Its natural beauty, of which the oasis of Badde Manna and the trachyte plains of Corona Alta stand out, and its medieval origins have contributed to it being listed as one of the Authentic Villages of Italy. Banari is a small village with approximately 600 inhabitants in the Meilogu, a historical sub-region of the Logudoro region, half an hour by car from Sassari, stretching along the foot of the Pale Idda hill and surrounded by elevations and watercourses. It was mentioned in a papal bull in 1125 and was created out of the merging together of the Villa of Vanari and the two monastic centres of San Lorenzo and San Michele. The main religious buildings in the residential area are the parish church San Lorenzo Martire, originally a 12th-century church, rebuilt in the 18th century and with a 19th-century Neoclassical façade, and the church of San Michele Arcangelo, built in Romanesque style, also dating back to the 12th century and renovated several times.