San Basilio, A village between environment and tradition




San Basilio is the point of encounter between the plain of Trexenta and the steep heights of Gerrei and Sarrabus. It is a small centre of 1479 inhabitants, at 415 metres above sea level. Its territory is characterized by alternating round hills, that are more elevated towards Gerrei, and gradually lower towards Trexenta.
The uniformity of the hills is broken by country roads, drywalls and cultivated fields, but pastures and meadows prevail.The green is the characteristic of this village, that is dominated by a pine forest of 45 hectares, one of the widest of the zone. Inside one can find spaces ideal for picnics and naturalistic trails, ideal for who those who love walks in the country.
In particularly limilpid days, from the top of the pine forest, one can even admire the gulf of Cagliari. It hosts a tourist complex, comprehensive of a conference room, restaurant, pizzeria, bar, discotheque, equestrian grounds, tennis and multipurpose courts.
The toponym goes back to Basilio Magno, doctor of the church, whose followers, the Basilian monks, settled down in this place for a long period in the 1st millennium B.C and erected a monastery, restoring the Ancient Roman baths.




The church dedicated to Saint Basilio was erected in the XII Century, and it was the parish church until 1500. To the borders of the territory, towards East, is the plateau of Planu Sanguini.
The name Planu Sanguini, blood plateau, can be justified by the fact that this region witnessed frequent battles between the Romans and the nuragich tribes, sheltered in the higher plateaus. Planu Sanguini has been chosen as the site for the realization of a radio telescope of great dimensions, called Sardinian Radio Telescope. It is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in 2008. The village celebrates several festivals: San Basilio (15th-16th of June); San Pietro (29th-30th of June) with religious rituals and dances in the public square; Sant' Ignazio, that has no precise date and is celebrated with cheese, local cakes and wine tasting offered by all the locals who have the same name as the saint, to their fellow countrymen in the main public square, San Giovanni (29th of August), patron of the shepherds, with meat and cheesetasting and dances in the public square.
The local tourist office is very active, promoting initiatives such as photo, embroidery, painting and typical local products exhibitions and several courses aiming to the recovery of the nearly forgotten traditions and activities.