On the plain the Pedra Mendalza rises alone: it is the chimney of an extinct volcano, left standing while the rest of the cone was carried away by erosion. Around it lies the Valley of the Nuraghi, one of the areas of Europe most thickly set with megalithic buildings, and in the fields the pinnette of the shepherds remain, conical huts of dry stone.
The name comes from Hafa, a Punic settlement further down the slope; the Romans put here the fork of the road that ran from Cagliari to Porto Torres and to Olbia. In 1436 Alfonso V sold Giave and Cossoine to Serafino di Montagnana for one thousand three hundred gold ducats: the price of two villages. Redemption from feudalism came in 1839, after the people of Giave had taken part in the anti-feudal risings of 1795.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
Near Giave
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Places to see within 25 km
Outside Giave, but an easy day trip away.