Escolca (Iscroca)

Escolca lies in the Sardinian region Sarcidano, at the foot of the southern part of the Giara of Serri, an upland typical of this region of the island.

Despite its size, Escolca has several attractions for its visitors. This area is a mix of hills and plains, that thanks to its land and to the temperate weather, it has a wide production of olives and hard wheat.

The administrative island of Saint Simone is noteworthy, it belongs to the territory of Escolca, an ancient small village on the outskirts of the city of Mandas. This abandoned small village is formed by ancient houses made of stone, set around the church of Saint Simone, raised in honour of the warrior Saint Simone. Legend has it that, because of the pestilence, the town was abandoned by its inhabitants, yielding ground to Mandas and Escolca.

Saint Simone is called “the town of nuraxis”, as it was built on a nuraghe complex. Also the church was built on the ruins of a nuraghe called Nuraxi Mannu.

The human presence is witnessed by some archaeological finds dated back to Roman era and by the nuraghe Mogurus, which is located on the Giara of Serri. This truncated cone shape nuraghe, made up by basaltic stones, hasn’t been dug  up entirely yet. 

In the town centre it’s possible to visit Saint Cecilia Church. It’s a late gothic building, characterized by a quadrangular façade which has a central large wooden portal decorated with a round arch shape with a refined moulding frame. Above all it’s possible to admire a glass rose window.   

A high belfry raises next to the main building of the church. It is characterized by four single-lancet windows set in the high part of the belfry, and a higher dome cuspidate with a cross. Inside the church there are conspicuous holy furniture such as the main marble altar.

Recently the administration of the town has promoted, together with the Municipalities of other neighbouring towns (Mandas, Gergei, Gesico, Siurgus Donigala, Suelli and Selegas), a consortium aimed at the touristic promotion of this area. The first project of the consortium is to increase the value of the ancient “wheat paths”, through the renovation of peasant houses, which will turn in didactic farmhouses aimed at showing the visitors how the agriculture functioned in the past and the ancient life of the inhabitants of this region.