In Italy’s oldest geological area, dating back some 600 million years, history has left indelible traces related to the island’s earliest people and the trade of the peoples who crossed the Mediterranean for their trades. Indeed, this is the part of Sardinia in which there are the greatest number of ports of call and cities founded by the Phoenicians and Carthaginians. The innumerable mineral resources and unrepeatable locations favorable to the docking of ships determined the great development of the area, which still reveals, through important archaeological sites, a complex series of events.

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Experiences

In the sheer cliffs overlooking the sea, in the large desert systems characterized by living dunes, and in the woods and forests that cover the entire Sulcis Park, it is easy to come across numerous wildlife species that now live only in a few areas of the Mediterranean. The wild landscapes make it possible to fully enjoy ncontaminated nature and to practice all kinds of sports and outdoor activities. Enthusiasts of trekking, bicycle touring, mountain biking, bird watching, and climbing will find endless possibilities in the Southwest for an active vacation to be enjoyed at any time of the year.

Phoenician colonization made Nora an important trading center with three harbors, parts of whose structures are still visible. Excavations have returned the ruins of some important records of the Roman city in its heyday: a theater, impressive baths and paved streets with an efficient sewage system. Among the many artifacts found at Nora is the stele of the same name (9th-8th cent. BCE) in which the name Sardinia appears in Phoenician for the first time: B Shrdn.

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