BONNANARO

The town of Bonnanaro is located in the north-western part of Sardinia, in the Logudoro region, about 35 km from the provincial capital Sassari, and easily reachable since it is less than 2 km from the state road 131, the main artery of the island. The territory is predominantly hilly and the town was built on the south-eastern slopes of the “Monte Pelao” plateau, a massif that extends for several kilometres in length and that seems to have the function of protecting the town especially from the winds coming from the north-west, which are the most common in Sardinia.

The rocky wall that overlooks the Mount Pelao plateau for its entire length marks the western border with the territories of Siligo and Bessude. For a short stretch to the west, Bonnanaro also borders Borutta, and it is precisely between Borutta, Bessude and Bonnanaro that we can find the highest altimetric point of the territory, at about 670 metres above sea level, called “Sa Rocca ’e sa Niera”. This name derives from the functions that that particular rock formation had in the past, namely to conserve the snow (“nie” in Sardinian) that fell in winter so that it could be used until the following summer.

The territorial border with Siligo extends from the northwest across the entire northern portion of the territory, and precisely to the slopes of Mount Santo up to a place called “Malafar/Malavarre”. At least two hypotheses can be cited for the name of this place. The first is linked to the orography and therefore “Mala” (bad) and “varre” (valley) meaning the bad, steep, impervious valley itself. The second hypothesis is much more curious and would derive the name “Malafar” from the sardinian words “Mal – affare” (bad deal), referring to the bad deal made by travellers who found themselves passing through these areas, near today’s state road 131, due to the banditry phenomena favored by the nature of those impervious and isolated places.

The territorial border with Siligo extends from the north-west across the entire northern portion of the territory, and precisely from a place called “Malafar” to the slopes of “Monte Santo”. The name of the curious place “Malafar” derives from “mal affari” (“bad affairs” on italian), referring to the bad deal that travellers who found themselves passing through these areas, near today’s state road 131, made due to the banditry phenomena encouraged by the nature of those inaccessible and isolated places. If you observe the territory of Bonnanaro from the state road 131, you can see how the western ridge of Mount Pelao slopes down to the lowest point, which is precisely the Carlo Felice state road, and then rises again towards the east to the highest point, constituted by Mount Santo, forming a sort of valley which is nothing more than the result of the erosion, which occurred over time, of the surface between these two mountains once joined together.

If the western portion of Bonnanaro is characterized by tall forests and Mediterranean scrub, on the other hand, the eastern part is flatter and more suitable for cultivation, it is no coincidence that a vast territorial region is called “Su Campu” (the field), and it is there that fruit tree crops thrive, including vineyards, cherry orchards and olive groves, which have always given fame and prestige to the town.

The eastern border is entirely with the territory of Mores, while the southern one is totally with Torralba.

If we look at the town of Bonnanaro from above we immediately notice what the original residential nucleus was, with narrow and winding streets, sometimes paved, and with all the services once used by the community, such as the public fountain and the ancient wash house.

In the western part there are still traces of ancient noble palaces dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, some not in good condition, and other buildings better preserved, such as the “Palazzo Passino” built in the 19th century.

The expansion of the town towards the east, even up to the slopes of “Monte Arana”, occurred during the last century with more regular residential systems and road networks, typical of more recent configurations. Today the most important roads in the town are those connecting with other municipalities, such as Torralba and Borutta, and towards the state road 131.

The town offers all the essential services, such as schools, supermarkets, a bank and post office, a petrol station, sports facilities and spaces for social and cultural aggregation.

An interesting theory on the origin of the name Bonnanaro is the one that links it to a perennial herb called in Sardinian “Erba Bunnaneru”, and which in botany is the Teucrium chamaedrys. The reasons why this plant is called this way in Sardinian are not clear, given that it is not an endemic species of the territory of Bonnanaro and is not even widespread enough to influence the choice of the name of a town, but is instead present throughout the regional territory and also in a good part of the national lands.

A more consistent theory instead is that the original name was “Gonar”, which then became “Gonnannor”, ​​made up of the root “Gonn-”, which in Greek means “hill”, and the suffix “-annor”, ​​which as can be found in other places in Sardinia, simply means “human settlement”, thus giving the ancient name “Gonnannor” the meaning of human settlement on a hill.

The economy of the town of Bonnanaro is mainly based on agriculture and to a lesser extent on livestock farming. The fertility and characteristics of the soil, together with its microclimates, allow the cultivation of a variety of cherry that is pink in colour and not very large in size, with a taste that is not extremely sweet, but just the right amount of sour, known throughout Sardinia as the Bonnanaro cherry. For over thirty years, at the beginning of June, the cherry fair has been held, attracting visitors from all over the island who can taste not only this fruit, but also another specialty of the area, its wines.

Bonnanaro can boast of having been recognized as both a city of wine and a city of cherries. The particularity of its soils, mostly sandy, but also volcanic and calcareous, give the wine characteristics that are highly appreciated, both today and in the past, so much so that until a few decades ago in Bonnanaro there was an active social winery to which small and large winemakers delivered their grapes for their transformation and trade throughout the region. If you consider that not long ago this winery was supplied with grapes whose production reached an area of ​​500 hectares of extension, you have an idea of ​​the importance that the social winery had for the economy of the town.

Olive growing is also very active in the town, and there is also an oil mill that provides an excellent service to the community, as it allows the olives to be milled freshly picked from the tree, thus obtaining an oil of the highest quality. Always linked to agriculture, even if less widespread today, is another typical product, the white onion of Bonnanaro.

The town’s economy is also fuelled by the transport and trade sectors, with retailers of building materials, for agriculture, a leather processing centre, an equestrian centre, personal care centres, catering and overnight stay activities.

The parish church of Bonnanaro is dedicated to San Giorgio, located in the centre of the town, facing the main square. The building dates back to the 16th century although it has undergone several renovations especially between the 19th and 20th centuries which have given us the neoclassical style church that we see today. The façade in the lower part has four semi-columns, two on each side, with the enormous arched door in the centre, and in the upper part other decorative elements, including a crescent-shaped window, and the frame of the tympanum which also serves as a cornice for the gabled roof. The bell tower on the right has a square section. Inside, the church has a single nave divided by arches into three bays, with three chapels on each side, and a vaulted roof in exposed stone.

In the western part of the town stands the church of Santa Croce, home to the brotherhood of the same name, dating back to the early 17th century, and also renovated in the 19th century. It overlooks a small cobblestone square and has a fairly simple structure with a square door surmounted by a tympanum that frames the entire gabled roof, and a small crescent-shaped window. On the outside you can see the buttresses and a small bell gable, while inside there is a single nave with two small side chapels. The finely decorated marble altar dates back to the 18th century.

A few hundred meters from the town centre in a westerly direction, along Via Santa Maria, there are two churches, the first is Santa Maria Iscalas, and a little further on is the church of Santa Barbara.

The church of Santa Maria Iscalas dates back to the 17th century, rebuilt following collapses on a structure from the beginning of the century, it is located on the site of a pre-existing medieval church. Externally it has an exposed stone structure, a façade with four columns and decorated capitals, a tympanum and a frame underneath also finely decorated that frame the square entrance door. In the upper part of the façade there is a rectangular window, while on the side walls you can see the buttresses that strengthen the internal arches that divide the single central nave into bays. The church has been the subject of recent renovations and excavations inside it, during which traces of the existence of a medieval church and structures that could have been basins or burials came to light, especially in the presbytery.

About 400 meters away we can find the church of Santa Barbara, dating back to the end of the 17th century, it has been renovated in recent times and today it is plastered in a modern style. It is a small and modest sanctuary with a rectangular plan that has its entrance in the side wall.

About 2 km from the town centre there are the remains of the church of San Basilio. A building that dates back to the 18th century built on the foundations of an older church that must have been the parish church of the village of “Nieddu” disappeared in the 16th century, and which today gives its name to that portion of the territory and to the nearby nuraghe. The structure of the church in exposed basalt blocks is now in a state of ruin, with the roof collapsed in several parts, the perimeter walls and the facade with the arched entrance remain.

About 1 km from the town centre in an easterly direction along via Monte Arana you reach the church built at the foot of the mountain of the same name, dedicated to the “Madonna delle Grazie”. It was built in the 18th century in exposed stone and is characterized by motifs with ogival shapes not only in the entrances but also repeated in the window and in the small bell gable. The interior has a rectangular plan with two rooms, in which both the altar and the crucifix and the roof are made of wood. Adjacent to the church there is a beautiful external square and a large hall, once used to host the faithful who went on pilgrimage to the sanctuary, today it mainly has a function of social aggregation for the devotees who go to the church for the celebrations in honour of the Virgin on 8 September.

The importance of the archaeological finds made in the area was such that it even gave a certain historical era the name of Bonnanaro Culture. They are mainly finds found in the domus de Janas of “Corona Moltana”, a necropolis composed of five tombs of a rather simple structure but with votive elements inside that testify to the sepulchral rites accompanying the deceased to the afterlife. Several human bones were actually found in some excavation campaigns.

The immediately following age, that is the Nuragic one, gives us a significant number of nuraghi in proportion to the extension of the territory, in fact there are about twenty of them, of which the majority are single-tower nuraghi, but there are also complex nuraghi, and some with the remains of the surrounding villages. The territory was also frequented in the following ages, the Punic and the Roman one, and of the latter there was a discovery of what must have been a post and rest station for journeys at the point where the main road of Sardinia, that linked, and still links, Cagliari to Porto Torres, branched off towards Olbia.