WHY NUORO IS A GREAT ONE-DAY DESTINATION

tour the Sardinian capital of culture

Su Redentore Festival Nuoro Sardinia — Nuoro hosts the most comprehensive costume festival of Sardinia every end-of-August. Here @antonellafancello captures a moment of the beautiful parade

NUORO IS A GREAT ONE-DAY DESTINATION

Nuoro is a great one-day destination. Get to know the capital town of the province of Nuoro by touring its two historic quarters. Explore small and big piazzas, visit its ancient churches, tour its archaeological sites and get inspired by its museums. Then try some Sardinian food at one of its many great restaurants.

SARDINIA’S ATHENS

The town’s location high on a mountaintop isn’t the only reason why Nuoro has been dubbed Sardinia’s Athens. In fact, during the XX century, the town had been home to some of the greatest Sardinian artists. From poet Sebastiano Satta to sculptor Francesco Ciusa and from painter Mario Delitala to Nobel laureate for literature Grazia Deledda, the influence of Nuoro’s artists will reverberate through the Italian art production of the 1900s.

ITINERARIES

You can decide to indulge your personal inclinations and follow a particular itinerary around a theme – for instance archaeological, literary, or museum. Or simply pick and choose places to see and things to do based on the time you have.

Whether you are visiting on your own or hiring a local guide to really connect with Nuoro, you’ll find it a surprisingly interesting experience.

MUSEUMS

Nuoro has some of the best top ten museums in Sardinia.

MAN – ART MUSEUM

There’s a new exhibition at the Museum of Art of the Province of Nuoro every three months. Get inspired by their original perspective on subjects such as street photography, Italian Futurism, Paul Klee, and Russian avant-garde to cite but a few.

Visit side-exhibitions to get inspired by Sardinian contemporary artists.

info@museoman.it | +39-0784-252-110 | MuseoMan.it

MUSEO DELEDDIANO

Tour the house of the late Nobel laureate Grazia Deledda (1871-1936) to immerse yourself in the life of Nuoro at the turn of the XX century.

isresardegna@isresardegna.org | +39-0784-242-900 | MuseoDeleddiano.it |

MUSEO ARCHEOLOGICO NAZIONALE

Tour the National Archaeological Museum to get a closer look at the evolution of life in Sardinia through a paleontological and an archaeological section. The first gets you back to 1 million years ago while the second sheds light on the progression of civilization from 5.000 years ago to Medieval times.

pm-sar.museoarcheo.nuoro@beniculturali.it | +39-0784-31688 | MuseoArcheologico.it | | open Wednesday through Sunday 09:00-18:30

MUSEO CIUSA

Get a feeling for life in Nuoro during the XX century through the great sculptures of Francesco Ciusa and a vast collection of paintings by Sardinian artists.

Museo Ciusa is currently being managed by MAN and you can opt for a combined entry ticket

MUSEO ETNOGRAFICO SARDO

This is probably the biggest and most complete museum on Sardinian traditions you can ever visit. Get to know Sardinia and its inhabitants through jewellery, traditional costumes, bread and pastry, and everyday utensils used until the first half of the XX century.

isresardegna@isresardegna.org | +39-0784-257-035 | MuseoEtnograficoSardo.it

SPAZIO ILISSO

Enter this Art Deco Villa and tour its ground floor and gardens to explore great sculptures by Sardinian artists including Francesco Ciusa, Costantino Nivola, Pinuccio Sciola, and Gavino Tilocca.

On the first floor, you can tour the beautiful temporary photography exhibition from one of the main collectors and publishers in Sardinian history, i.e. Ilisso Publishing

spazioilisso@spazioilisso.it | +39-0784-31551 | SpazioIlisso.it | open 10:00-13:00 and 15:00-19:00, closed on Monday and Tuesday morning

All museums, with some slight variations, are open Tuesday through Sunday 10:00-13:00 and 15:00-19:00, April to September until 20:00

visitors in one of the exhibition rooms at @man_museo

MONTE ORTOBENE

Ortobene is the 955-metres-high mount overlooking the town of Nuoro. Get to the top – either via car or through a 90 minutes walk – to get an amazing view of the valleys all around up to the sea.

THE REDEEMER

Find on the summit a 2-tons-heavy bronze statue of Jesus Christ the Redeemer dating back to the Jubilee of 1900.

NOSTRA SIGNORA DEL MONTENERO

Among the pine trees, you can also visit the church of Nostra Signora del Montenero. The small construction was built in 1608 and is featured in the book Cosima by Nobel laureate Grazia Deledda.

TREKKING

Walk along the mountain paths to discover ruins of ancient churches, interesting rock formations, shepherds’ houses build under massive rocks and archaeological sites known as Domus de Janas (Fairy Houses).

For a local trekking guide, you may write to cuorecarsico@gmail.com | Facebook

“Ortobene cannot be compared to other mountains. There’s only one Ortobene in the whole world. It’s our heart. It’s our soul. It’s our personality – everything big and small, sweet and hard and rugged and hurtful in each of us” -Grazia Deledda

@sovraccarsico during one of his trekking tours on Monte Ortobene

RESTAURANTS & BARS

Explore the ancient roads of the centre of town to discover a multitude of great restaurants serving excellent Sardinian food.

I GRANI

Stop at the stylish bistro I Grani at lunch for an organic light meal or at tea time for delicious vegan cakes and muffins – all handmade.

I Grani | Via Fratelli Bandiera 3 | +39-0784-442-418 | Facebook | Instagram

MONTI BLU

Have dinner al fresco in Piazza Sebastiano Satta at Monti Blu. The square is a work of art by Sardinian Costantino Nivola – visit his excellent museum in nearby Orani.

You can have a great pizza or just an aperitif by literally sitting inside a giant art installation.

While waiting for your food, browse through the concept store on the ground floor for some impromptu shopping.

CAFFE TETTAMANZI

Do like Sardinian poet Sebastiano Satta and go for an espresso at Caffè Storico Tettamanzi. With its stuccos, golden-framed mirrors and red-velvet sofas, this 1875 cafè is also one of the main locations of the book Judgement Day by Sardinian writer Salvatore Satta.

Caffè Storico Tettamanzi 1875 | Corso Garibaldi 71 | Facebook | Instagram

@taraskitchen75 stopping at Monti Blu for a home-made ice cream

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES

Nuoro has been inhabited for over 6.000 years. Two archaeological sites – still to be completely excavated – show each more than 70 huts.

NURAGHE UGOLIO

You can visit the Nuraghe Ugolìo amid the pine tree forest north of town. The park is a popular jogging location among locals.

NURAGHE TANCA MANNA

South of town you can tour the Nuraghe Tanca Manna, a Nuragic fortress built around granite rocks.

About 5.000 years ago there were over 8.000 such fortresses all over Sardinia, each one visible from another. Around these defensive towers, usually cone-shaped, a village would develop.

Being so close to town, over the centuries many stones were taken from these sites to build houses or churches. However, you can still get an impression of the building technique employed by ancient Sardinians by touring these two locations.

@agrumiviaggiatrice snaps a picture of Nuraghe Tanca Manna during a Jazz festival

OLDTOWN & CHURCHES

Nuoro had two oldtown centres, Seuna – close to the train station – and San Pietro, around the House of Grazia Deledda. The two are connected by Via Garibaldi, the road used as Corso – the town promenade.

Browse through local stores grouped around the two most ancient churches.

SAN CARLO BORROMEO

Visit San Carlo in the quarter of San Pietro. This humble church of the XVII century still holds the human remains of Francesco Ciusa, the artist famously renowned for its Madre dell’Ucciso. The latter represents the silent suffering of a mother whose son was killed during one of the many family fights so common in this part of Sardinia.

Get impressed by the copy of this sculpture on display in this church or head to the Ciusa Museum to see some other impressive works of art of the same artist.

ANTICA CHIESA DELLA MADONNA DELLE GRAZIE

Get inspired by The Apocalypse – XVIII century mural paintings by Sardinian artists Pietro Antonio and Gregorio Are before leaving this 1679 church.

CORSO GARIBALDI

Walk along Via Garibaldi and explore the roads that open unto it to discover small Medieval houses, suggestive balconies, and secret gardens.

MADONNA DELLA SOLITUDINE

Visit the black marble tomb of Nobel laureate Grazia Deledda inside this XVII century church. The church was modernized in the 1950s and a huge bronze door by Sardinian artist Eugenio Tavolara (1901-1963) was added at the main entrance.

100 metres from the church on a path entering the pinewood forest you can get inspired by a particular memorial monument. “Going Away” is dedicated to Grazia Deledda by the great Sardinian artist Maria Lai (1919-2003) of Ulassai.

@nuorojazzentemusicalenuoro captures a detail of the church Madonna delle Grazie during a Jazz festival

PARKS

Besides the Ugolìo Park – a nice pine tree forest loved by locals – and Mount Ortobene – a huge park area – the real town park of Nuoro is that of Sant’Onofrio.

Stop at the Castle of Sant’Onofrio – as Villa Antonietta is known – for some Liberty-style architecture. In fact, the building was allegedly commissioned in 1925 by the Lostia family to Florentine architect Luigi Coppedè.

If you are a movie buff and this villa seems familiar it’s because it was Coppedè who designed the Lake Como castle home to James Bond villain Mr White in the movie 007 Casino Royale (2006). Both buildings make use of stones to give an appearance of solidity and power.

@nuoroapp photographs the mountaintop with Sant'Onofrio's park and Villa Antonietta

FASCIST ARCHITECTURE

Stop in front of the Building of the Post and Telegraph in Piazza Crispi to admire a perfect example of Fascist Art erected during the government of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

POST AND TELEGRAPH

Built between 1925 and 1931, the granite building by Architect Angiolo Mazzoni (1894-1979) is the prototype that should have been used in the expansion of Italy’s colony of Addis Abeba (Ethiopia, 1938). Three train stations there were planned to have a similar structure further adding to the many Italian Architecture buildings in that African town.

Forget the left half of the Post Office building that was demolished in 1962 to make more room for offices. Focus instead on the right half with its grand entrance, its high granite tower and the volcanic stone elements used as decoration – particularly the red lion.

GRAND ARCHITECTURE WALK

Tour the town for more Fascist architecture. In fact, the Fascist party instituted the Province of Nuoro in 1927 and needed to make its presence clearly visible in its capital town. Examples include the Town Hall (Palazzo Comunale), the Civil Hospital of San Francesco, the Palazzo di Giustizia (tribunal), the Giorgio Asproni High School and the building of the Chamber of Commerce (Camera di Commercio).

All of these buildings – except the Hospital – are located in a 2km radius around the town centre and make for a nice and instructive walk.

the Poste e Telegrafi building captured by @moon_kiky

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