Museo Turcus e Morus

About the museum

The Museo “Turcus e Morus” in Gonnostramatza tells the story of a millennium of Barbary raids on Sardinia and of the encounter, at times peaceful and at times bloody, between the Islamic and Christian worlds. It is housed in the former Montegranatico, the storehouse for grain and seed stocks that spread across the island from the late 17th century, later taken over by the Cassa comunale di credito agrario (municipal agricultural credit bank), and restored by the Comune to a design by the architect Luigi Cannas.

The idea for the museum arose to fill the lack of documentation on that period; the decisive impetus came from a stone plaque kept in the country church of San Paolo, which commemorates the destruction of the village of Uras in 1515 at the hands of the “turcus e morus” led by Barbarossa. The original display, with thirty-five large panels, scale models of coastal towers and life-size figures, was enriched in its tenth year by a medieval and modern archaeological section devoted to the vanished village of Sérzela, with 1:1 replicas of pottery beside the original finds.

In 2015 the museum received a multimedia re-display funded by the Sardinia Region, with touchscreens, headphones and videos.

Highlights

• A millennium of Barbary raids on Sardinia
• Multimedia display with touchscreens, headphones and videos
• Archaeological section on the vanished village of Sérzela
• 1:1 replicas of medieval and modern pottery
• Educational workshops for schools and families

Permanent exhibition

• Turcus e Morus – le incursioni barbaresche – Multimedia route with characters, the village, coastal towers and an altarpiece, and a section on the pottery of the vanished village of Sérzela.

Operated by

Comune di Gonnostramatza

Visitors per year

approx. 339

Admission & discounts

The €3 ticket is the “Pacchetto Light”, covering the museum visit only; for packages with a workshop and a guide, please contact the museum.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

Workshops for the youngest with animated fables, multimedia stations for the five senses and a treasure hunt for the pirate Barbarossa.

Getting there & parking

Gonnostramatza is about 7 km from the SS 131: take the exit after Mogoro if coming from Sassari, and the exit after Sardara if coming from Cagliari. The museum is next to the parish church, opposite the Biblioteca comunale “Don Pinna” and the Rio Mannu.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit