Until 1927 they were two towns, Siurgus and Donigala, unified by Victor Emmanuel III and today a municipality of two thousand inhabitants in Trexenta, the ‘granary of Rome.’ The center is mirrored in Lake Mulargia, a splendid setting for excursions by bicycle, horseback, canoe, on the ‘Mississipi-style’ boat or with the Trenino Verde. The territory is largely mountainous, covered with Mediterranean scrub and cork oaks, a local resource along with cereals, vineyards, legumes and orchards.
Seurgus was an important center since Roman times, as evidenced by remains of villages, garrisons, and necropolises ranging from the Republican age to the High Empire: the road connecting Karalis to Biora and with Sarrabus passed through here. The most famous legacy is a bronze votive jar with a dedication to Aesculapius.
In the Middle Ages the chief town of a curatorial district, the center retains traces of the Judicial past in buildings and cortes, including the rural center Donnicalia (from which Donigala), a large farm owned by the judge. The place name is said to derive from sex burgos (six hamlets that constituted it) or from Xiurgos, a monastery in Chalkidiki, the Greek region of origin of the monks who settled in Siurgus and brought oriental cults. The splendid parish church of St. Theodore (patron saint celebrated in late August) is also of Byzantine origin. In Siurgus you’ll also find the churches of St. Susanna and St. Francis; in Donigala stand Our Lady of Monserrato, possibly early medieval, and the shrine of St. Sebastian. The former celebrated in early September with displays of giant votive candles, the latter on January 20 with typical bonfire. A curious recurrence is the sagra de is bagadius (of the bachelors), in mid-October.
The area was inhabited from the Neolithic, as evidenced by a megalithic settlement with artifacts from the Ozieri culture (3000 B.C.) and a small temple on Mount Turri used until late Roman times. Pre-nuragic traces are also found in the domus de Janas of Zraghi. Siurgus Donigala is home to about 40 nuraghi, the most important being su Nuraxi, in whose keep a Byzantine burial ground has come to light. Roman buildings are superimposed on its walls: it was the first nucleus of the town, covered by today’s settlement. The oldest nuraghe is theArcei, of which a keep, village and a small Giants’ tomb remain. In the mountains on the border with Gerrei stand the well-preserved nuraghi of Mount Nuxi, Ega, with a village inhabited until the Byzantine age, and Erra, where sa Bidda de Salomone was later born, a village that disappeared in the 13th century and is now on the outskirts of the village. On the border with Mandas you will find the enclosure-fortress of Corongedda and Corte Carroccia, which helped populate Donigala. During the construction of the cemetery a Carthaginian, then Roman necropolis came to light.
Source: Siurgus Donigala | SardegnaTurismo – Official tourism website of the Region of Sardinia
