October
DESULO
MOUNTAINS PRODUCE
In
the very heart of the mountains, on the western side of Gennargentu, stands
Desulo, a village inhabited by transhumant shepherds and pedlars who, selling
chestnuts, 
walnuts,
hazelnuts and valid handicraft, have travelled for centuries around the island.
This mountain village (having three distinct districts, Asuai, Issiria and Ovolaccio),
is a spot of pictoresque beauty characterized by rural, schist-rock houses with
long wooden balconies, and cobblestone-paved lanes. In the district of Issiria,
one can visit the church of Santa Croce, with its wooden works of art and Baroque
frescos; the church of S. Antonio Abate, with its important, valuable wooden
pulpit; and the historical centre with its typical dwellings made of schist-rock
stones bound fast with mud and wood, which still preserve the ancient peculiar
beauty of their interiors. In the district of Ovolaccio, the museum of Desulo
folk tradition "Montanaru" and the Church of Carmine are to be found. Whereas
in the district of Asuai one can visit, besides the historic centre, the "Museo
Carta", which is a private collection including old everyday-life working tools.
Being a village of imaginative craftsmen, skilful in wooden handicraft, and
skilled embroideresses, Desulo differs from the other mountain villages of the
area because of its rich and various traditional gastronomy. Its typical bread
is excellent, and its ham, sausage and bacon are renowned. Among the various
kinds of cheese there are the "pecorini" (made with sheep milk) and the "caprini"
(made with goat milk), whose milk has the unique sweet smell of aromatic herbs.
On the table of these people, you will always find roast pork (cooked on embers),
boiled sheep meat, wonderful pore mushrooms and excellent red wines. For feasts
and festivals, a number of sweet delicacies are prepared, such as "torrone"
(which is a kind of nougat) made of excellent "corbezzolo" and chestnut honeys,
"bianchinos", "pan'e saba", "pabassinos", "amarettos" and the famous "sebadas".
Desulo is also one of the villages of the Gennargentu National Park, and it
is the nearest to the heart of the mountains. In this mountain basin we can
mostly see secular yews and oaks, chestnut-trees, holly-trees and junipers;
among the shrubs, we find "corbezzolo", thyme and wild rose. On the top of Bruncu
Spina and Punta La Marmora or in the forest of Girgini, one can meet numerous
herds of mouflons and wild boars, and see, in the depths of the wood, martens,
foxes and hares. If you like sports, you just have too much to choose from:
skiing, gliding, mountain bike, trekking on foot or horse. Every year, between
October and November, the festival "La Montagna produce" ("Mountains produce")
takes place. During these three days the tourist can visit sculpture, painting
and photo exhibitions in the village, and taste or buy typical products. During
this festival more events will take place: the eighth "Literary Prize Montanaru";
an extemporary sculpture and painting contest; a series of conferences on the
problems and economy of Gennargentu.
OGLIASTRA
A PARADISE WORTH DISCOVERING
Situated
in the centre-east of Sardinia, the region of Ogliastra includes the territories
of 23 towns and villages. The most important centre is Tortolì, starting-point
of three distinct itineraries which allow us to explore most of the Ogliastra
territory. The first itinerary goes along the road SS 125 Orientale Sarda, passing
Girasole, Lotzorai, the detour to Triei, Baunei and Urzulei. The second one
starts from Tortolì and passes through Ilbono, Elini, Arzana, Villagrande and
Talana, whereas the third one includes the villages of Barisardo, Cardedu, Jerzu,
Ulassai, Osini, Gairo, Lanusei and Loceri. Lotzorai, with the Medusa Castle,
the complex of 13 domus de janas (= fairy houses) dug into a granitic hillock,
at Km. 3 on the road to Talana, and the wood of Su Padentino, composed of secular
plants and trees. Passing Lotzorai, a detour will take 
you
to Santa Maria Navarrese (a hamlet of Baunei), a most renowned seaside resort
provided with a modern tourist port and a port of shipment to the inlets and
the Caves of Bue Marino. Back to the Orientale road, almost straight away, there
is one more detour to Triei; just before the village, about 4 km. further, an
asphalted road leads to the plateau of Osono, which is rich in natural springs.
Here you can see the Royal eagle, vultures and hawks, and visit a well-preserved
Tomb of Giants. The itinerary leads on to Baunei, which is most interesting
for the lanscape and the naturalistic beauty due to the Golgo plateau, with
"Su Sterru" which is the deepest chasm to be found in Europe; and its coast
with the highest cliffs of the Mediterranean Sea and the Inlets of Mariolu,
Luna, Biriola, Sisine and Goloritzé. Situated over 500 m high in the mountains,
Urzulei is the departure point to an unforgettable visit to the Gorge of Gorroppu
which, with its 500 m high rock-face, is the highest Canyon in Europe. In this
territory, rare and precious typical plants and rare animal species find their
natural habitat. From Tortolì, starting the second itinerary, at Km. 101,400
on the road to Ilbono, one finds the detour to Cheri, an area of great natural
and archaeological beauty. Elini, a small village provided with an interesting
granite train station, and a reservoir for supplies to the steam-engines; 
Arzana,
with the wood of Carmine, the homonymous country church in Elini, and the nuraghic
complex of Ruinas near Bruncu Evane; Villagrande and Villanova Strisaili, almost
on the slopes of Gennargentu, with the splendid view over the lake High Flumendosa,
the abundance of spring waters, the wood of S. Barbara and the nuraghic 
site
of S'Arcu 'e Forros with a megaron temple and two underground temples. Talana,
situated 500 m above sea level, has got a harsh territory, and peaks rising
to 1500 metres; it is rich in springs and small lakes and pre-nuraghic and nuraghic
findings in the areas of Silcararo, Bau 'e Tanca, Serra er Domos and Nercone.
The first village you come across in the third itinerary is Barisardo with its
truncated cone Spanish Tower (dating back to the XVII century) on the seashore,
the beach of Cea with its red porphyry rocks leading further to the sea, and
the damp areas of Bau Eni and Tramalitzia on the boundary of the Cardedu coast
and the naturalistic complex of Montiferru. Jerzu, home of the oldest vine,
the Cannonau, which produces one of the most famous red wines, a place rich
in archaeological findings still to be exploited. Ulassai, with the Cave of
“Su Marmuri", one of the biggest and most imposing of Sardinia, at the base
of "Tacchi", covered with forests and rich in natural springs that sometimes
turn into majestic waterfalls. Osini Nuova, which was built after 1951, and
the old village, abandoned between 1951 and 1960 because of a terrible flood,
the perfect image of any Ogliastra village in the fifties. Gairo with the domus
de janas of Scalarrana and the nuraghic villages of Is Tostoinus and Perdu Isu,
the big natural monument of Perda 'e Liana and the abandoned village of Gairo
Vecchio. Lanusei with the wood and the archaeological site of Selene, the observatory
of Monte Armidda and the planetarium of the Liceo Ginnasio. Loceri with the
domus de janas of Sa Madorna, the tombs of giants of Cea and the private museum
Sa Domu 'e S'Olia.
