Italy Sardinia - Explore Unusual Barbagia Region

Orgosolo, Nuoro, Grotto Ispinigoli, Supramonte Plateau

Jun 17, 2007

For something different, explore the Barbagia region - one of the most unusual areas ln Sardinia. Visit the town of Orgosolo. famous for its politically inspired murals.

The wall paintings depict the story of the village and its community; it’s hopes and its fears. Their subjects ranging from powerful images protesting against poverty to questioning the ruling powers - not only in Sardinia but also around the world, for example a 1994 painting shows the destruction of Sarajavo in the former Yugoslavia.

In 1975, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Resistance and the liberation, people decided they wanted to celebrate in an original way away from the usual banal rhetoric. They started to produce posters and wall paintings about the anniversary but also about other situations that concerned them. The large murals are mainly painted in the Cubist style, their subjects ranging from the battles for women’s emancipation, the problems of the shepherds; the demands of the unemployed. And not just local concerns: there are powerful murals protesting the coup d’Etat in Chile; famine in Africa, the power of crooked landowners and government repression and the destruction of Sarajevo in the former Yugoslavia,

It’s rather strange to see a woman, dressed in traditional black widow’s weeds, who has probably never been beyond the mountains, juxtaposed against a huge mural showing an emaciated African woman hold out her arms for food. There are more than 250 murals covering the walls of Orgosolo. Don’t worry that you may not be able to find them - they are everywhere.

Close to Orgosolo is a high plateau called the Supramonte - an area full of caves and canyons where each year a few tourists manage to get themselves lost. It’s a great area for walking and/or trekking. The area is covered with unspoilt woodland and the tourist office in Nuoro can provide a touring map for walkers outlining different routes. Nuoro is the main town in this region. It is referred to as the heart of the Barbagia and is the birthplace of Grazia Deledda, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. She was born in 1871 and wrote close to fifty books; in all of them Nuoro is at the centre.

D.H. Lawrence decided there wasn’t much to see in Nuoro, although he did later admit “I am not Baedeker”. That was nearly eighty years ago. Today Nuoro is a very interestng place to visit and is also a good spot from which to explore the region.

If you are making your way back to the coast, stop off at Su Gologone, just north of Oliena, where a spring pours out from the cliff above into a stream and slips away through the rocks to join the lake, It’s a lovely, peaceful spot - just right for a picnic - so remember to take a packed lunch with you.

Another stop, a bit more touristy but worth a visit is the Grotto Ispinigoli - a 500,000 years old limestone cave which has the highest stalagmite in Europe. Don’t come here if you can’t climb lots of stairs - there are quite a log and they meander in and out of the rather spooky cave with its gigantic limestone ‘icicles’ slowly growing longer each day with the steady drips of water that cling to them.

The copyright of the article Italy Sardinia - Explore Unusual Barbagia Region in Historical Travel is owned by Cathy Smith. Permission to republish Italy Sardinia - Explore Unusual Barbagia Region in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Jun 21, 2007 8:24 AM

Barbara Rogers :

This article makes me want to get on a boat to Sardinia! I know northern Italy very well, but have never been to Sardinia except to sail past. Your article made me realize what I'm missing. Thanks!