Bonarcado is located at the foot of Montiferru, in an area that has been inhabited since ancient times. In fact, there are numerous testimonies of settlements of the Nuragic and Pre-Nuragic era, in which people settled in small, villages of which traces are found throughout the territory. They were attracted by the abundance of water and the fertile volcanic soil, there are numerous nuraghi, some in good condition, as well as several giants’ tombs and Domus de Janas. Rare evidence of the Roman era, such as the bridge and the discovery of a thermal pool under the Byzantine sanctuary of the Madonna di Bonaccattu and the sanctuary itself tell of a growing interest in this area as a place of worship. This area eventually became the site of the most ancient Marian cult of the ‘island. However, it was in the Middle Ages that Bonarcado, like all of Sardinia, experienced a period of development and liveliness. The growing importance and richness of the Camaldolese monastery, the expansion of the Basilica of Santa Maria (1124 AD) and the small Byzantine Sanctuary of the Madonna di Bonacattu transformed Bonarcado into an important religious and cultural center, a place of pilgrimage and the home of important meetings between the judges who were the rulers of the time.
With the fall of the Judicial system, the decline of the religious site began, which led to the abandonment of the monastery by the monks.Today only ruins remain, located next to the Basilica of Santa Maria. While losing wealth and possessions, the church of Bonarcado has maintained great prestige on the island. On the 17th and 18th of September, the feast of Our Lady of Bonacattu occurs, which still attracts many pilgrims to the town.
The economy has always been linked to the countryside. Vegetable crops, vines, fruit trees and olive trees are the main productive activities and engines of the local economy along with sheep farming. Bonarcado is known for its cherries (its Cherry Fest is held on June 2), for its red oxen (Razza Sardo Modicana) and, of course, for its olive oil.