Ardauli is a small village in the historical Barigadu region in the province of Oristano and it stands on a trachyte plateau known as Culunzu Pertuntu, the ‘pierced rock’. According to legend, it was used by sailors as a mooring place, when the sea reached the present-day valley, washed by the Rio Canal, that the village looks out onto. The deep valley runs as far as the southern shores of lake Omodeo, characterised by uncontaminated vegetation and numerous rocks shaped by atmospheric agents: it is the habitat of numerous animal species: hares, foxes, weasels, wild cats, deer, wild boar and martens.

The area of Ardauli is particularly fertile and shows traces of agricultural activities that took place in the past: you will find ancient water mills, stone mills, open spaces used for processing wheat and vats for pressing grapes.

In the village, the parish church of Santa Maria della Guardia is worth a visit. It was built in the first few decades of the 17^th century in Catalan Gothic style. The building has a single nave and four chapels on each side. The façade, which is decorated with a large rose-window and has a bell tower built around the eighteenth century alongside it, features ‘classical’ elements: entrance portal and decorations. Various styles also blend with each other inside: the engrailed cornices are of Renaissance inspiration and the semi-columns of the presbytery are of Baroque origin. Don't miss a visit to the country church of San Quirico, overlooking the banks of the Omodeo lake, at an altitude of about 400 metres, built around 1100 and surrounded by several cumbessias, traditional dwellings belonging to the families of the village and used to accommodate them during the celebration of the saint, which bring to mind an original tradition that dates back as far as the Nuragic age.