The Nuragic Sanctuary of Santa Cristina

A few kilometers from the small town of Paulilatino, one can find the archaeological remain of the Sanctuary of Santa Cristina, a construction attributed to the Nuragic civilization that inhabited the island of Sardinia between the XVIII century A.C and the 2nd century D.C. Archaeologists do not know very much about this constructions. They think that it was the most important part of a largest temple and that most of the rituals were focused on the well. A escasos cuatro kilómetros de la pequeña villa de Paulilatino, se encuentran los restos arqueológicos del Templo de Santa Cristina, construcción atribuida a la civilización de Nurágica, que habitó la isla de Cerdeña entre Siglo XVIII A.C y el Siglo II D.C. Poco se sabe de la función precisa de esta construcción más allá de creer que era parte de un templo en que se realizaban varios rituales y que el resto del complejo giraba en torno a este pozo. Nevertheless, beyond the historical importance of these remains as one of the most relevant legacies of the Nuragic culture, the sanctuary stands out because of the combination of pure geometries that creates a timeless space, full of symbolism. The well has extremely minimum dimensions and one can access through triangular staircase that is open in the ground. The walls of this staircase are also tilted as one descends. After walking down about twenty steps, you arrive to a small conical space of no longer of two meters in diameter. At the end of this come there is a small opening that introduces light into the interior. This opening also let the water go inside, partially covering the floor with water. It is believed that it was a divine temple dedicated to the water and fertility. However, beyond its symbolism, the relation of its pure geometry, the natural elements as water and natural light, and the sequence of different spaces become this archaeological well as an unique and contemporary space from the spatial perspective.