This town of modest dimensions is the administrative center
for the Province. Its modern aspects live side by side with the signs of its
antique origins, found in the San Pietro and Seuna districts. The exhibits at
Speleo-Archaeological Museum provide a clear synthesis of the prehistoric and
protohistoric periods; the Ethnographic Museum displays the objects and costumes
of popular traditions. Among the items of architectonic and artistic interest
are the church of Le Grazie, the Cathedral, the country church of Valverde and
that of La Solitudine which hosts the remains of Grazia Deledda.
Since its early days, Nuoro has counted renowned literaries
and artists among its citizens. Grazia Deledda who won the Nobel for Literature
in 1926 is the most famous of them all. Others are: Sebastiano Satta, who is
known for his vigorous and intense poetry; the sculptor Francesco Ciusa (with
his excellent "Mother of the Slain"); Costantino Nivola whose stone and bronze
sculptures characterize the square dedicated to Sebastiano Satta.
Along with artists such as Antonio Ballero, Giovanni Nonnis
and many others they have expressed a strong artistic vein and a cultural
vocation which earned Nuoro the epithet of "Sardinian Athens".The peculiarities
of the long country feasts and the festivals of Sardinia are known to the
experts and tourists alike. The fascination of the antique is still evident in
the feasts of today.
During Carnival, the latest fashion in disguise parades
alongside the ancient masks, such as the Mamuthones, Boes Merdules, and so on,
whose origins go back to Dionysian mystery rites. On May 10th, a crowd of
horsemen returns to Nuoro from the novena of S. Francesco.
At the end of August Nuoro celebrates the Feast of the
Redeemer: the religious procession is followed by a parade where delegations
from numerous towns and villages from every part of Sardinia march dressed in
their traditional costumes; singing and characteristic dances follow later that
day.
Courtesy of EPT Ente Turismo di Nuoro
