Molara Island
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Molara is an island in north-eastern
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
and constitutes, together with the island of
Tavolara Tavolara is a small island off the northeast coast of Sardinia, Italy. The island is a limestone massif long and wide, with steep cliffs except at its ends. Its highest point, Monte Cannone, is above sea level. A cove and beach can be foun ...
, Molarotto, the peninsula of Punta Coda Cavallo and other minor rocks, a protected marine park. Of a granite nature, it has an area of 3,411 km² and reaches, with Punta la Guardia, 158 m u.s.l. Its name, of
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
origin, is probably due to the rounded and uniform shape of the island, similar to a
millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...
(in Italian, ''mola'').


History

So far no documented
prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
settlements appear on the island of Molara but at the dawn of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
it is said that
Pope Pontian Pope Pontian ( la, Pontianus; died October 235) was the bishop of Rome from 21 July 230 to 28 September 235.Kirsch, Johann Peter (1911). "Pope St. Pontian" in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company. In 235, duri ...
(
235 __NOTOC__ Year 235 ( CCXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Quintianus (or, less frequently, year 988 '' ...
) was exiled there together with the priest Ippolito (while the historian and humanist G. F. Fara in the
16th century The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th cent ...
indicated the island of
Tavolara Tavolara is a small island off the northeast coast of Sardinia, Italy. The island is a limestone massif long and wide, with steep cliffs except at its ends. Its highest point, Monte Cannone, is above sea level. A cove and beach can be foun ...
). In the north-western part of the island, near cala Chiesa, there are the remains of a single-nave medieval church, in Romanesque style dedicated to Saint Pontian. The church, whose original title is not known, is very similar to other
Gallura Gallura ( sdn, Gaddura or ; sc, Caddura ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy. The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area". Geography Gallùra has a surface of and it is situated between 40°55'20"64 latitude ...
buildings of this type such as the church of San Leonardo di Balaiana, near
Luogosanto Luogosanto (Gallurese: ''Locusantu'', sc, Logusantu) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sassari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about northwest of Olbia. Luogosanto borders the following munic ...
, in internal Gallura. Around this church it has been possible to identify the remains of a medieval inhabited center and further upstream of a castle, probably the ancient Gurguray even if there is no certain information on its effective demographic consistency. In the
15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian dates from 1 January 1401 ( MCDI) to 31 December 1500 ( MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the early modern period. M ...
the existence on the island of a monastery of nuns is documented.


Environment and tourism

Although the island is very rocky and impervious, there are various perennial springs and perhaps due to this abundance of water man has been able to live there for centuries. The vegetation cover of Molara is made up of very rich
Maquis shrubland 220px, Low maquis in Corsica 220px, High ''macchia'' in Sardinia ( , , ) or ( , ; often in Italian; hr, makija; ; ) is a shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs. Maquis is char ...
vegetation, with centuries-old
olive trees The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...
, mastic trees and
cistus ''Cistus'' (from the Greek ''kistos'') is a genus of flowering plants in the rockrose family Cistaceae, containing about 20 species (Ellul ''et al.'' 2002). They are perennial shrubs found on dry or rocky soils throughout the Mediterranean region ...
, degraded in some stretches due to a vast fire that burned the southern part of the island in the
'70s File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War i ...
of the twentieth century. There is wild livestock ( cows and goats), abandoned by the previous property. To the east of cala di Chiesa stands the rock of the
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
, a bizarre natural sculpture shaped by the winds and the sea. On the south coast are the ruins of a
lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime (material), lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this chemical reaction, reaction is :Calcium carbonate, Ca ...
, produced in the past from the
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
of nearby Tavolara, by burning wood from Molara. Numerous species of seabirds nest on the island, such as the
peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...
and the rare Audouin's gull. Even the
Manx shearwater The Manx shearwater (''Puffinus puffinus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an ...
is present with hundreds of pairs, unable to reproduce annually due to an immense population of
rats Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' (pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...
. The island is privately owned and cannot be visited.


References


External links

*
Tavolara.it
', archived URL on
Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...
. *
Sito del comune di Olbia
', archived URL on Wayback Machine. {{Islands of Italy in the Mediterranean Sassari Olbia Uninhabited islands of Italy