Carnival and masks itinerary

In winter, in the villages of the Barbagia, carnival is not a festival of confetti and floats. It is an ancient rite, perhaps older than Christianity, in which men in dark wooden masks and sheepskins advance slowly through the streets, shaking dozens of kilos of cowbells on their backs. According to scholars, the Mamuthones of Mamoiada, the Boes and Merdules of Ottana and the Thurpos of Orotelli represent the struggle between man and nature, mastery over animals, and the death and rebirth of the land. Watching them parade, in a silence broken only by the clanging of bells, is something you never forget.

This six-day itinerary is designed for the days of carnival, from Saturday to Shrove Tuesday, but it also works in mid-January, when the great bonfires of St Anthony the Abbot are lit and the masks come out for the first time. You stay in Nuoro and visit the mask villages, then head down to Oristano for the Sartiglia, the great horseback joust, and finish with the Bosa carnival.

1. Nuoro: the Costume Museum
2. Mamoiada: Mamuthones and Issohadores
3. Ottana: Boes and Merdules
4. Orotelli: Sos Thurpos
5. Gavoi: Sos Tumbarinos
6. Oristano: the Sartiglia
7. Bosa: the Bosa carnival

The Barbagia carnival

The masks of the Barbagia have different names in every village, but they resemble one another: faces carved from wild pear or alder wood, stained black or left pale, sheep or goat skins, cowbells strapped to the back with leather belts. Often there is one figure who dominates and one who submits: the Issohadore who catches people with his lasso, the Merdule who drives the Boe with a whip. Their origins are debated, but almost all scholars link them to very old farming and pastoral rites tied to the passage from winter to spring. For a long time these traditions risked disappearing; since the 1970s the villages have revived them with pride. See our pages on Sardinian festivals and the Barbagia carnival.

1. 16 JanuarySt Anthony bonfires in almost every village
2. 17 JanuaryFirst outing of the Mamuthones in Mamoiada
3. Fat ThursdaySos Tumbarinos and the Lardajolu in Gavoi
4. SundayParades in Mamoiada, Ottana and Orotelli; first Sartiglia race in Oristano
5. MondayVillage festivities and masks in Ottana
6. Shrove TuesdaySecond Sartiglia in Oristano and the night of the Bosa carnival

Day 1: Nuoro and the Costume Museum

Fly into Olbia and drive to Nuoro (about an hour and a quarter). The Costume Museum, Sardinia's ethnographic museum, has a room devoted to the island's traditional masks, with complete costumes, and it is the best way to understand the differences between villages. In the evening dine in a trattoria in the centre on suckling pig, culurgiones and Cannonau. If it is 16 January, drive to a nearby village to see the St Anthony bonfires, great stacks of wood that burn all night in the squares, with sweets and wine offered to everyone.

Where to stay: in Nuoro, for three nights.

Day 2: Mamoiada, Mamuthones and Issohadores

Mamoiada (about twenty minutes) is the most famous carnival village in Sardinia. The Mamuthones wear a black wooden mask, the visera, a headscarf, a black sheepskin and up to thirty kilos of cowbells on their backs. They advance in two rows, in silence, with a measured step and a leap that makes all the bells ring at once. They are led by the Issohadores, in red jackets and pale masks, with a rush lasso, the soha, which they throw into the crowd to catch someone: being caught brings good luck, and usually means buying a round of drinks.

In the morning visit the Museum of Mediterranean Masks, which compares Sardinian masks with those of other Mediterranean and Alpine countries, and a workshop where craftsmen carve the viseras. In the afternoon watch the parade. Mamoiada also produces some of Sardinia's best Cannonau: many wineries open their doors on festival days.

Day 3: Ottana and Orotelli

In Ottana (about half an hour) come the Boes, men disguised as oxen with wooden bovine masks and horns, skins and cowbells, and the Merdules, with deformed human masks, who drive and whip them like farmers with their cattle. Among them moves Sa Filonzana, an old woman in black spinning wool on a spindle, who threatens to cut the thread of life of anyone who doesn't offer her a drink.

A few kilometres away, in Orotelli, come the Thurpos, "the blind ones": men with faces blackened by burnt cork, wrapped in black hooded orbace cloaks, who move in pairs, one playing the ox and one the farmer, miming ploughing. They are among the most striking and least known masks.

Day 4: Gavoi, Orani and Fonni

Drive up towards the Gennargentu to Gavoi (about three quarters of an hour), a village of granite houses above Lake Gusana. On Fat Thursday Sos Tumbarinos parade here, dozens of players of goatskin drums, with fifes and soot-blackened masks, while the Lardajolu goes round collecting lard and sausages. In Orani, at the foot of Monte Gonare, comes Su Bundu, with a cork mask, long moustache and horns, and in Fonni, Sardinia's highest village, Sos Urthos and Sos Buttudos: the bear, held on a chain by keepers dressed in black. Lunch in an agriturismo on boiled mutton and cheeses.

Each village has its own day and the programme changes every year: check the town council websites or the tourist office in Nuoro.

Day 5: Oristano's Sartiglia

Drive down to the sea at Oristano (about an hour and a quarter). On carnival Sunday and Tuesday the Sartiglia is run, a horseback joust of medieval origin. The central figure is Su Componidori, the leader of the race, dressed and "composed" by women in a solemn rite, with a woman's mask, an embroidered shirt and a black top hat: from then on he may not touch the ground until the end of the festival. At full gallop, sword in hand, he must spear a star hanging above the street: the more stars are taken, the better the year will be. In the afternoon the pariglie, teams of three riders standing on galloping horses, perform spectacular acrobatics.

Grandstand seats are sold in advance; otherwise stand along the barriers, arriving very early. See the Sartiglia.

Where to stay: in Oristano or Cabras, for one night.

Day 6: the Bosa carnival

Drive up the coast to Bosa (about an hour and a quarter). The Karrasegare Osincu, Bosa's carnival, is unlike any other: on the morning of Shrove Tuesday the townspeople dress in black, like widows, and wander the town theatrically mourning the death of carnival and teasing their neighbours with sharp verses. In the evening, dressed in white sheets and pillowcases and holding lanterns, they search for Giolzi, the spirit of carnival, peering between passers-by's legs. Then continue to Alghero (about three quarters of an hour) for the airport.

How much it costs

Accommodation315 €

Meals235 €

Car and fuel140 €

Admissions and stands45 €

To save money: in winter inland Sardinia is one of the cheapest destinations in Italy; village parades are free, and during the festivities many villages offer sweets, wine and broad beans to passers-by. Do book accommodation in Oristano for the Sartiglia well in advance.

Practical information

• Respect: the masks are not a show for tourists but a deeply felt tradition; don't touch the masks, don't block the parades, and ask before taking close-up photos.
• Cold: in the Barbagia in January and February temperatures often drop below freezing and it can snow; bring a warm jacket and waterproof shoes.
• Roads: with snow or ice some mountain roads require chains or winter tyres.
• Programmes: dates vary from village to village and year to year; always check the programme before you go.

Variations

• Tempio carnival: Sardinia's biggest float carnival, with King Giorgio; see Tempio Pausania.
• Samugheo: the Mamutzones and the textile museum, in the Mandrolisai; see Samugheo.
• Lula: the mask of Su Battileddu, the sacrificial victim; see Lula.

What to read before you go

An illustrated book on Sardinia's traditional masks; for the atmosphere of the inland villages, the novels of Grazia Deledda, starting with Reeds in the Wind.

Final tips

• Pace: parades start in the early afternoon and last until evening; mornings are free for museums and wineries.
• Combinations: from Nuoro you can link up with the literary Sardinia itinerary; in spring, with the Supramonte itinerary.
• A tip: in Mamoiada, when the Mamuthones make their leap and all the bells ring together, close your eyes: it sounds like a whole herd passing down the street.