Casa Zapata Museum Tours and Activities

Book your tickets in advance and get ready to discover three of southern Sardinia’s most extraordinary landmarks. The UNESCO-listed Su Nuraxi is an archaeological site dating to the Bronze Age, and is a remnant of Sardinia’s ancient Nuragic civilization. Get up close with the landmark before visiting the Casa Zapata Museum (both an elegant, 16th-century dwelling and itself home to ancient ruins) and the Centre Giovanni Lilliu, dedicated to the architect who uncovered Su Nuraxi.

Go from coastal Cagliari to countryside in one day, and discover the sights of Barumini and Sardinian wild horses of Parco della Giara. With a guide, you’ll first visit Barumini’s Casa Zapata and the Su Nuraxi archaeological site, complete with Bronze Age huts. The afternoon continues with an immersion in Sardinian nature; you’ll seek out horses, wild boar, and birdlife in the heart of Parco della Giara.

Visit to the nuragic complex of Barumini, an archaeological park that includes a nuragic architecture and parts of a village. Visit to the museum complex of Casa Zapata, an important institution that includes an archaeological and ethnographic collection. The residence of another nuragic complex found under this Aragonese residence. How did we live the first civilizations in Sardinia? What were the main technologies known by protohistoric populations? We will find in this archaeological tour in the nuraghe - On Nuraxi-, one of the most important monumental architectures of the island and Unesco heritage, together with the history of the Nuragic civilization It starts from Cagliari, with time to be agreed; the tour takes place on foot in terrain with irregular surfaces. Comfortable shoes like sneakers are therefore recommended.

A tour that combines the discovery of the Nuragic civilization and one of its most impressive architectural expressions with the discovery of a unique natural environment, rich in bushes and herbs of the Mediterranean maquis and cork oaks, inhabited by the famous wild horses, that you can admire and photograph in their natural habitat.

We explore the pristine volcanic plateau of the Giara to meet the reknowned wild horses. We also discover Su nuraxi, the important prehistoric monument and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Giara is a vast uncontaminated basalt plateau where thousands of wild horses have lived for thousands of years, though it remains a mystery how they came to inhabit this natural landscape of outstanding beauty. We approach them through the cork oak trees and the myrtle-scented shrubs, to see them while they drink calmly in the small ponds. Below them, on the plain, we spot in the distance the monumental nuraghe of Barumini. This typical Sardinian prehistoric structure was built with stones carved out from the Giara itself. The nuraghe is made up of a system of towers, part of an old genial idea the memory of which has sadly been lost.Today we can witness an amazing prehistoric monument built by people who knew how to govern with balance over the external forces.

Sardinia is home to fascinating Nuragic-age ruins, but visiting these enigmatic sites on your own can be frustrating. With this shore excursion, take in the UNESCO-listed Su Nuraxi archaeological park and Casa Zapata museum with a guide to fully appreciate the history and architecture of their megalithic nuraghe. Enjoy the scenic drive from Cagliari through the countryside to Barumini and time to fully explore both sites before returning to port.

All over the island there are more than 7000 nuraghes, singular and peculiar buildings. Megalithic fortress built with enormous stones and with a particular charm. Looking at them means have a lot of questions which they deserve to be answered. Who built them? What was their function? If you want to discover with us more about those remarkable fortresses, Su Nuraxi of Barumini is a must-see. Part of the UNESCO Heritage since 1997, this nuraghe is the best example to understand the most ancient and mysterious history of Sardinia. After a visit to Su Nuraxi, we will also reach Casa Zapata, a noble ancient residence of the Sardinian-Aragonese barons, nowadays hosting a small Archaeological Museum.