Villanova Monteleone is named after a flight. In 1436, after a long siege by Aragonese, Sassari and Bosa forces, the people of Monteleone Rocca Doria abandoned their stronghold and took refuge in a village that already existed, higher up, healthier, ringed by oaks and cork oaks: from then on that village has been called Bidda Noa Monteleone, the new town of Monteleone. The place moved a second time in 1582, when a Barbary raid came up from the coast by the pass still known as Sa pigada de sos Turcos: the fighting was savage, there were dead and many inhabitants were carried off as slaves, and the survivors rebuilt the village on a ridge further inland.
The captives, mostly women and children, were freed by the marquis Boyl of Putifigari, who chased the pirates to their ship with three hundred mounted men; at Interrios the memory of those days is still a feast. The parish church is dedicated to Saint Leonard of Limoges, the protector of prisoners. The territory, more than two hundred square kilometres, holds together things that are far apart: the town sits at almost six hundred metres, and the beach of Poglina is sixteen kilometres away; there are fifty-five domus de janas, among them Pubusattile, cut into trachyte and covered with paintings. On horizontal looms carpets and tapestries are still woven in yellow, black and red.
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Near Villanova Monteleone
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Places to see within 25 km
Outside Villanova Monteleone, but an easy day trip away.