Masainas
Masainas is a coastal village in the province of Sud Sardegna in Sardinia . It is located between the lagoons on the Gulf of Palmas and the Sulcis Mountains . From the hills covered with maquis the terrain descends to the 22 km² large village, which is 57 m above sea level on a plain. Is Solinas beach, which belongs to the village, is deeper.
There are no documents about the origin of the village, but it is ancient . The presence of humans is evidenced by some Bronze Age nuraghi and Punic and Roman relics. A building of cultural and historical interest is the complex Nuraghe Is Fais located northwest of the village. It consists of four towers arranged in a cross shape. The remains of a pottery workshop and two sarcophagi from Roman times were also found near the village . As confirmation of an old farming and pasture economy practiced in the area, "Furriadroxiu", small rustic stables for sheep or goats, were found all over the country.
Like the villages of Giba in the north and Villarios in the west, Masainas was included in the actions of the Benedictine monks who came to the island at the beginning of the 12th century. Monasteries, the so-called “gunventus” (from convent) were built, which still shape the area today. The center of the village of Masainas developed around the small church of San Giovanni Battista around 1700 AD. Following the Gothic-Aragonese influences, it comes from the end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th century. However, some researchers believe that the first construction phase around the 11th century and late Romanesque influences can be recognized. In 1836 the place with 1806 inhabitants is the largest village in the area.
Not far from Masainas are the lagoons on the Golfo di Palmas, an ideal habitat for marsh birds such as the pink flamingos , stilts , avocets , herons and the rare marsh falcons .
Coordinates: 39 ° 3 ' N , 8 ° 38' E