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Discovering
the Island
Main Attractions Edition
The first scratch map of Sardinia, you will discover 40 attractions of the Island. Each of them will make you know more local elements.
22 - TORRONE
TONARA
Tonara is a municipality of about 2,000 people in the sub-region of Mandrolisai, south-east of the Gennargentu Park. It is one of the highest villages in Sardinia (800-900 meters above sea level). The name derives from "Toni" (or Toners), the limestone cliffs on which the village was built. The village is characteristic, with narrow alleys, old stone houses decorated with typical wooden balconies.
In the vast municipal territory (about 50 square kilometres) you can admire luxuriant wooded expanses, with centuries-old chestnut, hazelnut and walnut trees. There are trails and itineraries for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. The territory includes some of the highest peaks of the island such as Punta Muggianeddu (1468 meters) and Conca Giuanni Fois (1496 meters).
Various archaeological remains testify to the frequentation of the area already in pre-Nuragic times. In particular, the funeral cave Pitzu e' Toni and the domus de janas Is Forreddos, dating back to 3,200-3,000 BC, formed by three communicating environments. The nuraghe Su Nuratze, located at the top of the rock formation of the same name, dates back to the Nuragic Age, at the foot of which the remains of a village of the same period can be admired.
Today Tonara owes its fame mainly to the production of nougat, the dessert made from honey, egg white and dried fruit (almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts). The small village is the largest producer of nougat on the island. The first official document testifying to the spread of the cake in Sardinia dates back to 1614. It is a contract between some nougat makers from Sassari and some traders from Cagliari. The production was concentrated in the Barbagia of Mandrolisai to allow the enhancement and exploitation of the products and resources of the territory.
Every year, since 1979, on Easter Monday, the nougat festival is organized in Tonara, to underline the economic importance that the product has for the community. The festival is accompanied by folklore shows.
Tonara is the birthplace of Peppino Mereu, one of the main poets in Sardinian, who lived at the end of the 19th century.
Tonara boasts a whole series of attractions including:
- Church of Sant'Antonio;
- Church of Santa Maria;
- Porru House, former prison, now an ethnographic and ancient crafts museum;
- Ancient torronificio Pili.
