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THE TERRITORY |
  
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| The province of Nuoro, with a surface are of just over 7000 square kilometres and a population of 272 thousand, is the heart of Sardinia, the region where the past is the present, where no trace has ever been found of the presence of the Phoenicians or, later, of the Romans. It is a vast area quite distinct from the others on account of its geomorphological features and the diversity of its history. Clinging to the mountainous chain of the Gennargentu, it has always been an impregnable land, defended valiantly by the inhabitants who took refuge in those mysterious fortresses, the hundreds of "nuraghi" scatteres all over the territory, which remain as a mysterious reminder of the past. It is a history made of stone, with the fortified settlements that bear witness to the proud stern character of the inhabitants of Barbagia, a character that stoutly survives the test of time whose "cold wing" have been unable to erase it. Like the rest of the island, the province of Nuoro is an old land, thousands of years old, steeped in history, ancestral charm, traditions and magic ritual, with a wild, perfectly intact nature that offers the visitor incomparable emotional scenes and visions that are unique and ever changing. With its economy based on farming and stock-rearing, it draws the curious tourist, animated by the spirit of adventure, into a world where time seems to have stood still; yet this world helps him to have a better understanding of a variegated and in some ways contradictory aspect of the interaction between man and environment. For modern followers of Lawrence, the province of Nuoro is an authentic treasure chest full of wonders, a fragment of a planet without history, perhaps just about to disappear, at least as far as concerns the "primitiveness" of certain of its expression, certain biblical life styles and pastoral "primordial conditions". Today, after centuries of isolation, the inland areas are attracting an increasing number of Italian and foreign tourists, lovers of nature and the clean sea, of photo safaris and riding, pony-trekking and hiking, driving jeeps, hunting and fishing. At Aritzo, for example, a rodeo of wild horses is held every summer. It is unique in its kind, rather reminiscent of the performances of American cowboys. The whole area of the Gennargentu, which is the most important mountainous massif on the island, is very interesting. At Belvì, a village just a kilometre away from Aritzo, there is the most original natural museum in Sardinia. The majestic slopes of the mountain, to which cling the villages of Ovodda, Tonara, Tiana, Desulo, Austis, Gadoni, Ortueri, Atzara, Sorgono and Meana Sardo, are clothed in woods od chestnut, hazel, walnut and cherry trees, offering countless possibilities for really unusual and unrepeatable excursion.
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