza Gallura, next to the cemetery of the old convent, were unearthed the circular remains of a prehistoric village. This evidence, along with the one of the historian Angius, remembered the presence of an original Nuragic acropolis, disappeared after the Roman invasion representing the historical nucleus of the town (Rione di "lu Nuracu").

A real gem of granite is Piazza San Pietro, which overlooks the most important monumental complex of the town: the Cattedrale di San Pietro Apostolo (Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle) with its fifteenth century bell tower, and the two oratory of the Rosario and Santa Croce, built in Christian times. Reopened in 2001, the restored, elegant Teatro del Carmine (Carmine theatre) is another pride of the town.

Piazza Faber (Faber square) in Tempio Pausania

Surrounded by eighteenth century buildings piazza Faber in Tempio Pausania is dedicated to the Genovese singer-songwriter Fabrizio De Andrè.
It stands out from the old town because of the installation designed by the architect Renzo Piano, a close friend of Fabrizio De André.

Together with the Alvisi Kirimoto studio it has been realised a coloured web that catches the sunlight and gives brilliance to the granite. A mesh made of steel cables shapes 12 fabric triangles of different dimensions and colours. These triangles roll up around motorised rolls with a mechanism similar to the one of nautical sails. A light and changeable game made of coloured “sails” that do not touch the square, but shade it and colour it.

Renzo Piano’s inscription reveals the personality and the creativity of the singer-songwriter: the coloured sails of Genoa’s boats, that also represent Fabrizio’s love for the sea, stand out lightly in the sky, while at night they close to turn into 12 Faber-Castell coloured pencils, De André’s favourite.

Holiday in Sardinia: a journey through the "History" between dolmen, nuraghi and giants' tombs in Tempio Pausania

In Tempio Pausania there are numerous historical, architectural and artistic interesting areas, reachable on foot through the picturesque avenues of the town paved in the typical granite slabs, such as:
the "House of Nino di Gallura", located in the homonymous street, is an important testimony of the medieval architecture of the city; the Convent of the Scolopi, a seventeenth-century building, which still preserves its impressive structure; today it houses the Municipal Library "Giovanni Maria Dettori.The Bernardo De Muro Museum dedicated to the international tenor, great interpreter of the Lyric Song.

Tempio Pausania is also home of monuments that are symbols of Sardinia, the "nuraghi", fascinating evidences of one of the most ancient and mysterious civilizations of which we have knowledge. One of the most interesting examples, located in a beautiful natural setting, is the Nuraghe Majori, just 2 km from Tempio. 

Edited by
Graziella Marchi

In the province of Sassari, at 50 km from Olbia and 70 km from Sassari, for the Summer Tempiese 2019, Tempio Pausania, offers all visitors and tourists a huge variety of cultural, sports, food, and entertainment events.

"We are waiting for you!"

SPAZIO FABER E CEDAP:

NEW SUMMER OPENING TIME
ALL DAYS  9:30 – 13:30 / 15:30 – 19:30

Tel. +39 079 6390080    
e-mail: turismo@comunetempio.it