The nuragic temple aligned with the moon
Near Paulilatino, in central-western Sardinia, in a grove of ancient olive trees, lies one of the most extraordinary monuments of the Nuragic civilisation: the sacred well of Santa Cristina, a temple of the water cult built around the eleventh century BC. Its architecture is of astonishing perfection: a keyhole-shaped entrance on the surface leads to a staircase of 24 steps, made of perfectly squared and smoothed basalt blocks, which descends underground, narrowing towards the bottom, to a circular chamber covered by a tholos vault, at the bottom of which is the spring.
The most fascinating feature is its relationship with the sky: the well is built with such precision that during the spring and autumn equinoxes the sun's rays penetrate down the staircase and illuminate the water at the bottom, and every 18.6 years, at the time of the lunar standstill, the light of the full moon falls vertically through the opening at the top of the vault and is reflected in the water, a phenomenon that suggests the nuragic people had advanced astronomical knowledge. Around the well are the remains of a nuragic village with the meeting hut, and a later Christian village, with the small church of Santa Cristina and the "muristenes", the pilgrims' houses used during the novenas. A nuraghe stands nearby.
Tip: visit at the equinoxes, in March and September, to see the sun's light on the water; the site is well signposted from the main road.
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