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TEN THINGS YOU SHOULDN’T MISS
Nora stands at the feet of a headland overlooked by a Spanish sixteenth-century tower. It was a Phoenician town and then a Punic-Roman one (VIIIth century B.C.- VIIIth A.D.): Nora had been flourishing for about 1500 years. Carthaginians and then the Romans succeeded the Phoenicians. Nora had been an important commercial port of call for centuries: it stood in the centre of the routes which connected the greatest ports of Mediterranean Sea.
There are many buildings which bear witness to the Punic age: quarters, houses and sanctuaries such as the Temple dedicated to the goddess Tanit; there is also a partially preserved necropolis.
Remains of the Roman town, dating back to the Imperial age only, are still visible nowadays: there are thermal buildings with mosaics, the forum, a magnificent theatre, a market, temples, houses and grand underground pipes. You shouldn’t miss it!
Sighting towers stand along the coast-line of Pula, as along all the other coasts of the island: there are also sighting towers built by Spanish to avoid barbarian incursions. Here are some of them:
>the tower of Coltellazzo: on the promontory at the end of the Nora bay. It offers a wonderful sight of the coast-line;
>the tower of San Macario: on the homonymous small island, in front of the coastal strip overlooked by the hill of Santa Vittoria;
>the tower if Cala d’Ostia: interesting for its beautiful battlements, a good place to enjoy the landscape too.
We inform you about the festival of “The night of Poets”: a series of top-level prose and music shows: they take place in the magnificent setting of the archaeological site of Nora in July and August.
In the town there are several “case a corte” in the typical campidanese style. There are also some precious buildings: the neo-classical church of S.Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist)- a sarcophagus dating back to the early Christian period is preserved inside it; the eighteenth-century chapel of S. Raimondo; the villa of S. Maria, which was a rich patrician nineteenth-century residence, designed by Cima. Moreover, you can admire the evocative archaeological remains of Nora, the small church of S. Efisio, the menhirs of S’Abuleu and the beautiful square of “Piazza del Popolo”, which is permanently equipped with a stand for concerts and entertainment, enlivening the nights of Pula.
Lovers of marine environment shouldn’t miss the Padiglione Documentazione Cetacei (Pavilion of documentation of Cetaceans) and the Aquarium “Laguna di Nora”, which is inhabited by several species of fish, living in local waters.
You can sail the pond by canoe and observe the rich avifauna.
Not far from the town and towards the sea you will find the hill of Santa Vittoria: you can walk following paths through the Mediterranean plants; there are many turrets and well camouflaged military structures dating back to WWII.
It is an excellent place for those who love trekking and flora and fauna observation: paths start approx. three kilometres from the golf courses of Is Molas. Leave your car there and move along the water course among fords and small falls: it leads to Dispensa Tonietti (a mountain hut and refreshment place); you can also take the more difficult path, which shortly leads to the Fall on the Rio Montixeddu.
This nuraghe is not far from the village of Santa Margherita; it overlooks the plain and the sea and is in an excellent state of preservation.
You can reach it going along the National Road from Pula to Teulada. Turn at km 35.200 and leave your car after one or two km. Take a path leading directly to the monument for about 300 m.
Take the ss 195, you will reach Cagliari in 45 minutes. It is worthwhile spending the night there: Cagliari is a town rich in history, monuments and attractions.