Gesturi and the Marmilla Region
The Historical Region of Marmilla
Marmilla is a rolling hill subregion in south-central Sardinia, bordered by volcanic tablelands (Giara di Gesturi, Giara di Siddi) and river basins. It is celebrated for grain farming, viticulture, and rural traditions.
Overview of Gesturi
Gesturi (Gèsturi in Sardinian) is the northernmost municipality in the Marmilla historical region, situated at the foot of the Giara di Gesturi basaltic plateau. The local economy relies on agriculture, livestock, traditional basketry (using mastic and rush fibers), and eco-tourism centered around the plateau’s wild horses.
Origins & History: The name’s etymology is pre-Latin, possibly deriving from the Phoenician Ges
(“valley”), the Latin Iuxta Urus (“near the bull”), or Gestor (“administrator”). Inhabited since the Neolithic (domus de janas and nuraghi), medieval Gesturi belonged to the Giudicato of Arborea within the Marmilla curatoria, passing subsequently to Aragonese and Spanish feudal lords (Doni,Zatrillas, Vico) until its 1839 state redemption.
Notable Figures:
- Fra Nicola da Gesturi (1882–1958): Born Giovanni Angelo Salvatore Medda in Gesturi, he became a Capuchin lay friar in Cagliari known for his profound charity toward the poor and destitute. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 3, 1999.
Key Sites & Cultural Highlights:
- Parish Church of Santa Teresa d’Avila (Beata Vergine Assunta): A 17th-century church built in Late-Gothic style with a 30-meter bell tower, dedicated to the town’s patron saint and rededicated to the Assumption of the Virgin in 1743.
- Museum of the Giara (Museo della Giara): A dynamic, multimedia museum exploring the geological, archaeological, and natural history of the Giara plateau, including exhibits on its endemic wild horses.
- Church of Santa Barbara: Built in 1473 in Romanesque-Gothic style, set within a wooded municipal park.
- Sanctuary of the Madonna d’Itria: A countryside sanctuary built around 1620, surrounded by pilgrim quarters (cumbessias) and hosting a major equestrian pilgrimage festival every Tuesday after Pentecost.
- Giara di Gesturi Plateau & Wild Horses: A 42-square-kilometer volcanic basalt tableland rising 600 meters above sea level. It features wetlands (paùlis) like Paùli Maiori and serves as the natural habitat of roughly 700 small, wild horses (Equus Caballus Jarae or Is Cuaddeddus), the last truly wild horses in Europe.
- Bruncu Madugui Protonuraghe: The most famous corridor protonuraghe in Sardinia, located at an altitude of 561 meters on the Giara, accompanied by the foundations of a surrounding Nuragic village. Firefox