The particular and characteristic shape of Capoliveri bears traces of antiquity in its very architecture. Born as an Etruscan highland fortress, it may have had an even more ancient foundation, given the frequenting of Greek and Phoenician navigators towards an island rich in iron, but already known for copper.

Within the archaic walls, it took on a rational geometric shape, typical of the Latin building tradition, while, in medieval times, the fortified village further gathered around the square and the current Via Roma, which is the main street and higher, from which, in a "fishbone" pattern, a whole series of alleys, streets, small squares and chiassi branch off, characterized by arches, arches, underpasses, alleys, stairs and ladders.

Tertenia is located in the valley between Monte Ferru and the heel of Monte Arbu, just 103 kilometers from Cagliari, and is the southernmost town in Ogliastra.

Its territory is varied, rugged and highly jagged, dominated by the Dolomite plateaus of Taccu Mannu and Tacchixèddu.

In the past the town stood out above all for its mineral production, its territory is, in fact, rich in deposits of pyrite, barite and quartz: the mines of Bau Arena, Sarrala and Barisoni-Porto Santoru were particularly well-known.

More recently the town has discovered an important tourist vocation due to the valorisation of its landscape and natural beauty, which manages to combine the mountains and the sea in a particularly evocative synthesis.