40.12° N · 9.25° E · Barbagia
Fonni, at about 1,000 metres, is Sardinia's highest village. In the morning you see its basilica of the Martyrs, its houses with wooden shingles and its murals; then you drive up to Bruncu Spina, at more than 1,800 metres, and walk along the Gennargentu ridge towards Punta La Marmora, the island's highest point.
Part of Barbagia
Fonni is at about 1,000 metres, on the north slope of the Gennargentu, and is Sardinia's highest village. It has about 4,000 inhabitants, a very lively pastoral tradition and, above it, the island's highest peaks. This plan combines the two: the village in the morning and the ridge in the afternoon.
The centre of the village is the basilica of the Vergine dei Martiri, with frescoes, silver reliquaries and an underground sanctuary, surrounded by cumbessias, the little houses where pilgrims stayed at festivals. Next to it are the Franciscan convent of 1610 and the oratory of San Michele, of 1760. In the historic districts there are houses with wooden shingles, the scandulas, and murals like those of other Barbagia villages. Fonni's carnival has its own masks, the Urthos and the Buttudos. An hour is enough for the walk.
From Fonni, a mountain road climbs about 15 km to the Bruncu Spina station, Sardinia's only ski area, with lifts on Bruncu Spina and Monte Spada, both above 1,800 metres. In summer, from the paved esplanade below the station, the path that follows the ridge towards Punta La Marmora, at 1,834 metres, the island's highest point, starts.
According to L'Unione Sarda, the route is about 4.9 km, takes about two hours and involves 427 metres of ascent. It is of moderate difficulty: the path is not always well marked, so you need mountain footwear, to know how to find your way and to carry a map or a track. The reward is the view: on clear days you see almost all of Sardinia, from the Gulf of Oristano to the Supramonte and the Campidano, and sometimes Corsica.
It is not a mountain to take lightly. At the top there are no trees or shade, the wind is strong and the weather changes quickly; in winter there is snow. Go from May to October, set off early and turn back if mist comes down.
From Olbia, about two hours by car; from Cagliari, about two and a half hours (estimated). Fonni is about 20 minutes from Mamoiada and its mask museum. To sleep at the foot of the mountain, the Hotel Cualbu is in the village itself.
More to do
Itineraries
Tips
On the ridge there is no shelter from mist or wind.
At 1,800 metres it gets very cold.
The path is not always clear.
Questions
Fonni, at about 1,000 metres.
About two hours from the Bruncu Spina station, for about 4.9 km.
Yes, at Bruncu Spina and Monte Spada, above Fonni, when there is snow.
Moderate: you need mountain footwear and to know how to find your way.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/sardinia/barbagia/things-to-do/fonni-and-bruncu-spina
