Subjects
Subjects
The territory of Illorai, in the heart of the Gocean, has archaeological evidence from the Neolithic Age, as demonstrated by the Molia necropolis, a complex of domus de janas dating back to 3000-2500 BC. Among the domus, the so-called Tomba del Capo stands out for its importance, a multicellular hypogeum that is compared to Tomb VII of Sant'Andrea Priu near Bonorva. It has been hypothesized that the geographer Ptolemy, when he wrote about the ancient Roman city of Acque Lesitanae or Lesa in the 2nd century AD, referred to Illorai, but there are no archaeological data to confirm the identification.
The first building of the Ponte Ezzu has been attributed to the Roman era. It underwent destruction and reconstruction until the middle of the Middle Ages when, through the work of Pisan workers, it had its definitive arrangement.
The Pisans built a donkey bridge to facilitate the passage from one bank of the river to the other. The monument consists of three pointed arches, the central one of which is wider and higher than the lateral arches (6.25 m high and 5.50 m in diameter). Its sturdy structure rests on granite rock on the banks of the river. The two side arches served as a vent when the flow of the Tirso river increased considerably, threatening to make the bridge impassable.
Vittorio Angius writes that, to build it, reddish-colored blocks of stone were used from the Pabude quarry in the mountainous territory of Bolotana; he also praises its perfect design and strength and refers to an ancient tradition, but not confirmed by historical-archeological data, which attributed its construction to the will of Eleonora d'Arborea.
Today it can be admired intact, for all its 35 m in length: Ponte Ezzu proves to be, compared to structures of this type, perhaps the best preserved in Sardinia, despite having had to counter the frequent and abundant floods of the river for centuries.
History of studies There are
few contributions that highlight the monument, which is still substantially unpublished.
Bibliography by
V. Angius, “Illorai (Waters)”, in G. Casalis Historical, Statistical and Commercial Geographical Dictionary of the States by H.M. the King of Sardinia, III, Turin, 1836; T. Oppes, The Goceanarium, Cagliari, 1990, pp. 144-186.
S. Mameli, “Illorai: man, nature, archeology”, in ancient Sardinia: Mediterranean cultures. Biannual Journal of Archaeology, Ethnology and History, 22, 2002, pp. 9-12.
How to get
there Take the SP 128 bis in the direction of Illorai to the “Casa Cantoniera del Tirso”. After 2 km from this, take the agrarian penetration road to D. to access the area known by the toponym of 'S'Achille Ezzu'. The bridge is located on the Tirso river, in the town of “Sa Terra Mala”, at a distance of 6 km from the town of Illorai.
Content type:
Civil architecture
Province: Sassari
Common: Illorai
Macro Territorial Area: Northern Sardinia
POSTAL CODE: 07010
Address: SS 128 bis - località Sa Terra Mala
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