While walking in the lovely old town of Nuoro, rich in art and history, we can admire many monuments. Among these, the Duomo (Cathedral), built in the middle of the 19^th century, which preserves paintings by local artists; the Church of San Simplicio, built between the 11^th and the 12^th centuries in roman style; the Sanctuary and the Chiesa delle Grazie; the MAN, Museo dell’Arte di Nuoro, distributed over four floors, two of which house temporary exhibitions and the other two house works by Sardinian artists from the early twentieth century until today; the National Archaeological Museum, where you can admire numerous exhibits on the history of Nuoro and its area from the Neolithic to Medieval times.
It is worth noting the Museo Deleddiano, situated in the house where there was born the famous Sardinian writer Grazia Deledda (1871-1936), who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1926. The museum collects material relating to the life and work of the writer, whose name was even given to the literary park Grazia Deledda, which offers a series of thematic journeys, referring to her life and novels.
In the south-east part of Nuoro the territory of Barbagia opens, which includes the mount Gennargentu: an area full of charm, but inaccessible and sparsely inhabited. Among the small villages of Barbagia we mention Oliena, whose old town with white-walled houses and the ruins of a medieval castle, is one of the most characteristic of the island. Morover, Orgosolo, which became famous for the numerous murales of social political content painted on the walls of the old town in the Seventies. It is also worth seeing the Cathedral of Ottana dating from the 12^th century and made of black and purple trachyte, the late Baroque basilica of Madonna dei Martiri in Fonni and the old town of Desulo, where there is the Ethnographic Museum "Casa Montanaru", which exhibits costumes and objects of ancient pastoral activity. In this area there are many archaeological finds like the four monumental menhir of Perdas Fittas and the necropolis of Sa Concas, with fifteen graves.
To the west of Nuoro there is the territory of the Baronie, characterized by fertile plains and beautiful hills. The main towns are Orosei and Siniscola. In Orosei it is worth visiting, besides the old town, the Museum Giovanni Guiso, the Parish Church of San Giacomo Maggiore built in Arabic style and the Church of San Antonio Abate (St. Anthony the Great), dated back to the 14^th century, which houses a wooden statue of the saint who is celebrated every year with a big bonfire on 17th January. Among the monuments of Siniscola there are the eighteenth century parish church of San Giovanni Battista.
Numerous archaeological finds are present even in the north-eastern province, such as the Nuraghe village of Serra Orrios, among the largest and best preserved of Sardinia, the tomb of the giants of S'Ena e Thomes, the holy well Su Tempiesu, beautiful example of Nuraghe temple architecture and the archaeological site of Noddule, consisting of a large Nuraghe, and a nuragical village.