The Nuraghic culture emerged about 1600 BC and prospered until the destruction of its settlements by the Phoenicians around 500 BC. Its name is taken from its most characteristic building type, the nuraghi. These are massive towers, the earliest of which were probably farmhouses, though some of the later examples must have been used as fortifications. Early nuraghi were constructed from large, roughly cut rocks, while later on more sophisticated building techniques were used.

Nuraghi became increasingly elaborate with more complicated floor plans, interior dividing walls and turrets. Approximately 6000 nuraghi survive and, together with the terrace structures around them, they formed the homes, fortresses and religious sites of these early Sardinian villages. One of the best-preserved Nuraghic villages is Serra Orrios, which dates from the 12th-10th centuries BC and consists of more than 70 buildings.

The Nuraghic people were skilful metalsmiths and traders and developed contacts throughout the western Mediterranean with Italy, Sicily, the Balearic Islands and Spain and, to the east, with Mycenaean Greece and Cyprus. In the 8th century BC the island was colonised by the Phoenicians who probably wanted to control the rich local metal resources. Sardinia came under Roman rule in the 3rd century BC but some Nuraghic people continued to live in the remote interior of the island.