MARA

The town of Mara is located in northwestern Sardinia in the region called Logudoro, less than 3 km from the town of Pozzomaggiore. It is considered a predominantly hilly territory with a not very accentuated altimetric range given that the lowest point is about 160 meters above sea level, near the “Carchinadas” bridge, under which flows a tributary of the river Temo, while the highest point is just over 500 meters above sea level, and it is no coincidence that it was chosen as the place to build the Bonvehi castle, of which today only the ruins of a tower and some perimeter walls remain.

Most of the territory is used for pasture, there are no large woodlands, apart from the area of ​​the castle and the north-eastern portion of the territory, in the localities of “Filiestru” and “Locchera” almost on the border with Cossoine. Mara borders Cossoine in the entire northern part and in a good portion of the eastern part of the territory, up to “Monte Fromma”, the point where three municipalities border: Cossoine, Mara and Pozzomaggiore. This last town borders Mara in the south-eastern part, and for several stretches the border is naturally marked by some watercourses. Finally, for the entire western part of the south-west, Mara borders Padria.

Rivers and streams flow practically throughout the territory along the valleys that alternate with the hills, and it is precisely thanks to the water sources that human settlements have been possible in this territory since prehistoric times. Ancient peoples easily found shelter in the natural ravines and caves, such as those found in the north-eastern part of the territory and are known as “Sa Ucca de Sa Molina”, “Sa Ucca de Filiestru”, and “Sa Ucca de su Tintirriolu”.

These are caves dug into the limestone wall, the last two of which are the most famous. The importance of the Filiestru cave even gives its name to a cultural facies dating back to the Early Neolithic, the cave is made up of three rooms, but the habitable room with an adequate height could only be one of about 60 square meters, while the other two larger rooms could only be used as warehouses or for sheltering livestock. The cave of Sa Ucca de su Tintirriolu is much larger, its tunnels reach 1 km in total length and the different rooms indicate a use both as a home and as a place of worship.

The historic centre of Mara developed between the church of San Giovanni Battista and that of Santa Croce, and is characterized by narrow streets and alleys that converge in the central square, named after Guglielmo Marconi, but known by the inhabitants as “Piazza dell’Olmo” (“de s’Ulumu” in Sardinian, that is the elm tree).

The town as we see it today was actually made up of at least three distinct residential nuclei but which then, with the constructive expansion, came to join together. The town is crossed by a road that connects it both to Pozzomaggiore and to the state road 292 towards Villanova Monteleone and Alghero. Various murals embellish the streets and squares of the town.

In Mara there is an Exhibition Centre of Rural Civilization, inside a stately home are displayed tools and equipment used in the agricultural and pastoral society of the past, together with tools made by artisans such as carpenters and blacksmiths and which were used daily in the past.

The centre is part of the Grazia Deledda Literary Park, a vast project in which the Sardinian writer, the first Italian woman to win the Nobel Prize, in several of her works tells of man’s relationship with nature and agricultural and pastoral cultures in a rather difficult society, especially in the historical period in which the author lived.

The etymology of the name of the town of Mara has been attributed since the times of the Phoenicians to the name “Hamara” with the meaning of “swamp”, precisely because of the characteristics of the lands.

The names of “Magar” and “Mavar” are also found, deriving from changes in the forms of language of the peoples who lived there over time, while the toponym we know today is attested from about the middle of the 14th century.

The economy of the town of Mara once based both on agriculture, with its cultivations especially of wheat, and on livestock breeding, today finds in the latter the greatest source of income for the population.

Even the kaolin quarries that existed until a few decades ago, and which provided material for ceramics, are now practically all abandoned.

Today’s economic activities are mainly those of trade, while attention to tourism is slowly evolving thanks to the presence of several archaeological sites that can be visited and a reception facility where you can stay overnight.

The parish church of Mara is the one dedicated to San Giovanni Battista and is located right in the centre of the town. It was built in the 16th century in Gothic style and was restored a couple of centuries later. The facade is embellished with four semi-columns that run along the entire height, a horizontal frame divides the entire facade into two portions, in the lower one the columns are more finely decorated and end with capitals, which then connect with the columns of the upper part. The large arched door is framed with exposed stone and above it is a rectangular window that allows light to enter inside. Leaning against the church, to its left stands the bell tower, formed at the base by a square plan that reaches almost to the height of the facade and then becomes octagonal in shape for the rest of its height. It is built in exposed stone blocks and is embellished with decorations on all sides. Inside, the church has a single nave, there are some side chapels and a precious wooden altar that covers the entire front wall, inside which there are niches that house statues of various saints.

Not far from the central square is the church of Santa Croce, dating back to the 17th century. The façade is very large but also very simple, the only decoration is around the door with exposed stone blocks, above which stands the bell gable. Inside it is composed of a single nave divided by arches into two bays and with two side chapels.

The important rural sanctuary of Bonu Ighinu is located about 5 km from the town centre in a northerly direction. Its construction in the current structure dates back to the 17th century and most likely replaced or expanded a pre-existing church that according to sources was the parish church of a village that disappeared around the beginning of the 15th century. The name “Bonu Ighinu”, which in English can be translated as “good neighbour”, according to legend was attributed because at that point the Madonna appeared and tried to reconcile the various villages constantly in dispute by making them reconcile and become good neighbours.

Looking at the sanctuary from the base of the entrance staircase, you can see an imposing structure with a very high facade in limestone blocks divided into different sectors, both horizontally with three cornices, and vertically by four columns embellished with capitals and terminal pinnacles. The large door is arched, as well as the window placed above it. The enormous structure of the sanctuary laterally also includes the lodgings where the pilgrims lived. The interior of the church has a single nave and two side chapels just before the apse that form a Latin cross plan. The two chapels are in honour of Saint Anne and Saint Joseph, while the large wooden altar houses the statue of the Holy Virgin to whom the church is dedicated.

In the territory of Mara there are also many archaeological sites, which include simple and complex nuraghi, some with the remains of huts or nearby villages, necropolises that date back 5000 years, and caves whose human presence has been dated even before these domus de Janas. The variety of these sites, which are located a short distance from each other, allows you to understand and immerse yourself in the ancestral life of the people who lived in these territories thousands of years ago.