Did you know? What is the smallest municipal area in Sardinia?
Discovering the villages of Sardinia. A small village nestled in a splendid valley with just 168 inhabitants. Let’s ideally visit this town, surrounded by vineyards that produce excellent wines.
We are talking about Modolo, the smallest municipality on the island in terms of territorial extension (just 2.52 km2, ahead of Tinnura, Tadasuni, Boroneddu and Borutta, while Baradili is the one with the fewest inhabitants, just 83). The village is located in Planargia, 134 meters above sea level, a few kilometers from the sea and 4 km from Bosa, located in Planargia. The town is surrounded by rolling and fertile hills. Lush cherry trees, centuries-old olive groves and fragrant vineyards grow in its territory, giving the landscape a picturesque appearance. The most renowned production is the wine production, in particular Malvasia.
The village was born around the 3rd century BC, during the Punic era but a center probably already existed in the Nuragic era, also because in the area there are several domus de janas from the Neolithic era.
The name of the village could derive from the toponym of Nuragic origin “Madala” or from the Latin “Modulus”, which refers to the method used, in the distant past, to channel water from the sources.
Modolo underwent the domination of the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians and the Romans. In the 7th century AD the Byzantine monks settled there, who evangelized the population and built the parish church of Sant’Andrea Apostolo.
Part of the Giudicato of Torres then passed under the control of the Malaspina family and was later included in the Giudicato of Arborea. Under Spanish rule, like the whole of Sardinia, starting from 1628 it was entrusted as a fief to the Brondo family and in 1716 to the Paliacio, marquises of Planargia.
Following the abolition of feudalism it became an autonomous municipality and was included in the province of Nuoro in 1927 and then passed, in 2006, to the province of Oristano.
The main monument of the town is the parish church of Sant’Andrea Apostolo, dating back to the early Middle Ages (7th century AD) and founded by Byzantine monks who evangelized the area.
There are numerous nuraghi, the most important of which are Albaganes and Monte Nieddu.
Not far from the town center it is possible to admire the remains of an ancient convent of the Dominican friars and a Roman villa.
Among the main foods produced in Modolo we find cheeses prepared with milk produced by local farms.
Malvasia, a refined and elegant dessert and meditation wine, is very widespread in Modolo and the surrounding area.
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