Ottana is a village in the middle Tirso valley, grown from a Roman castrum on the river built to watch over the inland peoples. In the Middle Ages it was the seat of an important diocese, and from 1970 of a large industrial complex that deeply marked its recent history. The village is dominated by the 12th-century Romanesque cathedral of San Nicola, in two-tone trachyte. Ottana is famous for its Carnival with the boes and merdùles, wooden masks representing oxen and men, and the filonzana, the spinner: they first appear in January around the Sant'Antonio bonfires, summoned by the sound of a key rubbed on a bronze plate. The area has almost thirty nuraghi.
What to see
- Cathedral of San Nicola, romanica
- Maschere di boes e merdùles
- Nuraghi del territorio
Festivals and traditions
Festival features
The fires of Sant'Antonio
On the night of 16 January hundreds of bonfires light up village squares and open Carnival.
Read →January to CarnivalThe Barbagia Carnival
Mamuthones, Issohadores, Boes, Merdules and Thurpos: the archaic masks of Sardinia's inland villages.
Read →Weekends, September to DecemberAutumn in Barbagia
Every autumn weekend an inland village opens its homes and courtyards: crafts, food, wine and music.
Read →Nearby towns
- Orotelli · 9 km
- Sarule · 10 km
- Olzai · 11 km
- Noragugume · 11 km
- Orani · 11 km
- Oniferi · 11 km
- Dualchi · 12 km
- Sedilo · 13 km
Sources: Grande Enciclopedia della Sardegna; ISTAT. Original texts by Gotosardinia.
Weather in Ottana now
Where to stay in Ottana
Tours and activities nearby
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