geocalia
Day itinerary · 40.20° N · 9.35° E
The mamuthones museum in Mamoiada, the murals of Orgosolo, a Barbagia menu with wine at Il Portico and a three-wine tasting at the village winery.
Part of Barbagia
The plan
Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.
From Olbia along the SS131 DCN towards Nuoro; from Cagliari, leave at 7:30 along the SS131
10:30 guided visit, also in Spanish · €9
Piazza Europa, 15, 08024 Mamoiada · +39 0784 1898135
park at the entrance to the village
€22 and €23 menus with Cannonau; call first
Via Giovanni XXIII, 34, 08027 Orgosolo · +39 0784 402929
book with the winery's form · from €25 · minimum 4 people
In Olbia around 19:45; in Cagliari, around 20:45
Adds up the activities and meals in the plan at their published prices; travel and accommodation not included.
The route
The Barbagia can be understood in two neighbouring villages, ten kilometres apart. In Mamoiada, the museum of the mamuthones, the black wooden masks and cowbells of Sardinia's oldest carnival. In Orgosolo, some 150 murals that tell of decades of protest and pastoral life, a lunch of homemade pasta with house wine and, to finish, a Cannonau tasting at the village's small growers' winery.
Fly to Olbia (OLB), with a direct flight from Barcelona, or to Cagliari (CAG), with direct flights from Barcelona and Seville. Hire a car at the airport. From Olbia, Mamoiada is just under two hours away on the SS131 DCN towards Nuoro; from Cagliari, about two hours and three-quarters on the SS131 (estimated). From Cagliari it is a long day: if you can, sleep in the area.
8:15 · Leave Olbia. From Cagliari, leave at 7:30.
10:30 · Museo delle Maschere Mediterranee. Join the 10:30 guided visit, which is also given in Spanish. The Barbagia carnival room, with the mamuthones and issohadores, and the Mediterranean room, with masks from the Alps, the Iberian peninsula and the Balkans. One hour; €9.
12:00 · Orgosolo murals. Ten kilometres and a quarter of an hour by road. Park at the entrance to the village and walk the main street and the side lanes. Take photos from the street: these are inhabited houses.
13:30 · Lunch at Il Portico. In the centre, on foot. Menu no. 3, for €23, brings maharrones de punzu with game ragù and a mixed grill of meat with myrtle, with house Cannonau and water. The website does not publish opening hours: call ahead.
15:30 · Tasting at Cantine di Orgosolo. Vineyard, cellar and three wines, mainly Cannonau, with dried ricotta, pecorino and pane carasau. Two hours, from €25. It is for over-18s and needs a minimum of four people: book beforehand using the winery's form.
17:45 · Return. In Olbia around 19:45; in Cagliari, around 20:45. Let whoever has not been tasting do the driving.
Where to eat
Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.
What to order: tourist menu no. 3, with maharrones de punzu with game ragù and myrtle mixed grill, or no. 1, with cured meats, pecorino and lisanzas alla barbaricina
What to order: the maharrones a busa or the pane frattau as a first course, the porcetto arrosto or the cinghiale al Nepente as a main course, and the sevada hin mele; if there are two of you, the Daddana tasting menu
What to order: the porceddu allo spiedo roasted in the fireplace, the ricotta culurgiones or the maccarones de busa, and seadas with honey for dessert
Map
With where to park at each one.
Getting there
When to go
All year: the museum is open daily and the tasting runs all year. Best in spring and autumn, without the summer heat in the streets of Orgosolo. In January and at carnival time you can also see the mamuthones in the street.
Tips
With your group formed: the minimum is four people.
The guided visit at a fixed time is the best way to understand the museum.
On 16 January the mamuthones take to the streets in Mamoiada.
Questions
Yes: they are ten kilometres apart. From Olbia, the full day lasts about eleven hours.
Between €60 and €80 per person with the museum, lunch and tasting, not including the car.
Yes, on the guided visits at fixed times.
No, it is for over-18s only; with children, replace it with a longer walk around Orgosolo.
More plans like this
geocalia.com/en/italy/sardinia/barbagia/itineraries/masks-murals-and-cannonau
Prices, opening hours and times are approximate: check them before you go. Each place has its own page on Geocalia.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/sardinia/barbagia/itineraries/masks-murals-and-cannonau
