His great excavations
So it was founded a structure which is the base of the Arts Superintendence we know today (in 1859, Spano, as Royal Commissioner, inaugurated Cagliari Museum, exposing some time later Della Marmora’s bust), but, above all, many antiquities collections and archaeological societies were given birth all over the island, and they made excavation in Cornus and Tharros especially for amusement (most of them were nobles which dealt with archaeology in their free time).
Excavations, to which Spano took part too, and the casual discoveries, covered a range of time going from 1857 to 1875: in Tharros, in Florinas and in Mesu Mundu (Monte Santo; it means Half World, a region of Siligo in Holy Mount) in 1857; in Tuvixeddu in 1865-67; in Pauli Gerrei in 1865; in Monteleone Roccadoria and in Padria in 1866; in the amphitheatre of Cagliari in 1867 (most of the money used for the excavations were Spano’s); in 1874 in Ploaghe in the nuraghes Attentu and Don Micheli, where, first in Sardinia, stratigraphic excavations were held; in 1875 again in Ploaghe, where he found two caves in Monte Pertusu, in Nora, Sulci, Neapolis, Forum Traiani, Cornus, Turris Libissonis, Olbia. Also international museums, like Louvre and British Museum, by his work, started to take interest in Sardinia antiquities.
So, during the V Bologna Prehistoric Congress, Spano made the world know his beloved Nuragic Civilization, showing and presenting some finds he took from Sardinia, especially the model of Codrongianos nuraghe Nieddu. Always in the same year, with the 25 November Royal Decree, he was appointed deputy of Sardinian Kingdom. He used this title just formally.
Giovanni Spano continued with his work for a few years until, fallen ill, he died when he was 75, on 3rd April, 1878.