-> Nuoro Route

NUORO PROVINCE

Nuoro - Galtellì - Dorgali

Time: half a day - Length: approx. 50 Km

 
Museum of Sardinian Life and Popular Traditions in Nuoro.

In Nuoro, the ancient district of San Pietro slopes down towards Piazza Sebastiano Satta. Designed by Costantino Nivola in 1967, the piazza is characterised by the contrast between the granite sculptures and the preexisting, primarily 18th and 19th century architecture, amongst which we can see the house where the poet was born. After repainting the buildings white and positioning large granite blocks on the paving, Nivola enhanced the square by inserting some small bronze statues in small niches (the originals are conserved in the MAN) depicting the local poet at different times of his life. The MAN (Museo d’Arte della Provincia di Nuoro), is located just a short distance away, in a 19th century building at n° 15 Via Satta, behind Corso Garibaldi. Inaugurated in 1999, the building’s first and second floors house a hundred works by 20th century Sardinian artists, selected from the collections of four Nuoro-based public bodies: the Province, the Municipality, the Chamber of Commerce and the Provincial Tourist Board.

The museum displays major paintings and sculptures by Francesco Ciusa, Antonio Ballero, Giuseppe Biasi, Mario Delitalia, Carmelo Floris, Giovanni Ciusa Romagna and Costantino Nivola. The ground floor and top floor are home to galleries set aside for temporary exhibitions. If you head down Corso Garibaldi towards Piazza Giovanni, and cross back through Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, entering Via Guerrazzi, you will come to Via Antonio Mereau, where the Museo della Vita e delle Tradizioni popolari sarde is located.

The museum, divided into 18 galleries, displays clothing and objects typical of Sardinian life and crafts. It features traditional clothing from various different towns, especially in the Barbagia area. The traditional dress of each town is characterised by multicoloured fabrics, the cut and the fine embroidery. The rugs, blankets, covers and bags bear witness to the range of weaving techniques used. Another considerable section is dedicated to the goldsmith’s art: buttons, pins, necklaces, earrings, reliquaries and amulets.

The collection also comprises a series of traditional breads and cakes, carved chairs and benches, baskets made from different materials, woodwind instruments with marsh reeds, and a series of everyday items such as bread stamps, bone and horn cups and pumpkin flasks.

The series of traditional local carnival masks is also very interesting. Going back up Via Mereu, we come to the large square dominated by the cathedral of Santa Maria della Neve. Built between 1833 and 1854, on the basis of the designs and under the direction of brother Antonio Cano, it is characterised by its neoclassical  façade and still houses some works of great value, including the panels of the Via Crucis painted by Carmelo Floris and Giovanni Ciusa Romagna. Meanwhile, when turning left out of Piazza Giovanni into Via Asproni, we come to the Museo Deleddiano, at No. 42 Via Grazia Deledda.

This museum is situated inside the house where the female writer was born and where her personal effects, photographs, letters, first Italian and foreign editions of her works, autographs, press cuttings and various other items regarding her life and work are conserved. There is also a reproduction of her Nobel prize for literature, which she won in 1926. Following Via Chironi, we come to Viale della Solitudine, site of the Chiesa della Solitudine, built to the design of Giovanni Ciusa Romagna between 1947 and 1954, on the site of an earlier 17th century church dear to Grazia Deledda, who has been buried here since 1959. The church preserves the simplicity of the building described by the local writer, enriched by the contribution of Eugenio Tavolara, who created the great bronze door, by the Via Crucis, the tabernacle, the candelabras and the cross.

Taking the SS 129 main road from Nuoro, we come to the town of Galtellì after 21 Km. This town played an important role in the middle ages, when it was the site of the diocese. The incomplete cathedral and the ancient church of San Pietro, decorated with 13th century frescoes and described by Grazia Deledda in her novel Canne al vento, stand on the outskirts of the town, inside the cemetery walls.

After driving along the SS 125 for 21 Km, we come to Dorgali, a famous tourist resort that is also home to the Museo Salvatore Fancello. Housed in Casa Dore on Corso Umberto, the museum is dedicated to Salvatore Fancello, a local potter from Dorgali, who died in 1941 during the Second World War. The collection features part of his intense production. A large drawing, created on the occasion of his sculptor friend Costantino Nivola’s wedding, is of considerable interest, depicting country scenes with fantasy animals.

 Source (Assessorato Turismo)