Cargeghe and the Sassarese Region
Overview of Cargeghe
Cargeghe (Carzeghe in Sardinian) is a hilltop agricultural village in the Logudoro/Sassarese region,
set on the slopes of Pizzo ‘e Adde overlooking the Campomela Valley.
Origins & History: Settled since prehistory, Cargeghe belonged to the Curatoria of Figulinas within
the Giudicato of Torres during the Middle Ages. It later passed through various Aragonese and
Savoyard feudal estates until its redemption in 1838. The village and its surrounding countryside
served as the primary filming location for the Taviani brothers’ 1977 Palme d’Or-winning film Padre
Padrone.
Key Sites & Archaeological Heritage
• Parish Church of Saints Quirico and Giulitta: Built in Late Gothic style between the 15th
and 16th centuries over a Roman-era cemetery site. The interior preserves a late 16th
century painting of the Sacred Family by Florentine master Baccio Gorini and a 20th-century
altarpiece by Costantino Spada.
• Oratory of Santa Croce: A 16th/17th-century single-naved chapel that served as the historic
seat of the Confraternity of the Holy Cross, housing a jointed 18th-century processional
wooden crucifix.
• Church of Santa Maria de Contra: A small 12th-century Romanesque rural church built
from limestone blocks, historically subordinate to the Basilica of Saccargia.
• Pescialzu Architectural Facade Tombs: Two Middle Bronze Age tombs carved into a rocky
cliff face, featuring rock-cut imitations of Nuragic Giant’s Tombs stele and exedra wings.
• S’Elighe Entosu Necropolis: A major Ozieri-culture prehistoric cemetery consisting of at
least 13 limestone domus de janas. Highlights include Tomb IV (featuring a long processional
dromos entrance and relief double-spirals) and Tomb III (the “Tomb of the Seven Rooms,”
featuring carved central support pillars and a hearth motif).
• Pedras Serradas Necropolis & Nuraghe: A site on the edge of the Giorrè plateau featuring
five rock-cut tombs and the remnants of an unusual semicircular stone nuraghe.