Autumn in Barbagia, the Cortes Apertas

For a long time touristic Sardinia meant only summer and the sea. Autumn in Barbagia was created to show the other island: the mountain villages, the shepherds, the vineyards, the chestnut and holm oak woods, the granite houses with inner courtyards. Every weekend from September to December, one or more villages in central Sardinia open their cortes, the courtyards and traditional houses, and invite visitors in.

Cortes Apertas

It all began in the mid-1990s in Oliena, where in 1996 the village decided to open the courtyards of the houses in its old centre for a weekend, showing how bread was made, how cheese was worked and how the costume shawls were embroidered. The idea was a huge success and was soon taken up by other villages, until in the early 2000s it became a proper festival coordinated by the Nuoro Chamber of Commerce: Autunno in Barbagia.

Today it involves some thirty municipalities and more than thirty events, and draws hundreds of thousands of people every year. It has become one of the largest events of its kind in Italy, and an important opportunity for the small economies of the inland villages.

How it works

Each village has its own weekend. The streets of the old centre are signposted, and the doors of houses, cellars and workshops stay open from morning to evening. Inside you find everything: women kneading and baking carasau or semolina bread in wood-fired ovens, shepherds making cheese, carpenters carving wood, weavers at the loom, knife-makers, blacksmiths, musicians. You taste the produce, drink the local wine and buy directly from the people who make it.

Each village shows off its specialities. In Aritzo, chestnuts and carapigna, the sorbet made with snow; in Tonara, nougat and cowbells; in Desulo, brightly coloured costumes and sweets; in Gavoi, fiore sardo, the shepherds' pecorino; in Orgosolo, murals and pastoral cooking; in Fonni, Sardinia's highest village, sweets and mountain traditions; in Mamoiada, Cannonau and masks. There are also tiny places, such as Lollove, a hamlet of Nuoro, an almost deserted village of stone houses.

More than a food fair

Autumn in Barbagia is not just a food fair. Many villages organise guided visits to archaeological sites and churches, walks in the woods, photo exhibitions, concerts of canto a tenore and launeddas, and performances by costume groups and Carnival masks. In recent years every stop has also offered live demonstrations of traditional crafts. It is one of the best ways to understand inland Sardinia, its language, its hospitality and its relationship with the land.

The calendar

The calendar is published every summer by the Nuoro Chamber of Commerce and local tourist offices. It usually starts in the first half of September and ends in December, with one or two villages each weekend. Some dates have been fixed for years, such as Oliena, Orgosolo and Gavoi; others change.

Tips

The villages are small and Autumn in Barbagia weekends are very busy, especially on Sundays. Arrive early in the morning, leave the car in the car parks signposted at the village entrance and explore on foot. Bring cash, as not all producers take cards, and comfortable shoes for steep cobbled streets. In autumn the mountain weather changes quickly: a waterproof jacket is useful.

There are farm stays, B&Bs and small hotels in almost every village, but few beds: book early, or choose a base such as Nuoro and drive. Many visitors combine an Autumn in Barbagia weekend with a hike in the Supramonte, a visit to the nuragic village of Tiscali or a day by the sea at Cala Gonone, still warm in September and October.