Cagliari and South-East · Città metropolitana di Cagliari

Things to do in Villaspeciosa

Things to do in Villaspeciosa, Sardinia: Romanesque San Platano church, the San Cromazio mosaic, Nuragic sites, August feast and day trips.

Villaspeciosa, Sardegna — © Pampuco · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Villaspeciosa is a small farming village in southern Sardinia, about 20 km from Cagliari, where the Campidano plain meets the hills of the Sulcis-Iglesiente. Few visitors know it, yet it holds two treasures: the Romanesque church of San Platano and the archaeological site of San Cromazio, home to the largest late-antique mosaic in Sardinia. It's a great stop if you love archaeology and Romanesque churches, or if you want a quiet base close to Cagliari and the mountains of the south-west.

What to see in Villaspeciosa

Church of San Platano

The church stands in a town park on a stone forecourt. It was built in the 12th century by Victorine monks from Marseille and keeps its original Romanesque layout: two barrel-vaulted naves and semicircular apses, a design found elsewhere in Sardinia only at Santa Maria di Sibiola in Serdiana. The façade is a patchwork of white, grey and bluish stone (marble, tuff and trachyte), partly reused from the ruins of San Cromazio.

San Cromazio archaeological area

Discovered in the 1970s, this was a small Roman imperial settlement with a bath complex, probably a stop on the road from Cagliari to the Sulcis. In the 4th century a Christian place of worship was built here, decorated with a huge polychrome mosaic of about 160 square metres. People lived here until the 6th century, then moved to where the village stands today.

Parish church of the Beata Vergine Assunta

Built in the late 16th century, it's the heart of the village, surrounded by traditional courtyard houses. Inside, locals venerate the so-called Crocifisso doloroso (Sorrowful Crucifix).

Nuragic sites

In the countryside to the west, near the nuraghe of Monte Silixianu, the Mitza Cuccureddus complex includes huts, a rectangular building and a sacred spring enclosed by megalithic walls, all set among holm oaks and Mediterranean scrub.

Things to do in Villaspeciosa

Villaspeciosa is best enjoyed slowly: stroll between San Platano and the old centre, visit San Cromazio, then walk or cycle through the hills towards the Cixerri valley. The trails of Monte Arcosu and the Gutturu Mannu park, perfect for hiking and wildlife spotting, are a short drive away. Browse the experiences offered by local operators just below to plan your day.

History

The area was already inhabited in the Nuragic age, as nuraghi and settlements such as Bidda Itzu show. Punic and Roman peoples followed, leaving necropolises and the San Cromazio settlement. In the Middle Ages the village belonged to the Giudicato (medieval kingdom) of Cagliari; after 1258 it passed to the Pisan Della Gherardesca family and from 1324 to the Crown of Aragon. It later became part of the barony of Monastir, until feudalism was abolished in 1839.

Food and local products

Try sa fregua groga, Sardinian fregola pasta with saffron. Local cooking relies on semolina, bean and legume soups and wild greens such as asparagus, cardoons and mushrooms. The area's wines include nuragus and monica.

Festivals and traditions

The most heartfelt celebration is the feast of San Platano in August: the procession moves to the sound of goccius (sacred hymns in Sardinian) and launeddas, the ancient Sardinian reed pipes. It goes hand in hand with the sagra de s'abiu, a festival dedicated to the alder tree.

Nearby

Uta: the Romanesque church of Santa Maria, a few minutes away.
Decimoputzu: the church of San Giorgio and the "warriors' tomb".
San Sperate: the village of murals and Pinuccio Sciola's Sound Garden.
Monte Arcosu: a nature reserve famous for the Sardinian red deer.
Villasor: the 15th-century castle of the Alagon family.

Getting there and when to go

Cagliari-Elmas airport and the port of Cagliari are about 20-25 minutes away by car. The village is reached via the SS 130 Cagliari-Iglesias road, and Villaspeciosa-Uta station is on the railway to Iglesias and Carbonia. Spring and autumn are best for archaeology and hiking; come in August for the feast of San Platano.