Map of Pula from above, Nora Archaeological Site - Sardinia's First Phoenician City marked with a wine glass

Tour · Pula

Nora Archaeological Site - One of Sardinia's First Phoenician Cities

First Known Use of "Sardinia" Name

Visit one of Sardinia's first Phoenician cities (Phoenicians were here from the 8th century BC), featuring a restored Roman theater with sea views, mosaic-floored villas, Temple of Esculapio columns, and the Phoenician-era tophet. Part of the ancient city is now underwater - Roman streets and remains lie on the seabed off Punta del Coltellazzo.

Why go

Three things sit within a kilometre of each other here and nowhere else. The find-spot of the Nora Stone, still considered the oldest Phoenician inscription known outside the Levant. A Romanesque church built out of Punic gravestones, one funerary stele still set in its south wall. And a Roman street grid that runs off the land and continues below the water, because southern Sardinia is subsiding into the Mediterranean.

Visiting Nora Archaeological Site - Sardinia's First Phoenician City

When to go

April, May and October give a 09:00–19:00 site day without high-summer heat. June to September runs to 20:00, which suits a late-afternoon walk followed by the theatre's La Notte dei Poeti programme. From November through February the gate shuts at 17:00, compressing the peninsula circuit and the Punta del Coltellazzo shallows into a short window — and low winter light makes the submerged stonework harder to pick out.

Practical details

The archaeological zone opens daily on a published monthly table: 09:00–17:00 in January, February, November and December; 09:00–18:00 in March; 09:00–19:00 in April, May and October; 09:00–20:00 from June to September. The ticket office answers on +39 329 671 5230 and reservations go to bookingnorafp@gmail.com. Bring water and sun cover — the peninsula carries almost no shade. Avoid the middle of the day in July and August.

Getting there

Nora lies on the Capo di Pula promontory in the comune of Pula, south-west of Cagliari; from Pula take Via Nora and follow the signs. Sardegna Turismo lists paid admission, a bar, reduced parking and toilets on site. The stop sits on our Sardinia Phoenician Settlements route, and the Cagliari museum holding the Nora Stone is at Piazza Arsenale 1, open Monday to Sunday 8:30–19:30.

About Nora Archaeological Site - Sardinia's First Phoenician City

What to do there

6 things to do

In 1773, Giacinto Hintz found a stone slab built into a dry stone wall near the apse of Sant'Efisio, the church beside this beach, and it changed everything. The Nora Stone — carved around 831-785 BCE in Phoenician script — contains the oldest written use of the word 'Shrdn' (Sardinia) in any language on Earth. Before this stone, Sardinia existed but had no name anyone had recorded. You are standing at the moment the island entered written history.

Where: The narrow beach at Capo Pula, just before the entrance to the archaeological site. Stand at the water's edge and look back at the headland. Two separate events are often merged here. The Nora Stone was found in 1773, out of primary context, built into a dry stone wall near the apse of the church of Sant'Efisio. The coastal storm that exposed the Phoenician-Punic tophet is dated to 1889, and it began the era of systematic excavation.
What: This small peninsula is where the Phoenicians chose to pitch their tents — literally. Under the Roman Forum archaeologists found post holes: evidence of a seasonal CAMP the Phoenicians erected before deciding to stay permanently. First came merchants in tents, from the 8th century BC. Then, probably only from the 6th century BC, a stable town.
How: Walk the beach for free before buying your site ticket. The site entrance is at the base of the peninsula; opening hours change month by month, from 09:00-17:00 in January/February and November/December up to 09:00-20:00 from June to September. Call the Nora ticket office on +39 329 671 5230, or the secretariat on +39 392 0448674 (Mon-Fri 09:00-13:00); reservations go to bookingnorafp@gmail.com. The Nora Stone itself is now in Cagliari's National Archaeological Museum (Piazza Arsenale 1, €10 entry), but this is where it was found and where the story started.
Backup: If the beach is closed for conservation, the panoramic view from the approach road gives the same geographical revelation — the double-harbour peninsula that let Phoenician traders set sail in ANY weather, the entire reason they stopped here.

Log Memory
The 11th-century Church of Sant'Efisio sits where the Romans executed a Christian soldier in 303 CE. Victorine monks built it from recycled Roman stone — except they didn't know (or didn't care) that some of those carved blocks were Punic tophet stelae: grave markers from the Phoenician-Carthaginian infant burial ground. A 2022 study published one inscribed Punic stele reused in its walls. A Christian church built on top of a Phoenician sacred site, from the sacred objects themselves.

Where: Chiesa di Sant'Efisio, Viale Nora, directly at the entrance to the archaeological area of Nora. The church is immediately before the site ticket office, you cannot miss it.
What: Walk slowly around the exterior walls. Look for reused stone blocks with different surface textures or faint carved marks — these are the Punic stelae. The original tophet (exposed by winter storms in 1889 and excavated in 1890) held about 220 ceramic urns and 153 carved stelae dedicated to Tanit. Some ended up here, built into the very church that replaced Phoenician religion on this peninsula; one tophet stele sits in its south wall.
How: Free to approach; the exterior is always accessible. The church interior can sometimes be entered. The feast brings a 60km procession carrying the saint's statue from Cagliari's Stampace church on 1 May to this church, arriving on 3 May and returning to Cagliari on 4 May — the route follows ancient Roman roads.
Backup: If the church is locked, examine the sandstone blocks at the base closely — the recycled Punic stones are typically a different colour and texture from the later Romanesque courses above.

Log Memory
The Roman noble who commissioned the 'Nereid on a Marine Centaur' mosaic for his Nora townhouse had no idea he was decorating a floor that sat on 600 years of Phoenician occupation. You'll see the 3rd-century AD floor right where it was laid, surrounded on all sides by the Mediterranean that made this city worth building twice. The only Roman theater in all of Sardinia stands 200 meters away — still used for jazz concerts every August.

Where: Area Archeologica di Nora, Viale Nora, 09010 Pula. Ticket office at site entrance. GPS: 38.9847, 9.0159.
What: The site spans the entire Capo Pula peninsula. Key markers: (1) The Casa dell'atrio tetrastilo (nobleman's house) — look for the floor mosaic of Nereid riding a marine centaur; (2) The Roman theater — originally marble-lined with 1,000 seats, now hosts the Nora Jazz Festival each August; (3) The Temple of Tanit on the hill — only the pyramid-shaped altar base remains, but you're standing at a Phoenician goddess's home; (4) The former forum — remember the post holes of the tent city are under your feet.
How: Entry ~€6-10 (guided tours sometimes included, ~90 minutes). Daily 9:00-20:00 June to September; shorter hours the rest of the year. Call +39 329 671 5230 or book at fondazionepulacultura.it. Getting there: ARST bus from Cagliari Piazza Matteotti to Pula (50 min, €3.10) then local bus (€1) or 30-min flat walk. By car: 35 km SW of Cagliari on SS195, free parking.
Backup: Even if the site is closed on arrival, the peninsula's outer perimeter can be walked freely and the topography of the Phoenician port is obvious — two natural bays, one on each side, guaranteeing harbour access in any wind.

Log Memory
In Roman times this peninsula was three times its current size. A geological fault — not earthquake, not tsunami, just the slow patient weight of centuries — dropped about two-thirds of it some 15 feet into the Mediterranean. In 1964, Cambridge geographer Dr. Nicholas Flemming and the Mensura diving team found it: Roman road slabs, marble quayside floors padded in silt, ceramic amphorae that once carried wine and grain, all still on the seabed, the road just 4 feet below the surface. You can see the road from the surface on a calm day.

Where: Northern edge of the Capo Pula headland, at Punta del Coltellazzo — the rocky point dominated by the 16th-century Aragonese tower. Walk from the archaeological site toward the tower.
What: At the water's edge, look down into the Tyrrhenian Sea. On a calm, clear day (best in morning light) you can see the outline of Roman road slabs 4 feet below the surface. The entire pattern is unmistakeable — straight-cut stone in a geometric grid extending toward what was once the Roman quayside. Local dive guides brush sand to reveal marble floor sections.
How: The Coltellazzo tower is a separate guided visit (€4 ticket, exterior only); check at the Nora ticket office how to reach the point. Bring polarized sunglasses to cut surface glare. For full access: snorkeling equipment can be rented nearby; the Forte Village Diving Center (+39 070 9218173) is at Santa Margherita di Pula, about 10 km south-west; ask whether it runs trips to Nora. Best visibility: June-September, morning light.
Backup: After rain or rough seas, visibility underwater drops to zero. On those days, the Patroni Museum in Pula (Corso Vittorio Emanuele 67, €3) displays actual amphorae, anchors and ceramics recovered from this seabed — including the gold sheet gorgoneion mask that is the museum's symbol.

Log Memory
The Nora Lagoon Natural Park hasn't changed in 3,000 years. The Phoenicians saw exactly this view: the peninsula, the tower, the reed beds, the Mediterranean. Fradis Minoris is a Michelin-starred and Green-starred restaurant that sits within this park, where chef Francesco Stara cooks entirely circular cuisine — fish from the lagoon, wild herbs gathered at dawn from the marsh, vegetables from Campidano farmers he knows by name. The wine list opens with a sparkling Sardinian Vermentino: dry, iodine-edged, tasting of the same sea that the Phoenician traders crossed to get here.

Where: Fradis Minoris, Laguna di Nora, Viale Nora, 09010 Pula CA. After parking, walk a few hundred metres along the isthmus into the protected marine area — the restaurant is almost ON the water, with the Nora ruins and the Aragonese tower directly in front of your table.
What: Request the tasting menu (Michelin describes a single tasting option) with the Sardinian wine pairing. The pairing opens with a sparkling Vermentino — ask the sommelier to explain why Sardinian Vermentino is different from all other whites: iodine, salt, crushed granite, the Mistral wind concentrating everything. This is the wine that grew 50 meters from a city the Phoenicians founded 2,800 years ago. If you order Cannonau for the meat course, ask about the Sardinian claim that it began here, backed by 3,200-year-old seeds found on the island; Grenache most likely originated in Aragon, so the question is still open.
How: Reservation essential — call +39 351 313 7998 or book via fradisminoris.it. It holds one Michelin star and is closed on Mondays; Tuesday is dinner only, Wednesday to Sunday lunch and dinner. Confirm menus, prices and opening months when you book.
Backup: If Fradis Minoris is full or closed, Ristorante Cucina Machrì (now at Località Nora, facing the lagoon, open April-December) serves contemporary Sardinian seafood with a strong Vermentino list at a fraction of the price.

Log Memory
A stone slab about a metre tall (105 × 57 cm), carved around 831 BCE, is the first Phoenician writing ever found west of Tyre (Lebanon). In 1773 it was found built into a dry stone wall near the apse of the church of Sant'Efisio in Nora. The text contains the word 'Shrdn' — Sardinia — the first time the island's name appears in any written record in human history. The Nora Stone is now in Cagliari, 35 km from where it was carved.

Where: Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cagliari, Piazza Arsenale 1, Cagliari (Cittadella dei Musei complex, upper part of the city). The Nora Stone is displayed on the second floor, in the section dedicated to the major archaeological sites of Sardinia.
What: Stand in front of the actual slab, about a metre tall. The Phoenician inscription reads right-to-left. Find the word 'Shrdn.' This is not a copy or a cast; it is the stone itself, discovered in 1773, and it is the oldest surviving written document naming this island. It is also still considered the oldest Phoenician inscription found anywhere outside the Levant.
How: Open Monday-Sunday 8:30-19:30 (ticket office closes 18:45). Entry €10 (€5 reduced; free for under-18 and on first Sunday of each month). From Pula: drive or bus to Cagliari (50 min), then walk or taxi to Piazza Arsenale.
Backup: The gold gorgoneion mask from the Nora necropolis is the centrepiece of the Patroni Museum in Pula (Corso Vittorio Emanuele 67, €3, open year-round: 9-20 in June-September, shorter hours the rest of the year), along with underwater recovery amphorae and Punic tophet stelae that tell the same story at a smaller scale.

Log Memory

About the visit

Nora occupies the Capo di Pula peninsula in southern Sardinia, south-west of Cagliari. Sardegna Turismo records it as the first Phoenician city on the island, founded in the eighth century BC on an isthmus from which ships could put to sea in any weather. Punic from the fourth century BC and Roman after 238 BC, it held about eight thousand people at its height and served as caput viae for the island's roads.

What to expect

An open coastal archaeological zone with a marked route, not an indoor museum. The route passes the thermal baths near the entrance, the forum, a temple with a six-column pronao, the House of the Tetrastyle Atrium with its Nereid-on-a-marine-centaur mosaic, the theatre, and the sanctuary of Aesculapius above the sea. Fondazione Pula Cultura publishes a free NorAPP audio guide covering it. The DB records a two-hour visit.

History

Pausanias preserved a foundation myth in which Iberians under Norax crossed to Sardinia and founded Nora, remembered in tradition as the first city on the island. The archaeology runs Phoenician, then Punic from the fourth century BC, then Roman after the conquest of 238 BC, with municipium status in the first century AD. Decline began in the fifth century; after the Arab conquest of Carthage in 698 the city became a fort, and it was abandoned during the eighth century.

What insiders know

The church of Sant'Efisio stands outside the ticket gate, so its reused Punic masonry costs nothing to look at — walk the south exterior wall before you pay. The Nora Stone is not on site: it is in Cagliari at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, which is its own stop, Cagliari National Archaeological Museum. And the operator's eight-band monthly hours table matters more than any single published opening time.

Insider tips

Adult entry is €10; the Coltellazzo tower is a separate €4 ticket, or buy a Nora + tower combo
Roman streets and remains lie on the seabed off Punta del Coltellazzo
The Nora Stele (850-725 BC) is in Cagliari - oldest inscription using "Sardinia"
Combine with Sant'Efisio church and Pula beach afterward

Common questions

Where is the Nora Stone?

Not at Nora. It is conserved at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Cagliari, catalogued as KAI 46, and is still considered the oldest Phoenician inscription found anywhere outside the Levant.

How old is the inscription?

Palaeographic dating places it in the late ninth to early eighth century BCE. It was found in 1773, out of primary context, incorporated in a dry stone wall near the apse of the church of Sant'Efisio outside Pula.

What does the inscription say?

That is contested. Frank Moore Cross read a victory dedication by a commander, Milkaton son of Shubna, at a place written trss, surely Tarshish. Robin Lane Fox reads a thanksgiving to a god for a traveller's safe arrival after a storm, and the Pygmalion-of-Tyre reading has been rejected by scholars who translate the text differently.

Can the underwater remains be seen?

Roman roads and structures lie on the seabed of the isthmus at Punta del Coltellazzo, below a sixteenth-century tower, and the regional tourism board points visitors there to snorkel.

Has the whole city been dug?

No. A significant part of the town sits on land belonging to the Italian army and has never been excavated.

Sources

sardegnaturismo.it en.wikipedia.org fondazionepulacultura.it museinazionalicagliari.cultura.gov.it britannica.com strictlysardinia.com archaeology-travel.com wanderingsardinia.com ancient-origins.net nationalgeographic.com winewordswisdom.com visitpula.info guide.michelin.com fradisminoris.it sakanatravel.com estateinsardegna.it stefangourmet.com olianas.it academia.edu siddura.com cagliarimag.com rome2rio.com latitude.to · checked July 2026

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