Salvatore Satta’s Nuoro

there was only one constant, and it was Nuoro

A famous, respected jurist in life and only ‘discovered’ as a novelist after his death, thanks to ‘Judgement Day’. On the pages of his masterpiece, Salvatore Satta reconnected the thread of his memories of Nuoro during his youth, describing a small town undergoing transformation and a collection of extraordinary characters. His Nuoro is “located at the point where Mount Orthobene (...) almost forms an isthmus, becoming a plateau: on one side, there is the terrible Marreri Valley, marked by the Passo dei Ladri (Pass of Thieves), and on the other side the meek, if anything can be meek in Sardinia, Isporòsile Valley”. The protagonists of the novel are the two historical centres: Santu Pedru, the shepherds’ district, and Seuna, the farmers’ district, each one represented almost as a microcosm. Between them is the “Corso”, or Corso Garibaldi, and the “Palazzi dei Signori” (Noble Palaces) around the cathedral.

Itinerary: about 1 km

Walking journey time: 15 minutes

Cathedral of Santa Maria della Neve

The “third Nuoro, the Nuoro of the court, the town hall, the schools (...), of the ‘nobles’, whether rich or poor” looks out onto the Corso and gravitates around the public gardens and the majestic cathedral. It stands on the hill of sa Tanchitta and is the main spiritual centre in Barbagia. Tympanum, columns and a double bell tower give it the appearance of a temple. You can visit the nearby ‘Asproni’ archaeological museum, guardian of the area’s artefacts from the Neolithic period to the Middle Ages.