Spirituality

The landscape of the province of Nuoro is steeped in spirituality, in the unexpected harmony that is created between the rugged rocks of the massifs and the peace of the sea, between the small villages and its inhabitants, between the green and fragrant pastures and animals. The spiritual experiences that one can encounter in Nuoro province reveal a supportive community whose devotion is very strong. 

The countless country churches scattered throughout the territory bear witness to this. from the sea to the steep mountains. Several are the last remaining traces of ancient villages that have disappeared over the centuries due to epidemics or depopulation, others are the fulfilled promise of a miracle or healing.

Such as the one that, according to legend, saved Justice Gonario of Torres from an imminent shipwreck. A beacon of light that endured the darkness of the stormy sea and the noble Sardinian who, once saved, had the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Gonare built on that mountain between Sarule and Orani, which for centuries served as a pilgrimage destination for the people of Barbagia. 

With the mother-of-pearl rosary in her hand, aunt Batóra climbed slowly up the steep path that leads from the village of Bitti to the overhanging church of the Miracle, that is, of Our Lady of the Miracle. 

Thus is Grazia Deledda’s description of the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora del Miracolo, which today has been mostly absorbed by the town of Bitti. 

The sanctuary has been a constant in the life of the village. They pop up hidden and unexpected as a wonderful gift to the curious tourist for having persevered into those far-off meadows. The sanctuaries are emblematic of the hospitality that you will find in Sardinia East Land, the church dedicated to a saint or the Madonna usually overlooks a square and is surrounded by small row-house lodgings for pilgrims called cumbessias or muristenes, depending on whether you are further north or south. Among the principal sanctuaries there is San Mauro located in Sorgono in Mandrolisai, it is nestled in a lovely natural and archaeological setting.

During the festival these secluded places come alive teeming with life on feast days and during the novena, an ancient tradition of 9 days of devotional prayer. These are unique moments where you can enjoy an authentic and once in a lifetime experience tasting traditional dishes, joining in the collective singing of ballu tundu, immersing yourself in an atmosphere of community and spirituality like the one you sense in the Sanctuary of San Francesco di Lula at the foot of Montalbo.

In Ogliastra the sanctuaries are mainly dedicated to the devotion of Mary, but in Ussassai you will find a very ancient rural sanctuary dedicated to San Salvatore. In Barbagia there is the devotion of Nostra Signora dell’Itria, the Madonna who shows the way, to whom urban and rural churches are dedicated. 

In the villages the feast of the patron saint is celebrated with sumptuous processions in which the faithful wear elegant traditional garments in black woolen fabric for men, coloured brocades and precious silks for women. The faithful parade on horseback while the image of the saint is pulled by ox carts adorned with flowers. 

There are many churches, more or less ancient, where you can find shelter from the summer heat and autumn rain, meditating while admiring the emblematic wooden statues and simple architecture of these small temples. Some rites seem to harken back to distant pagan origins such as those for San Bachisio, observed almost exclusively in Sardinia and celebrated in Onani and Bolotana.  You will discover other ancient rites related to saints who were born or who died in Sardinia at the time of the Roman persecutions, like San Lussorio and Sant’Efisio, the patron saint of the island.

Throughout the Nuoro area, Byzantine sects survive, including that of San Giorgio Martire.

In the municipalities of Dorgali and Orgosolo you can visit the birthplaces of the Blessed Antonia Mesina and the Blessed Maria Gabriella Sagheddu, witnesses of the faith in the modern era.

The convents in the heart of the island, like that of the Carmelites, in an idyllic location in the hills of Nuoro, and the Monastery of the Benedictine nuns near Lodine, are loved for their charm.