The Giara plateau (sa Jara), located in the central southern part of Sardinia, on the border between the Marmilla and the Sarcidano, is a basaltic plateau that rises abruptly up to 550 meters dominating the surrounding flat landscape.
The Giara area has formed as a result of a series of lava flows erupted 2.7 million years ago on a sandstone base from two now extinct craters (Sa Zepparedda, the summit of the plateau of 609 meters, and Sa Zeppara Manna, the most panoramic point).
It looks like a plateau with the characteristic features of an enormous natural fortress, equipped with ramparts with sloping walls and formerly inaccessible, in fact it is thought that it was used by the Nuragic Sardinians as the last bastion of resistance against the Punic and Roman invaders.
Sa Giara Manna (the Giara of Gesturi), which extends for a length of 12 km, with its 45 km² of surface, is the largest.
It was originally covered by dense woods, but its environmental peculiarities have greatly changed over time and today there are woods, Mediterranean scrub, garrigue, prairies, meadows.
The determining factors of this transformation were the fires, the cutting of the forest to the advantage of the cork oak, excessive grazing and, in recent years, also the uncontrolled tourism.
Historical background of the area
In the nuragic period this plateau was transformed into an impregnable natural castle, fortified with over 23 nuraghi, whose administrative center represented by Su Nuraxi in Barumini.
There are several testimonies of the presence of man in Sa Giara Manna since the Copper Age, in fact, the protonuraghe Bruncu de Madili is present on the edge of the plateau, of which remain the entrance staircase and the remains of two circular rooms, originally covered by trunks and branches.
A few meters from the protonuraghe, stands the village (late 2nd millennium BC), made up of several groups of circular huts arranged around central courtyards.
There are also different Domus de Janas located on the slopes of Sa Giara.
There are also testimonies of several settlements after the Nuragic age, including the presence of a seven-kilometer stretch of paved Roman road, then several remains of castles used as fortifications that testify that the area was under the control of the Giudicato of Arborea.
After a period of strong human presence, Sa Giara has completely depopulated, already in the Middle Ages only the shepherds frequented the plateau (the pinnetas, shelters similar to nuragic huts, are a testament to this).
Peculiarities of the territory
this isolation is responsible for a flora and fauna heritage that has disappeared elsewhere: there are lush woods with centuries-old cork oaks, often ‘forced’ by the mistral to grow oblique, then holm oaks, downy oaks, strawberry trees, mastic trees and myrtle.
Among all the animals that live on Sa Giara, the Giara horse is the best known, the plateau is, infact, the only place where these animals live in their natural state.
The little Giara horse was probably introduced in the Nuragic period or in the Punic period, the herds that populated the island in the Middle Ages gradually disappeared and today there are about 700 specimens in Sa Giara.
Other animals that populate Sa Giara are wild boars, weasels, hares, martens, foxes and 60 species of birds, including various birds of prey.
The paulis
A peculiarity of the territory, in particular, is represented by the presence of the paulis; natural depressions that fill with rainwater.
In Sa Giara there are about 60 paulis that dry up during the summer and autumn, to reform during the winter and spring.
Only the largest paulis retain water even in summer and become important water reserves.
During the spring in the larger paulis, it is easy to observe the little horses of the Giara grazing peacefully, feeding on the buttercups of which they are greedy.
They are also home to the marsh harrier, wading bird and mallard.
In short, Sa Giara is definitely a territory rich in history and nature, the ideal destination to spend a relaxing day or to discover small paths that wind through the paulis, especially in the period from autumn to spring.