Carved out of the granite rock and surrounded by a lush holm oak forest, it guards a small treasure: the necropolis of Istevene contains one of the very few Domus de Janas in the Nuoro area, decorated with symbolic motifs. The complex of tombs – called honcheddas – stands out along a mountainous spur, two and a half kilometres from Mamoiada, a famous village in the Barbagia area. There are six domus dug out at different levels of the rock face, half of them are single-cell and two of them are so small that they almost seem like niches.

To enter Tomb 1, you can walk along a short dromos – which is the entrance corridor - with a door in the back wall, through which you will come to a first rectangular room. A second room is connected to the first via a passageway in the south wall. Tomb 2 has an unusual dromos with a triangular layout, which leads into the main room, and has an elliptical shape. Here too, on the south side, there is an entrance to a secondary room, which in turn leads to a third quadrangular room. You can admire the most distinctive elements of the necropolis in Tomb 3: in the atrium, there are two entrances to two rooms that communicate with each other; one of them, which can be reached via the door in the back wall, is divided into two sectors by a step. On the walls, you’ll notice residual traces of red plaster and on the right side there are vertical incisions, while on the entrance wall there is a circular cupule; lastly, there are small pits in the floor, which are also circular in shape. There is a pillar in the centre, on which a raised bull protome has been carved.

The necropolis dates back to the final Neolithic or early Copper Age (3200-2800 BC), probably contemporary with another unique monument in Mamoiada: the Stele di Boeli, also known as sa Perda Pintà, meaning the decorated stone. It is a granite monolith almost three metres tall, displaying concentric raised circles, intersected by a vertical incision. In addition to these, there are 23 cupules carved into the upper and lower left areas of the front part. It was probably part of a group of similar menhirs lost over time.

Mamoiada is not just archaeology, but it is famous for its carnival masks, of Mamuthones and Issohadores, which you can admire during carnival and by visiting the museum of Mediterranean masks, as well as for its wine production, particularly Cannonau and Granazza, a native grape variety.