History and Monuments
The Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Oristano, with its large 15th-century octagonal bell tower, was built in Gothic forms upon more ancient foundations around 1228 by Lombard artists, by the will of Judge Mariano and Archbishop Torchitorio. At the beginning of the 18th century it was rebuilt following the looting suffered at the hands of the French army, so that the original style was lost forever. The only surviving part of the 13th-century temple is the Chapel of the Remedy, in Gothic style, with a groin vault with jewel pattern decoration. The present Cathedral (Duomo), built according to the in the rules of an elegant Piedmontese baroque style in the years 1729 through 1745, houses a chapel with the relics of Saint Archelaus, patron of the city and of the diocese.
The boundary walls
The ancient city, surrounded with walls and towers at the end of the 13th century by the Judge Mariano II d'Arborea, whose remains are visible in the heart of the city, has been for decades the symbol of the struggle against the Aragonese-Catalan conquest of the island. In the second half of the 14th century, the capital and the Courts of Arbore enjoyed a happy moment in which it reached the climax of its political and cultural splendour. Of the original boundary walls, which had a perimeter of more than 2 km, very few parts have been preserved, but they are still useful for providing data on the original impressiveness and characteristics of the entire building.
Tower of Mariano II
The tower is undoubtedly the most significant element among the few remaining portions of the city walls. It once included the opening of the northern city gate, connected to the road, already known in Roman times but certainly still in use in the Middle Ages, which led to the north of the island. Originally attached to the boundary walls, as can still be seen in the lower portion, where the connection blocks are still visible, today it stands isolated in the centre of the square (Piazza Roma).
Basilica del Rimedio (Basilica of Our Lady of Remedy)
The Shrine of Our Lady of Remedy is the surviving parish church of Nuracraba, a small village probably built in mediaeval times and disappeared on account of floods and plagues around 1730. Among the main subsequent restoration works that transformed the ancient building, the most noteworthy is the construction, in 1903, of the old bell tower, which stood in the centre of the area now occupied by the current right nave. In the 1920s, extensive works led to the radical alteration of the main prospect, replacing the facade characterized by 19th-century classical lines with the current one, inspired by Lombard architectural forms. In the 1930s, the previously mentioned restoration was followed by the construction of the octagonal cupola overhanging the Shrine. Around 1940, the bell tower built in 1903 was pulled down in order to free the right nave with the aim of building the central chapel. Only at a later time, in the years 1945-49, the new bell tower was built on the left side of the Shrine facade.
Tharros
Tharros (called in Latin Tarrae, and in ancient Greek Thàrras, Θ?ρρας) is an archaeological site in the province of Oristano, located in the municipality of Cabras, Sardinia.
The city of Tharros, located at the southern end of the Sinis Peninsula, was founded at the end of the 8th century B.C. or in the 7th century by Phoenician people in an area already inhabited in the Nuragic Age.
The arrival of the Phoenicians and the foundation of the city coincided with a moment of extraordinary colonial activity by the Levantines throughout the Mediterranean basin.
Since then, two necropolises started to be in use at the same time, located a few kilometres away from one another, namely: the most famous one, located on Cape St. Marco, and the other, which has never been systematically investigated, which is today located within the modern village of S. Giovanni di Sinis.
Archaeological site of Mont'e Prama
The necropolis of Mont'e Prama lies at the foot of the homonymous hill, at a distance of about 2 km from the pond of Cabras, along the road that leads from San Salvatore to Riola Sardo. The discovery of this site took was made accidentally in March 1974 by some peasants while carrying out their farm work.
The 28 statues so far identified, all of which are fragmentary, represent 16 boxers, 5 archers and 5 warriors.
On the basis of the more recent studies on the Nuragic civilization, it is believed that the necropolis of Mont'e Prama may have been the burial space reserved for a family group dominant in the Nuragic society of the Early Iron Age.
