oristano, capital of the homonymous province, is teeming with monuments: among the most important are the cathedral of santa maria assunta, erected in the 13th century and remodeled in the baroque style in the 18th century; and the church of san francesco, housing a magnificent 15th-century wooden crucified christ.
piazza eleonora bears a marble monument (1881) dedicated to eleonora of arborea, who led oristano and wrote the carta de logu, considered one of the first constitutions of the world. other important sights in the city include the tower of mariano ii and the arborense antiquities museum.
near oristano, passing cabras and its noteworthy civic museum and moving towards the bay, one arrives at the 4th-century church of san giovanni di sinis - in the same-named village - and the beautiful tharros archaeological site, an open-air museum holding the remains of a town founded by the phoenicians in the 8th century b.c. remarkably, such remains lie atop the even older remains of a nuragic village. one of the most interesting buildings is the tophet, a characteristic sanctuary of the phoenician-punic civilization. also here are the thermal baths, the temple foundations, and a section of houses and workshops.
not far from tharros is san salvatore where, inside the church of cristo salvatore is the hypogeum of san salvatore, a pagan temple of nuragic origins linked to the cult of the water. also noteworthy are the marvelous beaches of is autas, mainly composed of small quartz grains; mari ermi; and the spectacular cliffs of su tingiosu. the island of mal di ventre is located 4.5 miles offshore and hosts rabbits, tortoises and reptiles: the island is part of the sinis peninsula marine protected area.
south of oristano, one will find two rather interesting villages: santa giusta, site of phoenician and roman remains, in addition to the 12th-century romanesque cathedral; and arborea, with its art nouveau and neo-gothic buildings. exhibited inside the palazzo comunale is an archaeological collection, with punic, roman and late-medieval finds, and components of the area's necropolises.
in the northwest of the province, about 15.5 mi from oristano, lies fordongianus, famous for its many prehistoric remains, as well as those from the roman era (the aqueduct, the amphitheatre, a bridge, thermal baths and a few other structures). just outside the village is the church of san lussorio, built in the 12th century on a paleo-christian hypogeum where, according to the traditions, st. luxorius was buried after being martyred roman emperor diocletian, during a time of persecutions, in 304 a.d.
in the nearby town of ghilarza the antonio gramsci house-museum is a window into the world of this the intellectual and politician, who lived here from 1898 to 1908. the area around ghilarza also features two of the island's most important prehistoric monuments: the nuraghe losa complex (losa in sardinian means tomb) and the santa cristina nuragic sanctuary, with a famous sacred well.
lastly, in the province's northwest, bosa offers up its splendid monuments: among them, the serravalle castle, containing the church of nostra signora de regnos altos; the cathedral of the immaculate conception; the church of the carmine and the church of san pietro extra muros, just outside the town walls.
