Monte d’Accoddi

Top choice in Northwestern Sardinia


Signposted off the SS131 between Sassari and Porto Torres, Monte d’Accoddi is a unique Neolithic temple. Unlike anything else in the Mediterranean basin (the closest comparable structures are the Mesopotamian ziggurats), it originally dates to the 4th millennium BC. However, most of what you see survives from a later stage of construction dating to around 2800 BC. It went through several phases until it appears to have been abandoned around 1800 BC. Soon after, the first nuraghe began to be raised.

The central part of the structure is a rectangular-based platform (30m by 38m) that stands atop a grassy, walled mount linked to a long sloping ramp. Either side of the ramp are a menhir and a stone altar believed to have been used for sacrifices.