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Sardinian Athens
This town of modest dimensions is the administative centre 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 characterise 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.
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