Sinis

The peninsula of the Sinis is a large strip of land that closes the Gulf of Oristano to the west and is bordered to the east and north by the large ponds of Cabras, Pauli Murtas, Sale Porcus and Is Béneas. The area, rich in fertile earth and also fish resources, has been continuously inhabited since the 5th millennium B.C., as testify the ruins of the Neolithic village of Cuccuru is Arrius, located near the overflow canal of the pond of Cabras.

The numerous nuraghi, that dominate the low hills like sentinels, give testimony to the territorial control during the Bronze and Iron ages. The most well known archaeological site is without doubt, the city of Tharros, founded by the Phoenicians around the 8th century B.C., near the narrow promontory of Capo San Marco, and inhabited up until the 11th century A.D., when, by the wish of the Judge of Arborea, the inhabitants were transferred to Oristano.

The landscape, with its cultivated fields, the nuraghi, the bridges and the canals, is deeply marked by the presence of man, but never in a brutal or invasive way: sweetness, in fact, is the characteristic trait of the nature of Sinis.
A large part of the beaches and lagoons are nature protection areas, where it is possible to do bird watching and go on excursions on foot, by bike, or by canoe. The marine park was founded in 1997 by decree of the Ministry for the Environment, that includes the island of Mal di Ventre (a poor translation of the Sardinian de malu entu, literally of the bad wind) and the whole area of sea around the Sinis.