Stage 06 - from Domusnovas to Nuxis

DEPARTURE: Domusnovas 148 m (a.s.l.)

ARRIVAL: Nuxis 191 m (a.s.l.)

TECHNICAL DATA:

• Length: 42.4 km

• Elevation gain: +877 m and –836 m

• Maximum Gradient +18.4%

• Minimum Gradient -16.1%

• Highest Point on Road: Rosas area, 483 m a.s.l.

 

Possible detours to visit points of interest:

 

OUT AND BACK TO THE MINING AND SPELEO-ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF SA MARCHESA (Nuxis)

Out and back length: 2.6 km

Start/end point (on SP 78 just after entering the hamlet of Acquacadda): elevation 177 m (a.s.l.)

Highest point (Sa Marchesa site): elevation 221 m (a.s.l.)

 

 

STAGE DESCRIPTION:

 

From the Church of Santa Barbara in Domusnovas, take Via Foscolo, and once outside the town, pass under the SS 130 and immediately turn left onto the dirt road running alongside the main road.

You then reach the intersection with SP 87, where you turn right to quickly arrive at the northern outskirts of Musei.

Entering Musei, you come to the ETFAS park, with its characteristic silos that highlight the village’s agricultural nature, and then to the church of Sant’Ignazio, near which you can admire Su Congiu de Omu, considered the oldest building in Sardinia constructed using the "ladiri" technique (mud and straw brick construction).

Crossing the town heading west, join SP 87 to reach the Villamassargia railway station, and by crossing the overpass, proceed directly to the route towards the center of Villamassargia heading south, crossing the bridge over SP 87. After about 1.7 km, you will find the roundabout at the entrance to Villamassargia; continue straight southwards to enter the town center.

Here, along Via Roma you reach Piazza Pilar, where the Romanesque church of San Ranieri stands, and continuing on, you arrive at the sports area on the southern outskirts of town.

Taking Via dello Sport, you leave Villamassargia heading east, and as you move into the countryside, you reach the rise where the Castle of Gioiosa Guardia stands, visible to your right.

The castle was probably built at the request of the Della Gherardesca family, who became lords of southwestern Sardinia after the division of the Judicate of Cagliari in 1258. However, another theory suggests its construction dates to the 12th century, during the reign of William I Salusio IV.

Continuing on the dirt road, you shortly arrive at the entrance to the S’Ortu Mannu Nature Oasis, an olive grove home to centuries-old trees, including “Sa Reina”—an olive tree with a trunk over 16 meters in diameter, estimated to be over 800 years old.

After visiting this unique site, continue eastwards along the dirt road until you get very close to SP 02. From here, continue on the dirt road heading south

starting the 7.7 km climb with an average gradient of 3% that leads you to the former mining village of Orbai in the territory of Villamassargia.

The village of Orbai is situated in the middle of a lush forest with splendid views over the Cixerri valley and was inhabited for around 80 years.

The mine began operations for the production of lead-zinc mixes around 1872, run by the “Società degli Orbi,” from which the village also takes its name.

Right from the start, there were difficulties related to transporting production due to the lack of road connections to the ports.

After the end of World War II, in agreement with Monteponi, extraction work was supposed to resume as the Società della Miniera di Orbai, but again the results were unsatisfactory, and within a few years (around the mid-1950s), the mine was permanently closed and the concession revoked.

After visiting the former mining village of Orbai, which remains uninhabited despite redevelopment work carried out in the early 1990s, and climbing to its highest point, from which you can admire a remarkable view over the entire Cixerri valley, continue—still on dirt roads—towards the former mining village of Rosas.

The Rosas mine, already exploited during Roman and Pisan times, is the second oldest mining concession in Sardinia.

Granted in 1851 for galena extraction to the "Società Anonima dell’Unione Miniere Sulcis e Sarrabus," in 1900 the concession was extended to zinc and copper minerals, and mining ended in 1979.

At this site, in 1908, Prof. Domenico Lovisato discovered rosasite, a zinc-copper carbonate recognized as a key mineral and considered the type species for Sardinia. Rosasite, in fact, takes its name from the Rosas mine where it was first found.

The mining site, renovated and redeveloped for tourist hospitality, appears as an “open-air museum,” where all the industrial buildings have been restored and made accessible, and the old residential units have been converted for guest accommodation.

Recently, due to management issues, the site is temporarily closed.

On this section you ascend to the highest point of the stage (483 m a.s.l.) with an average gradient of 6.2%, before descending to 250 m a.s.l. at the Rosas village.

Before reaching the main square of the mining village—where the former ore-washing plant, now redeveloped for tourism, is the landmark—turn left onto the dirt road that leads into the area of the old mining system, leaving the mining hamlet. This stretch features various ups and downs, descending into the Nuxis countryside, and finally intersects SP 78. Here, turn left to quickly reach the turnoff for the Sa Marchesa site. 1*

After visiting the Geo Speleo Archaeological site, retrace the dirt road back to SP 78 and continue on asphalt to quickly reach the village of Acquacadda, a district of Nuxis.

Leaving this small village, proceed along a rural road, take the SS 293 for a very short stretch, and finally reach Nuxis through the northern outskirts of the town, bringing the Stage to an end.