Civico Museo Archeologico Ittireddu

The territory of Ittireddu in the context of theSardinian roads during the Roman era

The presence of Pont’Ezzu (Old Bridge) over the Rio Mannu di Mores along the south west borders dividing the territories of Ittireddu and Mores has always been connected to the Hafa mansio (rest stop); this place is mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary about the road to Tibulas Caralis, which was 213 miles long and crossed the heart of Sardinia from north to south. In the Itinerarium, Hafa is mentioned as the IV mansio starting from Tibula and situated 24 miles (that is 35 kilometers) from Luguidunec (Nostra Signora di Castro Church – Oschiri). The Hafa mansio has been variously localised in different parts of the area but, at a later time, the theory became official which places Hafa in the suburbs of Mores, close to a roman village on the Santa Maria del Sole hill, consistent with the distances indicated in the Itinerarium.

Based on accurate elements such as milestones, recent studies about the road hypothesize that the  Pont’Ezzu way and the Mores village were close to a side road (or deverticulum) leading off the main road to Olbia. That side road was supposed to rejoin the main road to the way towards Karalibus Turrem, the actual “ridge” placed along the N/S axis.

Due to the presence of this bridge as a monumental fragment of the Island road system in the Roman era, during that epoch the territory of Ittireddu was anything but peripheral as during the historical age the settlements phenomenon was strictly connected with roads.