BOTTIDDA

Bottidda is a town located in the central-northern part of Sardinia, and more precisely in the region known as “Goceano”. Like other territories in the same geographical region, the territory of Bottidda also appears as a long and narrow strip of land that extends transversally from north-west to south-east.

Bottidda has a predominantly mountainous territory with numerous reliefs that exceed 700 meters above sea level. These altitudes are found above all in the north-west border with the territory of Bonorva. An irregular and jagged border that follows the contour lines of the reliefs present on the border itself.

From the north-east to the south-east end is the long border that Bottidda shares with the territory of Bono. From the northernmost part the altitude gradually begins to increase, first meeting the forest of “Mount Pisanu”, which falls within the municipalities of Bottidda and Bono, and reaching its peak in the central part of the territory of Bottidda, where it exceeds 1190 meters above sea level on a hill on the border with Bono near “Mount Rasu”.

More than a single mountain, the latter is a mountain range, which starting from the territory of Bono extends to a lesser extent also in that of Bottidda, where there is the first Franciscan convent built on the island around 1220, chronologically second only to that of Assisi, and now falling within the “Tenuta Monte Rasu” belonging to the Giannasi’s family since the end of the 19th century. Woods of downy oaks, holm oaks, cork oaks, chestnut trees, yews, wild olive trees, coniferous species, and other endemic species offer home and shelter to the numerous wild animals and bird species that populate these places.

From this mountain range, the altitude of the territory begins to decrease until it meets another relief, “Mount Sa Corona”, with the homonymous nuraghe on the top, on the slopes of which the town of Bottidda was built.

The southeastern portion of the territory is the one with the lower altitudes, of which the lowest point is about 200 meters above sea level, and is characterized by vast plains, fertile lands and waterways, many of which flow into the most important river in the entire area, the Tirso.

Bottidda also borders to the south-east with Orotelli, a municipality in the province of Nuoro, and from here, going up from the south-west we find the border with Illorai first and with Esporlatu later, a little further north.

From the Tirso river towards the north-west, the territory of Bottidda shares the long border with Burgos, until it finds a very short stretch of border with Illorai in the north-west part of the territory.

The current town developed on both sides of the state road 128 bis, also called via Regina Elena, which leads to Bono in a northerly direction and connects to the state road 129 to the south. Squares and parks alternate with modern residential buildings, many of which have gardens, in a very well-organized road network.

All public services are present, starting with schools, the bank and the post office, a football pitch and a tennis court, the pharmacy, as well as catering and overnight accommodation facilities.

Several murals embellish the town of Bottidda.

The name “Gocille” given by the Greeks presumably dates back to the 6th century BC and remained so at least until the end of the 14th century, as demonstrated in some documents dating back to the time of Eleonora d’Arborea.

The spelling then changed as it also happened for other Sardinian toponyms, in which the “B” took the place of the “G”, with Gocille becoming Bocille, and with the double Ls gradually changing into double Ds, such as the same word “villa” (village) which became “vidda”/”bidda”.

The economy of Bottidda is based above all on the transformation of local products. Wine production, which flourished in the past, is now more limited, and the use of the land is preferred mostly for livestock farming, especially dairy sheep, from which excellent cheeses are produced.

The breeding of cattle and pigs for meat is quite important, as is the construction and service manufacturing sector.

The tourism sector includes some accommodation facilities that provide catering and overnight accommodation.

The parish church of Bottidda is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary and is located in the south-west part of the town. The current building was built around 1860 after the demolition, and on the same plan, of a pre-existing church dating back to the 15th century.

The façade is divided in height into two orders separated by a cornice, of which the lower part is larger and has more aesthetic details, with two semi-columns that frame the architraved door surmounted by an arch and two horizontal mouldings that follow the entire width of the façade.

The upper portion is stylistically simpler, embellished by another arch in a position above that of the door.

The gabled façade culminates with a double-pitched roof that ends near the internal central nave, outlined with two projections that trace the entire height of the façade itself.

The bell tower is located behind the left of the facade, it has a square plan and is also divided into orders of height, which in this case are four, each delimited by a horizontal frame and culminates with a pinnacle.

The interior has a central nave with a barrel vault, has three bays, on the sides of which there are three arches per side that delimit the two smaller lateral naves that house various altars, niches, paintings and crucifixes.

On the eastern outskirts of the town stands the church of “Santa Maria degli Angeli”, which in Bottidda is also known as the church of “Sant’Antonio”, where the celebrations for this Saint take place. Its construction dates back to the beginning of the 17th century and originally also included a monastery. It was the Franciscan friars, already present at the convent in “Mount Rasu” at over 900 meters above sea level, who built these buildings in search of better living conditions in the coldest periods of the year.

The church is built in exposed stone with a facade in trachyte blocks. The architraved door has two half-columns on the sides and is surmounted by a stone tympanum, above which a small rectangular window allows light to enter the sanctuary. The upper tympanum is plastered and painted.

On the right side of the facade there is the double bell gable, also built in exposed stone blocks but in granite, and its height does not exceed that of the church itself.

The interior consists of a single nave with a double-pitched wooden roof supported by arches and pillars that divide the nave into four bays.

About 9 km from the town in a north-westerly direction stands the Franciscan convent of “Mount Rasu”, built around 1220 and considered the first convent of the Franciscan Order in Sardinia, which gave home to the friars until the mid-19th century.

The complex is made up of structures that join together in a square around a central garden and includes the church and the convent structures. The church has a very simple aesthetic gabled façade, plastered and painted with only the main door that breaks the continuity of the walls, and which leads to the interior where you can see a single central nave divided by arches into three bays. The roof is made of wood with two slopes, the internal walls are completely painted and decorated, and the large marble altar houses the statue of Saint Francis in the centre.

The territory of Bottidda is rich in archaeological sites that date back to the Nuragic age, in fact there are about 25 nuraghi and a tomb of the giants. Among the best preserved we find the nuraghi “Arvas”, “Presone”, “Sa Corona”, “Sa Tanca noa”, “S’Orculana”, while others can be seen the remains that recall the thousand-year-old past of these territories.