Nuoro is a town located in Central Sardinia in Italy. Nuoro is a typical Sardinian town, located in the mountains with panoramic views across the region. It wasn’t until 1927 that the population of Nuoro picked up, till then it had barely any population. However, even then it was still an urban town in comparison to the towns and villages situated around it. Nuoro is also the birth place of one of the most well known writers of Sardinia, Grazia Deledda. Nuoro has a beautiful historic center, various churches and museums and is also blessed with ample natural beauty. The views in the city are some of the best in Sardinia.
Attractions in Nuoro
Cattedrale Santa Maria Delle Neve
This cinnamon colored 19th century cathedral is quite large and is built in the neoclassical style of architecture. There are quite a lot of artworks inside the cathedral like Jesus arguing with the doctors and artworks from the school of Luca Giordano.
Chiesa Della Solitudine
Nobel Prize winner Grazia Deledda was born in Nuoro and quite a lot of her works depict the life and activities here in the city. The Chiesa Della Solitudine is where she has been buried. Her granite sarcophagus is placed on the altar here and every year a torchlight parade is started from here and ends at the cathedral.
Monte Ortobene
Monte Ortobene is a granite peak located 7 Km from the city. On the peak of this mount is located the enormous statue of Christ the Redeemer and this is a much visited place in the city. In summers this becomes a favorite picnic spot for the locals as well as tourists. This is also a place of veneration and many come here to seek solitude for themselves, the views from the location are quite splendid.
Museo Archeologico Nazionale
The Museo Archeologico Nazionale is housed in a beautiful Palazzo with a neoclassical façade and the building itself is very attractive. The museum has a good collection of objects and artifacts that were found in here in Nuoro province. There are plenty of interesting things here like ancient ceramic pottery, bronze statues, a skull from 1600 BC and various other medieval and Roman objects.
Museo d’Arte
The Museo d’Arte is the only important museum in Sardinia that has a good collection of contemporary art. It has a permanent collection that showcases beautiful artworks from 20th century artists in Sardinia. There are also various works from local sculptors and some very well known artists. The museum is a must visit for all art lovers.
Piazza Satta
The Piazza Satta is dedicated to the famous poet Sebastian Satta who was born in Nuoro. The Piazza is quite small but very pretty. The buildings around the Piazza are beautiful and charming, with great architectural details. Most days in the afternoon locals and tourists can be seen strolling around the Piazza at a leisurely pace and in the evenings this becomes quite a popular place for people to meet.
Getting to Nuoro
There aren’t any airports in Nuoro so it wouldn’t be possible to reach Nuoro by air. However, there are other ways of reaching the city. There is a train line that connects the city to Macomer, Marghine and other locations in Sardinia. The trains are quite comfortable and are regular too. The train station is located close to the city center. One of the best and the fastest ways to reach Nuoro is by buses. Buses reach Nuoro from places like Cagliari, Oristano, Sassari, Baunei and other smaller towns in the region.
Moving Around the City
Nuoro is quite a small town so exploring it on foot is very comfortable and pleasant. The city is very pedestrian friendly and the streets are quite picturesque so walking around can be very enjoyable. Visitors can also rent scooters or bicycles to explore the city; parking is easily available in most places. The public transport in the city is buses and it is managed by ATP Nuoro. Buses are very punctual and the tickets are very inexpensive. Most part of the city is covered by the bus routes and visitors can purchase day passes to avoid purchasing tickets very often.
Stay and accommodation
Nuoro has some good hotels and accommodation facilities, even though the city itself is quite small. There are many hotels and bed & breakfasts around the center of the town, which is the best place to stay since it is at a central location and is close to most places in the city. Although most hotels are not as luxurious as in some other cities in Sardinia, they are still very comfortable and not expensive. Some of the best places to stay in the city are Hotel Grillo and Hotel Sandania.
Eating out
There are a lot of good places to eat here in Nuoro, with plenty of good restaurants, pizzerias, cafes and bars that serve up quite good food. While in Nuoro the best thing would be to sample some of the regional dishes like roast pork, pizzas and sea food as well as fresh pasta and other simple Italian fare. Some of the best known restaurants in town are Su Redentore, Su Nugoresu, Ristorante Tascusi, II Rifugio, II Portico and Ciusa. In the town center and the old district there are quite a lot of small family run restaurants that serve good and inexpensive food.
Shopping in Nuoro
Shopping in Nuoro can be a lot of fun since you can purchase some very interesting locally made goods here. There are quite a lot of things that could be purchased from the city including some great artworks, books, traditional pastries and great food items. Galleria II Portico is a great and inexpensive place to purchase local artwork and if you are looking for traditional pastries and desserts there are a few artesanal pasticcerie where you can buy traditional local sweets. There are also quite a lot of good places from where visitors can purchase books.
