On the Golgo plateau the sacred has layered for three thousand years: Nuragic betyls before the 17th-century church of San Pietro, and the Su Sterru chasm that — myth says — swallowed the evil serpent slain by the saint.
Sacred stones
Before San Pietro's exedra stand the betyls: polished conical stones, effigies of the Nuragic deity, brought here from a sanctuary at least two thousand years older than the church. The Baunei community never stopped worshipping this place — only the god's name changed.
The chasm
A few minutes' walk away, Su Sterru opens a perfect 270-metre shaft in the limestone: peer in (safely, beyond the fence) and you will understand why myths filled it with monsters. Cavers rank it among Europe's most celebrated descents.
When to go
At the San Pietro festival (late June) the Golgo fills with long tables and tenore singing; on summer nights, the light-free sky shows the sharpest Milky Way you will see in Italy.