The Phoenician and Roman city by the sea with its theatre
On a small peninsula jutting into the sea at Capo di Pula, about 30 kilometres south west of Cagliari, lie the ruins of Nora, considered the oldest city in Sardinia. According to legend it was founded by Norax, a hero from Iberia; it was certainly a Phoenician settlement from the eighth century BC, as shown by the Nora Stone, an inscription found here, one of the oldest Phoenician texts in the western Mediterranean, now in the Cagliari museum. It later became a Carthaginian and then a prosperous Roman town.
The archaeological area, surrounded on three sides by the sea, includes streets paved with stone, houses with splendid mosaic floors, such as the House of the Atrium, a forum, temples, four bath complexes, including the Terme a Mare with the remains of a mosaic floor near the waves, and the small Roman theatre of the second century AD, which in summer hosts the "La Notte dei Poeti" festival with performances at sunset. Part of the ancient city now lies underwater, submerged by the rise of the sea level, and can be seen in the clear water. Next to the site stands the Romanesque church of Sant'Efisio, the end point of the great procession that every May accompanies the saint from Cagliari to Nora.
Tip: combine the visit with a swim at the beach of Nora, next to the site, or at the lagoon of Nora, home to flamingos and a marine life centre.
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