vacation Orgosolo in Sardinia

Orgosolo is certainly one of the symbolic-villages of inland Sardinia. In 1892 Pasquale Cugia wrote, "The village looks like an eagle’s nest” and again "like a fortress for which nature has thrown up ramparts and dug moats. The people of Orgolese live up there in their nest.... and passionately, nostalgically love their cliffs, their pastures. The people of Orgosolo, bold and proud, eager for adventure, have warlike ardour in their blood, the restlessness of the nomad races; they are hospitable up there on their rock and once you are on their lands, you and yours are sacred to them.”
The village, a fundamental centre of culture of the pastoral Barbagia area, stretches at the foot of the mountains of the Supramonte, which became famous during the years of struggle between the farmers and shepherds in the defence of their lands against expropriation. The banditry of the sixties has left its mark; in his film “Bandits in Orgosolo” the director Vittorio De Seta narrates in a cold and dry style, the hard life of the shepherds and the traditional differences with the State. Political and social passion has left a strong mark on the village; there are hundreds of murals which since around 1975, have been painted on the facades of the house and on the rocks around the village.

vacation Tempio Pausania in Sardinia

The historical centre of Tempio Pausania is an important site in the Gallura area for mining and the working of cork and granite. It is capital with Olbia of the Province with the same name and typically has buildings of granite blocks, with an architectural style closely resembling that of towns in Southern Corsica.
It lies near Mount Limbara and offers a natural landscape rich with little lakes and springs whose vegetation varies from thick and impenetrable shrub to the wild countryside near the top of the mountain.

Fresh cool mineral water with a high silica content flows from the granitic springs of Rinaggiu on the slopes of Mount Limbara. The water filters very slowly through the granite rocks depositing all its impurities, thus it is low in mineral content and has a wealth of therapeutic properties. This is also why Tempio Pausania is famous for its thermal baths. Tempio Pausania originated in the Roman period. In fact it seems that the merging of the two stations of Gemellae and Templum formed the town founded by the Romans.
The name of Tempio Pausania was recorded for the first time in 1173, in an agreement stipulated between the Bishop of Civita and the town of Pisa.

The town of Tempio Pausania currently shares the role of provincial capital of the new Province of Olbia-Tempio with the town of Olbia.

vacation Olbia in Sardinia

The modern and lively town of Olbia was known as “the happy town” by the Greeks and is famous all over the world for its close proximity to the Costa Smeralda. It stands on a wide natural gulf whose edges are delimited by the splendid islands of Tavolara and Molara. The Costa Smeralda airport lies in this area and continues to record increasing numbers of tourists every year. Tradition attributes its foundation to the mythical Iolao or to the Greek Focesi colonies of Marseilles, but the city was most probably founded by the Carthaginians between the VI and the IV century BC. Later it was conquered by the Romans and still preserves among the other remains dating back to this period, the Roman forum, the thermal baths and the aqueduct.

During the Roman period it became an important link with Ostia due to the prosperity of its markets and the flourishing activity of its port. It became capital of the “Giudicato” in around the year 1000 with the name of Civita or Terranova and saw the development of its historic centre near the imposing Romanesque Church of San Simplicio. The town of Olbia currently shares the role of capital of the new province of Olbia-Tempio with the town of Tempio.

vacation Oristano in Sardinia

Oristano has been the provincial capital since 1974 and stands on the northern border of the Campidano plain near the Tirso estuary, at the centre of a sequence of lagoons filled to the brim with fish. The town originated in 1070, when the inhabitants of nearby Tharros migrated here after the Saracens had destroyed their town.
It is an important centre and rose between 1100 and 1400, when as capital of the “Giudicato” of Arborea, it was guided by enlightened sovereigns like Mariano IV and his daughter Eleonora, who drafted the body of laws known as the “Carta de Logu”.

The Cathedral is found in the historic centre and is a real little artistic gem, built in 1228 with the help of Lombard skilled workers, and then rebuilt in the XVII century in Baroque style. The Tower of Mariano II, in sandstone blocks was erected in 1291 and, together with the facing Portixedda Tower, is the only trace remaining of the old city walls.

vacation Alghero in Sardinia

Alghero is a Sardinian city with a clear Catalonian influence. It underwent Spanish colonisation for a lengthy period of time which left its mark on the town’s architecture, traditions, its typical cuisine like the famous “aragosta alla catalana” (Catalonian-style Lobster) and above all on the local language, to such an extent that the people of Alghero have a strong sense of belonging to the culture of their motherland
The historic centre is found within the old fortified village and tourism, together with craftwork, in particular the working of coral, is the main driving force of the little town’s economy. The town’s architecture, with so many Catalonian-style features, ensures that it is the perfect destination for the visitor who is interested in seeking a sense of refinement and detail in the buildings.

Starting from the “Esperò Real” Tower you can take a stroll by the sea, which as evening draws on becomes a pleasant and busy place to be. Starting from the south, after the Dante promenade you come across the Cristoforo Colombo and Marco Polo seafronts, where a number of ancient fortresses stand and which take you all the way to the port. Not far from the flight of steps taking you to the old “Porta a Mare”, the imposing bulk of the “Forte de La Magdalena” rises, a remarkable fortification from the Spanish period with a plaque on its walls recalling Garibaldi’s landing here on 14 August 1855.

Visiting Nuoro in Sardinia

The Athens of Sardinia The capital of the Barbagia region, Nuoro rises up on a plateau dominated by Mount Ortobene and surrounded by valleys and mountain ranges. It came into being in the Roman period, when the populations living scattered around the nuraghi took refuge in less accessible areas, thereby giving rise to the myth of the inviolability and the isolation of the Barbagia area. Nuoro gradually gained territorial pre-eminence over the surrounding villages and finally became provincial capital in 1926.  

The centre of the town is the square laid out by Costantino Nivola and dedicated to Sebastiano Satta, the poet from Nuoro who, together with the politician Attilio Deffenu and the writer Grazia Deledda, animated the town’s culture. Grazia Deledda was born here and her birthplace houses the “Deledda Museum”, where you can see not just the building but also the documents and objects belonging to the Nobel Prize winner. Another must is the Ethnographical Museum where traditional costumes and the carnival masks of the Barbagia area are on display, together with jewellery, carpets, tapestries, breads and cakes. For art lovers, the “MAN”,( the Province of Nuoro’s Museum of Art) is highly recommended with its permanent collection of the top Sardinian artists of the XIX and XX centuries and a number of temporary exhibitions.

Visiting Sassari in Sardinia

The city of the Candlebearers

Sassari, the capital of Capo di Sopra, developed from the merger of a number of separate villages, clearly recorded in the names of some of its monuments, such as San Pietro di Silki, San Giacomo di Taniga, San Giovanni di Boscove. The name of the town is first mentioned in an early register dating back to 1131, which came to light in the monastery of San Pietro in Silki. What remains certain, is that the city has been subject to a number of historical phases in its development and has been the protagonist of a series of enlargements and urban layouts which have followed one after the other right up to the present day.
Sassari rises on a plateau overlooking Asinara and has many attractions: an elegant shopping precinct, a fascinating historic centre with medieval houses on winding lanes, the splendid Baroque gilt wooden altars inside the churches. The fabric of the town gravitates around the Cathedral of San Nicola, whose highly-ornamented facade dominates over an area which has recently been the site of an archaeological dig.