According to some historians the village came about in 1120, the work of Benedictine monks, while others believe it rose during the Aragonese period. The first mention of the lovely little church of San Mauro dates to 1574 and its history is impressed in every stone it is made of, including those of the muristenes and the nearby Nuragic monuments. It’s like a puzzle that give life to a commingling of historical periods that are well integrated amongst one another within a greater plan devised by the Catalan. The sanctuary rises on the steep slopes of Mount Lisai (a hill of just under 500 metres) in a lovely setting just five kilometres from Sorgono, one of the Mandrolisai’s most important towns in the very heart of the island. San Mauro is where Sorgono borders with Ortueri and Atzara.