It is one of the most interesting examples of a Nuragic fortress ‘repeatedly lived in’ by the civilisations that followed one another over thousands of years. The nuraghe San Marco stands on the eastern outskirts of Genuri, on the slopes of the southwestern side of the Jara Manna, the largest and most famous giara. The basalt used for the construction of the monument comes from the plateau, which was also a ‘source’ of sustenance and resources for the peoples who inhabited the Marmilla region, while marl was used for the restoration work that took place in later phases. The building has a complex structure, consisting of a keep and three towers, and it is surrounded by a rampart with another five towers, except on the north side, perhaps because the builders considered the natural ‘protection’ of the Giara plateau sufficient.

Curiously, the south-east tower has a smaller diameter than the other two, while the wall to the north-east, which follows the profile of the central tower, has sometimes been interpreted as the wall of a fourth corner tower. In the space between the keep and the connecting curtain walls between the towers there is a sickle-shaped courtyard, which you can access through the entrance to the structure on the southern side. From the courtyard, which also has a well, you can enter the keep and the corridors that lead to the side towers. Inside the keep, the room is a cross-shaped space, with two frontal niches and a third opposite the stairwell. In the north-west tower, you will notice six embrasures, two niches and the absence of an entrance corridor. In fact, it opens directly onto the courtyard.

Archaeological investigations have led to the discovery that between the Recent and Final Bronze Age a destructive event took place, with relative collapses and subsequent reconstructions: San Marco probably witnessed a phase - still a mystery - of crisis and conflict between the Nuragic tribes between the 2nd and 1st millennium BC. The site has revealed traces of human presence in the Punic era and there was undoubtedly also a settlement there between the Late Roman and Early Medieval eras. At least eleven ‘new’ rooms were superimposed or placed on the nuraghe, some of which are thought to have been food storage rooms, while the courtyard and towers were used for various purposes, sometimes even for burials.

The nuraghe gets its name from a small country sanctuary, a few dozen metres away and surrounded by a park with centuries-old olive trees. The church of San Marco was probably built in the 16th century with a single nave layout. On 25 April, a celebration takes place there, that is particularly heartfelt by the population of Genuri, during which the countryside around the village is blessed and the saint is invoked in the hope of a good harvest.