Galtellì, Castle of Pontes

Galtellì is located on the slopes of Mount Tuttavista, in such a position as to dominate a valley that opens to the sea following the course of the Cedrino river. The castle is located outside the town, in a site surrounded by vegetation that invades its ruins.
There are few dates relating to the history of the castle of Pontes: the year 1070, read in the remains of a Roman fortress incorporated into its foundations, and that of the fall into the hands of the Catalan-Aragonese, in 1333. The structure was inhabited until the 15th century. According to tradition, until the end of the 19th century, two towers were visible.
There are few material traces today: among these are some parts of the rugged wall, which seem to indicate the presence of a lower antewall and a wall circle at a higher level, corresponding to the actual castle, as well as the remains of an angular tower and some underground tanks.

History of studies
For the castle of Pontes, the main reference text remains Foiso Fois's volume “Castles of Medieval Sardinia” (1992), followed by an exhaustive description in the monograph by Antonio Cambedda, published in 1995.

Bibliography
V. Angius, “Galtellì”, in G. Casalis, Historical and Statistical Geographical Dictionary of the States by H.M. the King of Sardinia, VI, Turin, G. Maspero, 1840, pp. 199-207;
F. Fois, Castles of Medieval Sardinia, edited by B. Fois, Cinisello Balsamo, Amilcare Pizzi, 1992, pp. 191-194; A. Cambedda, Military and Religious Architecture in Galtellì from the Middle Ages to the Nineteenth Century, Nuoro, Solinas, 1995, pp. 39-54.
G. Santoro, Galtellì in the Middle Ages, Nuoro, 2004, pp. 119-154.

How to get there
You reach Galtellì by taking the SS 129 from Nuoro in the direction of Orosei. Before the town, you can see the ruins of the castle on the right.