Salvatore Satta’s Nuoro

Salvatore Satta’s Nuoro

Itinerary through the pages of a masterpiece of Sardinian literature, ‘Judgment Day’, set in the main city of Barbagia, the cultural centre of the Island

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

Seuna – Church of the Madonna delle Grazie

“A whole host of low houses, positioned in no particular order, or in that wonderful order that results from untidiness (...)”, is how Satta describes Seuna, perhaps the oldest district in Nuoro. It extends around the ‘old’ church of Madonna delle Grazie, built in the 17th century and much loved by the people of Nuoro. The ‘gateway’ to Seuna is the new sanctuary, built in the 20th century and overlooking the square where the Corso begins.

Madonna delle Grazie - Nuoro

One of the oldest shrines in Nuoro, the full expression of the deep devotion felt by the inhabitants of central Sardinia, especially during the...

Santu Pedru - Piazza Satta

Santu Pedru and Seuna are separated by Corso Garibaldi, the city's ‘gathering place’. You should walk around them slowly, admiring the shop windows and historic bars, and perhaps make a small detour to visit the MAN museum. Welcoming you to the “other village within the village”, the “black heart of Nuoro”, is the beautiful square dedicated to the poet Sebastiano Satta - Salvatore’s great-uncle - and it is embellished with sculptures by another illustrious Barbagia-born personality, Costantino Nivola. 300 metres away and not to be missed is the house-museum of Grazia Deledda.

Piazza (town square) Satta - Nuoro

An historic piazza in central Sardinia’s main city, one that unites two of the XX century’s most important personalities: named after a great...

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.