Nuoro

Nuoro (Italian pronunciation: [ˈnuːoro] ⓘ or less correctly [ˈnwɔːro]; Sardinian: Nùgoro [ˈnuɣɔɾɔ]) is a city and municipality in central-eastern Sardinia in Italy, situated on the slopes of Mount Ortobene. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Nuoro. As of 2025, with a population of 33,106, it is the sixth-largest city in Sardinia. Its frazione (borough) of Lollove is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

As the birthplace of several renowned artists, including writers, poets, painters and sculptors, Nuoro hosts some of the most important museums in Sardinia. It is considered an important cultural center of the region and it has been referred to as the "Sardinian Athens". Nuoro is the hometown of Grazia Deledda, the only Italian woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

History

The earliest traces of human settlement in the Nuoro area (called "the Nuorese") are the so-called Domus de janas, rock-cut tombs dated at the third millennium BC. However, fragments of ceramics of the Ozieri culture have also been discovered and dated at c. 3500 BC.

The Nuorese was a centre of the Nuragic civilization, which developed in Sardinia from c. 1500 BC to c. 250 BC. More than 30 Nuragic sites have been discovered in the area, including a village discovered in the countryside of Tanca Manna, just outside Nuoro, which comprised over 150 huts.

The Nuorese was crossed by a Roman road which connected Karalis (Cagliari) to Ulbia (Olbia). The legacy of the Roman colonization can especially be found in the variety of the Sardinian language which is still spoken today in Nuoro: Nuorese Sardinian is considered the most conservative dialect of Sardinian, which is in turn the most conservative Romance language.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Sardinia was held first by the Vandals and then by the Byzantines. According to the letters of Pope Gregory I, a Romanized and Christianized culture (that of the provinciales) co-existed with several Pagan cultures (those of the Gens Barbaricina, i.e. "Barbarian People") mainly located in the island's interior. As the Byzantine control waned, the Judicates appeared. A small village known as Nugor appears on a medieval map from 1147. In the two following centuries it grew to more than 1000 inhabitants.[citation needed] Nuoro remained a town of average importance under the Aragonese and Spanish domination of Sardinia, until famine and plague struck it in the late 17th century.

After the annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia, the town became the administrative center of the area, obtaining the title of city in 1836.

Climate

Demographics

As of 2025, Nuoro has a population of 33,106, of whom 48.1% are male and 51.9% are female. Minors make up 11.9% of the population, and seniors make up 28.5%, compared to the Italian average of 14.9% and 24.7% respectively.

As of 2024, the foreign-born population is 1,111, equal to 3.3% of the population. The 5 largest foreign nationalities are Romanians (310), Senegalese (233), Chinese (102), Pakistanis (80) and Moroccans (72).

Culture

ISRE

Since 1972 in Nuoro is active the Istituto superiore regionale etnografico (ISRE), which is an institution that promotes the study and documentation of the social and cultural life of Sardinia in its traditional manifestations and its transformations. In fact, in addition to managing museums and libraries, it organizes national and international events, including: the Sardinia International Ethnographic Film Festival (SIEFF) and the Festival Biennale Italiano dell’Etnografia (ETNU) (Italian Biennial Festival of Ethnography).

Museums

• Sardinian Ethnographic Museum (Museo Etnografico Sardo).
• Grazia Deledda's Museum (Museo Deleddiano).
• M.A.N., Museo d’Arte Provincia di Nuoro (Modern Art Museum of the Nuoro Province).
• National Archaeological Museum of Nuoro (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Nuoro).
• Museo Ciusa, Museum dedicated to Francesco Ciusa and other artists
• Spazio Ilisso
• Museum of Ceramics (Museo della Ceramica)

Monuments and historical sites

• Nuoro Cathedral (Cattedrale di Santa Maria della Neve)
• Piazza Sebastiano Satta
• Chiesa di Nostra Signora delle Grazie
• Chiesa della Solitudine
• The Redeemer's statue, Monte Ortobene, the 7 meters tall Vincenzo Gerace's bronze statue installed 29 August 1901.
• Nuraghe Ugolio
• Chiesa di San Carlo, church built in the 17th century containing a copy of Francesco Ciusa's masterpiece La madre dell'ucciso.
• Sas Birghines, Domus de Janas located in Monte Ortobene
• Sanctuary Madonna of Montenero, Monte Ortobene

Language

Along with Italian, the traditional language spoken in Nuoro is Sardinian, in its Logudorese-Nuorese variety.

Food

Nuoro is home to the world's rarest pasta, su filindeu. The name in Sardinian language means "the threads (or wool) of God" and is made exclusively by the women of a single family in the town, with the recipe being passed down through generations.

Cultural international events

• Sardinia International Ethnographic Film Festival

Government

Transport

Road

Nuoro is served by the SS 131 DCN (Olbia-Abbasanta), the SS 129 (Orosei-Macomer), and the SS 389 (Monti-Lanusei).

Bus

ARST, Azienda Regionale Sarda Trasporti provide regular connections to Cagliari, Sassari, Olbia, and to several minor centres in the province and the region.

Other private operators (including Deplano Autolinee, Turmotravel, Redentours) connects Nuoro to various cities and airports in the island.

Rail

Nuoro is connected by train to Macomer via Ferrovie della Sardegna.

Local transportation

ATP Nuoro's bus system provides service within the city.

Notable people

• Sebastiano Satta (1867–1914), poet, lawyer
• Grazia Deledda (1871–1936), writer, winner Nobel Prize
• Francesco Ciusa (1883–1949), sculptor, winner of the Venice Biennale
• Adelasia Cocco (1885–1983), Health Officer in Nuoro, possibly the first female doctor in Italy
• Attilio Deffenu (1890–1918), trade unionist
• Salvatore Satta (1902–1975), jurist, writer
• Sebastiano Mannironi (1930–2015), athlete. Olympic games medal winner.
• Franco Oppo (1935–2016), composer
• Marcello Fois (born 1960), writer
• Flavio Manzoni (born 1967), car designer
• Gianfranco Zola (born 1966), footballer
• Salvatore Sirigu (born 1987), footballer

Twin towns - sister cities

• France Corte, France
• Italy Tolmezzo, Italy

Notes

External links

• (in Italian)
• 10 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian)