CHEREMULE

At the foot of the pine forest of “Mount Cuccuruddu” and about 2 km away from Thiesi is the town of Cheremule. Mount Cuccuruddu, that overlooks the town to the west, is an ancient extinct volcano, and over the years it was precisely its solidified lava that allowed the construction of the nuraghes that are numerous in the valley below, specifically called the valley of the nuraghes.

In more recent years, about halfway through the 20th century, a part of Mount Cuccuruddu was the subject of quarrying activities to obtain the so-called “Cheremulite”, named after the town, that is a type of lava stone unique in its kind, due to its characteristics. The other side of the mountain is home to a lush pine forest with a beautiful nature trail and a science park. Downstream, bordering the state road 131 bis, is the forest of “Su Tippiri”, characterized by the presence of oaks, in particular, downy oaks and holm oaks, and a thick undergrowth that extends for about 250 hectares. Cheremule borders Torralba to the east, Giave to the south, Thiesi and Borutta to the north, and the town of Romana to the west.

The town center and the main square are home to the Town Hall and the church of San Gabriele Arcangelo, built around 1500 in an Aragonese Gothic style. The historic center is embellished with several murals depicting daily activities, traditional crafts, but above all the town’s centenarians. Cheremule in fact has a very high density of centenarians based on the number of inhabitants.

There are two theories about the birth of the name Cheremule. One is related to the discovery in Cheremule of several hand mills, which then go on to form a whole word composed of “Kejros” (hand) and “mulé” (mill). A second theory, to be traced back to the characteristics of the territory, has its Phoenician origin in the word “Cherem-el”, which means “vineyard of God”, seen as an ideal place for the cultivation of vines. In the Middle Ages it was also called in different ways, but the first attestation of the current name is found around 1340.

The economy of the town is based on sheep farming and agriculture, especially vines and olives, which, thanks to the morphology and composition of the soil, allow for the production of excellent products.

The main church of Cheremule is that of San Gabriele Arcangelo, built at the beginning of the sixteenth century in Aragonese Gothic style. On the outside it has a rose window with a glass depicting the Annunciation, while inside there is a central nave built in a barrel vault with four side chapels. A second church, less important than this, is the church of Santa Croce.

Cheremule’s archaeology finds its maximum expression outside the town center, about 2 km from it. The “petroglyph park”, the domus de Janas, the nuraghes and the necropolises are all evidence of human presence in the area in the prehistoric period. The necropolis of “Tennero” is made up of nine tombs and is perhaps the best known, both for the presence of the “Tomba Branca”, and for the engravings found on the rock that represent figures that have more or less human features, stylised, with a circle to indicate the head and lines to indicate the parts of the body, the so-called petroglyphs, which date back to the third millennium BC. The necropolis of “Museddu” consists of 18 domus de Janas, to which is added the “Tomba della Cava”, which takes its name from the quarrying activity carried out near this tomb in the Roman era. Finally, there are the necropolis of “Mattarigotza”, with the best known “Tomba di Sa Colondra”.

The nuraghes are also present throughout the territory of Cheremule. Worthy of note is the nuraghe “Maiore”, recently restored and therefore in an excellent state of conservation. It is in a sort of detachment of the territory of Cheremule inserted within the territory of Thiesi. In the archaeological area of Cheremule there are numerous springs and fountains from which water flows during all periods of the year.

Mount Cuccuruddu, already mentioned above, is part, together with “Mount Oes” in Torralba, “Mount Lisiri” in Ittireddu and “Mount Cujaru” in Bonorva, of the group of small conical volcanic buildings in the region of Logudoro.