While walking in the lovely old town of Nuoro, rich in art and history, we can admire many monuments. Among these, the Duomo (Cathedral), built in the mid-19th Century, and preserving paintings by local artists; the Church of San Simplicio, built in the Romanesque between the 11th and the 12th Centuries; the Sanctuary and the Chiesa delle Grazie; and the MAN, Museo dell?Arte di Nuoro, distributed over four floors - two of which house temporary exhibitions, and the other two, works by Sardinian artists from the early 20th Century until today. Finally, not to be left out is the National Archaeological Museum, featuring numerous exhibits regarding the Province of Nuoro's history, from the Neolithic to Medieval times.
It is worth noting the Museo Deleddiano, situated in the house where the famous Sardinian writer Grazia Deledda (1871-1936) was born; Deledda won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1926. This House-Museum displays material relating to the writer's life and work, whose name was also given to the Grazia Deledda Literary Park, offering a series of thematic journeys that refer to her life and novels.
In southeastern Nuoro lies the territory of Barbagia, in part comprising the massif of Gennargentu: a zone full of charm, yet inaccessible and sparsely inhabited. Among the small villages of Barbagia we mention Oliena, whose old town center of white-walled houses and the ruins of a Medieval castle is one of the most characteristic of the island. Moreover, Orgosolo, famous for its numerous murals depicting socio-political content, painted on the walls of the old town in the 1970s.
Also worth a visit is the Cathedral of Ottana, dating from the 12th Century and composed of black and purple trachyte; the late Baroque Basilica of Madonna dei Martiri in Fonni; and the old town of Desulo, home to the Ethnographic Museum "Casa Montanaru" that exhibits costumes and objects related to ancient pastoral activity. Archaeological finds abound in this area, such as the four monumental menhirs of Perdas Fittas, and the necropolis of Sa Concas.
To the west of Nuoro is the territory of the Baronie, characterized by fertile plains and gently-rolling hills. The main towns are Orosei and Siniscola. In Orosei, see the Museum Giovanni Guiso, the Parish Church of San Giacomo Maggiore (Moorish architecture) and the Church of Sant'Antonio Abate, dated to the 14th Century. Sant'Antonio houses a wooden statue of the saint, feted with a big bonfire every January 17th. Among the monuments of Siniscola is the 18th-Century Parish Church of San Giovanni Battista.
Numerous archaeological finds can be found in the northeast of the province, e.g. the Nuraghe village of Serra Orrios, among the largest and best-preserved in Sardinia; the Tomb of the Giants of S'Ena e Thomes; the Sacred Well of Su Tempiesu, a beautiful example of Nuraghe temple architecture; and the archaeological site of Noddule, consisting of a large Nuraghe, and a Nuragic village.
