culturaNO Bosa

One of the most picturesque villages in Italy, divided in two by the river Temo, a medieval castle, its multicolored houses: here is Bosa

Bosa: the origins

The village of Bosa rises along the banks of the Temo river, among the remains of the ancient tanneries, which in the past were used for the production of leather, exported throughout Europe. Between palm trees, volcanic rocks, natural caves and alluvial plains, up to the proximity to the sea. The charming Sardinian village boasts very ancient origins, already inhabited in prehistoric and protohistoric times, as evidenced by the funerary caves found, together with the domus de janas, prehistoric burial structures carved into the rock, typical of pre-Nuragic Sardinia.

A territory that has witnessed a stay of the Phoenician peoples who founded it and built its port and the Punics, coming from Carthage, to reach the dominance of the Romans. In the Middle Ages, between 1062 and 1073, the Church and Cathedral of San Pietro was built, one of the oldest Romanesque churches in Sardinia. The village of Bosa, which over the centuries has been the protagonist of all the historical events that have involved the island, between the Aragonese, Spanish, Austrian and Sardinian-Piedmontese domination.

The Malaspina Castle

In the Planargia region there is Bosa whose inhabited area lies on the banks of the Temo river.
At about 80 meters above sea level stands the Castle of Serravalle. Thanks to its strategic position, the structure has been used over the centuries as a lookout post to face sudden attacks by enemies. Commonly known as the Malaspina Castle, the site owes its name to the popular tradition according to which it was built in 1112 by the noble Tuscan family who settled in Sardinia in the mid-11th century. Also linked to the Malaspina family is the famous legend that envelops the Castle in an aura of mystery and charm.
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The legend

In fact, it is said that the Marquis Malaspina, owner of the Castle, was very jealous of his beautiful wife, to the point of having an underground passage built that led to the Cathedral located in the center of the ancient village, to ensure that his companion could participate in the daily religious services without being seen by anyone else. One day, in a fit of jealousy and violence and assuming a betrayal, the Marquis decided to cut off his wife’s fingers, and then wrap them in a handkerchief. After leaving the lifeless girl, he then went to some friends and, perhaps heedless of her horrible gesture, took out the handkerchief from which the severed fingers fell. The Marquis was imprisoned, while legend has it that the woman’s soul is still in the scene of the crime and her fingers petrified becoming an integral part of the castle’s rocky walls.