The Palmavera nuraghe, a tower from 1600 BC and the meeting hut.

Sardinia is full of nuraghi, dry-stone towers raised in the Bronze Age by a people who left no writing. The one at Palmavera is the best to visit from Alghero: it is at the entrance to the Porto Conte Park, beside the road to Capo Caccia, a few minutes from the sea.

What you see

The centre is the main tower, the oldest part, from about 1600 BC, which keeps its chamber with a false dome intact: the stones close in towards the top without mortar. The complex had three towers; the third, found in recent excavations, collapsed already in antiquity. A pentagonal wall separates the nuraghe from the village.

Around it are the stone bases of the huts: the village covered at least three hectares and had about 200 huts with roofs of logs and branches. The largest is the meeting hut, the second largest in Sardinia by interior area. Inside were found a stone seat and a model of a nuraghe in stone, which archaeologists read as a sign of a chief who used the place to show his power. They lived from farming, livestock, hunting and fishing: a fish hook found here is in the Archaeological Museum of Alghero. The site is on UNESCO's tentative list.

Hours and price

From November to February it is open every day from 10:00 to 14:00; in October, from 10:00 to 18:00; for March and summer, check the seasonal hours on the ticketing website. Admission costs €7, reduced €5 (ages 6 to 17, students up to 26) and is free for under-6s. The guided visit costs €3 more per person. The necropolis of Anghelu Ruju has the same rate and both sites are in the Alghero Ticket.

Getting there

By car, along the Fertilia and Porto Conte road (SS 127 bis, km 45), about 10 km from Alghero. By bus, with line ARST 9321, Alghero–Porto Conte–Capo Caccia, or 9320, which stop nearby all year. Combine it with the Escala del Cabirol: it is on the way.