It stands at 500 metres of altitude in the heart of the Barbagia region and is surrounded by green hills. Orani, a municipality with almost three thousand inhabitants, is the birthplace of 20th century internationally famous artists, like Nivola and Delitala, and contemporaries, like the writer Salvatore Niffoi and the fashion designer Paolo Modolo. The Nivola Museum, located on a spectacular hill, is dedicated to Costantino Nivola, one of the all-time greatest Sardinian artists: since 1995, the museum has had 200 sculptures and paintings inside it. The Delitala Collection, in honour of the painter Mario Delitala, has been set up in the Franciscan convent: portraits, sacred representations and scenes of life in Barbagia. Artisan crafts are an artistic expression in Orani: wooden chests, granite and iron artefacts, gold jewellery, rugs and blankets, clothes made of velvet and orbace (coarse woollen fabric) and leather cambales and cusinzos. The Su Bundhu mask, a symbol of the village, is made of cork and, along with Su Maimone, is a protagonist during the carnival. The tradition of homemade pastries and breads like carasau is renowned. In October, you can taste the local delicacies during a stage of Autumn in Barbagia that takes place here. Among the churches, visit the parish church of Sant'Andrea Apostolo, a neoclassical building in which there are works, like the altarpiece made by Delitala, Nostra Signora d’Itria, and has an engraving by Nivola (1959) on its façade. There is also the Franciscan church of San Giovanni Battista and that of the Rosario (17th century), enriched by frescoes dating back to the middle of the eighteenth century. The most distinctive sanctuary is located in a forest on Mount Gonare, at an altitude of one thousand metres: it is Nostra Signora di Gonare (early 17th century), the 'highest' church on the Island, praised by Nobel prize-winner Grazia Deledda in 'Le Vie del Male' (The Ways of Evil) and a destination for pilgrimages. The festivities in its honour are: on 25 March, at the end of May and at the beginning of September, organized alternately with the Municipality of Sarule, with which it shares the church walls. The Gonare is a massif with steep rock faces, covered in woods where you can go on long excursions, with the charm of centuries of religious devotion.

Domus de Janas, isolated and in small groups, confirm the presence of humans from the Late Neolithic period. An exceptional case is the necropolis of Sas Concas with 15 Domus dug out of the cliff. Also worthy of note are Sas Fossas and Badde Roma, with eight and five hypogea. Dating back to the end of the Neolithic age, there are two Dolmens and six Menhirs, four of which are six metres tall. About thirty Nuragic settlements date back to the Bronze Age: some are 'corridor' types, about twenty with a tholos, including the Athethu, and some are complex. The most impressive is the Nuraghe Nurdole: a central tower stands 700 metres high, enclosed by a bastion with four towers. Completing the evidence from the Nuragic age are the Tombs of Giants of Istelenneru and sacred fonts, one of which is near Nurdole.