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Sardegna

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Vivere la campagna

Plains and hills

Sunset on the Giara

The province hinterland is marked by hills and plains in Marmilla and by the extensive plains of Campidano of Serrenti, Serramanna and Samassi. These lands have always been known and farmed thanks to the fertility and productivity of their soils. Since the age of the Phoenicians and, later, of the Romans, the area has been exploited for cereal, leguminous and vegetable cultures, besides vineyards and, partly, olive tree culture.
The regular pattern of flat lands alternates with hilly grounds composed by mammillary rises (knolls), originated by erosion processes on Recent Miocene formations; interestingly, the area was named after its characteristic hills.
The continuity of interchanged hills and plains is broken by an environment that is unique in Sardinia: the Giara (or better, Giare) of Gesturi, Collinas, Siddi, Setzu, Tuili.
The plateau represents a really autonomous ecosystem, hosting a distinctive vegetation and fauna, including the small Giara horses.

  • Bird’s-eye view over the Giara The Giara of Gesturi
     This worldwide known plateau owes its fame to the ‘small horses of Giara’, an autochtonous Sardinian breed, resulting from a crossbreeding between a horse and a pony; they can reach 1.20 m at the withers. The small horses live in the wild state, perfectly integrated in their environment...
  • Detail on the trunk of a century-old olive tree of Molinu Turri, century-old olive trees of Molinu
     In the locality of Molinu, at the entrance of the village of Turri, about 200 century-old olive trees are gathered in two hectares of land. What makes this olive grove special is that each plant has got a different owner, who marks his/her own tree with the initials of his/her name every year...