Genna Maria — from the Latin Iānŭa (gate) and Maris (sea): Gateway to the Sea.
A name that reveals the reason why, 3,500 years ago, this imposing Nuragic complex was built right here.
After all, if the primary purpose of a fortress is to protect the land from potential external attacks, what better location could there be than a hill rising over 400 meters, with views southward toward Cagliari and westward over the Oristano coast?
Once the perfect strategic point had been chosen, all that remained was to assemble a handful of gigantic basalt monoliths — and the job was done.
Upon completion, the nuraghe featured a main tower 10 meters high, connected by a massive bastion to three other impressive towers. At its center lay a courtyard, complete with a well partly carved into the rock — both functional and strikingly beautiful.
In the centuries that followed, a large defensive wall with six towers was added, enclosing the village built both inside and outside its perimeter.
Today, this ancient archaeological site, nestled within a fragrant grove, still preserves all the majesty of the fortress it once was, offering visitors evocative guided tours both through its own ruins and at the Genna Maria Archaeological Museum in Villanovaforru.
Here, countless relics and treasures uncovered during excavations are on display — hundreds of lanterns, millstones, coins, jugs, and vases — each one carrying a fragment of history from this extraordinary place.
