Orgosolo: The Murals City 0 Comments

Orgosolo: The Murals City

The heart of the true Ichnusa (ancient name for Sardinia), the land of the proud shepherds, lies in Barbagia, an austere territory far from the famous amiable territory of Sardinia seaside. From the Gabbiano Azzurro Hotel & Suites (136 km and 40 minutes), arriving in Orgosolo in the Barbagian region of Ollolai, in the Nuoro province, the colours of the indomitable soul of the “barbaricina“ city are displayed on the wall paintings decorating the houses. More than 200 murals attract thousands of Italian and foreign tourists as well as wall-art lovers, artwork very common in Sardinia. In every mural, there is the story of an indomitable land, Sardinia, a timeless land. 

Orgosolo’s history begins in the Neolithic period, inhabited by prehistoric populations. And when the conquerors arrived, the Carthaginians first, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Spaniards and finally the Piedmontese later, Orgosolo always reacted, living according to its own principles. 

Each wall is enriched with an evocative mural and strolling about the streets is emotional because the mural is there to tell its own past and traditions. Since 1969, when the first wall painting was created, (we remember San Sperate, in the province of Cagliari, with the murals by Pinuccio Sciola: Sardinian Sculptor and Muralist of Villamar and Serramanna) murals tradition has never stopped, and today it is possible to admire, walking through the streets of the town, artworks describing the pastoral society life with its struggles, its miseries and the ultimate transformation. 

Of many murals the authors are unknown. The political and social energy of the 60s and 70s left collective murals with intense figures. The politicized murals, which told us about the changes in Italian society, have been gradually replaced with decorations telling everyday’s life and stories of the countryside and villages of the island, keeping the message of a collective art unchanged in spite of  the new characteristics of the city’s decoration

Orgosolo’s murals reveal Sardinia to the world and how Sardinia sees the world. They are made with water-based paint used for interiors and therefore perishable. And the community will retouch the faded mural only if considers it important to continue communicating its content. Otherwise, it will live in the memory of those who admired it when was colourful.

"I did not know how to paint a mural. I did not know how to prepare the surface. There was nobody from the Renaissance around who could advise me, and I did the best I could." (Maurice Sendak)

--

Written by Daniela Toti

Share your opinion with us!