See Ogliastra: Ulassai, a town full of surprises
In an area covered with the typical Mediterranean vegetation: oak, bushes, lentil and broom woods, lies Ulassai. A unique small village of approximately 1600 inhabitants that has a lot of cultural treasures.
You can try by yourself.
Maria Lai Art Station
In Ulassai you will find Maria Lai’s “Art Station” museum, which brings together a considerable amount of her work, roughly 140 pieces. Thanks to the exhibitions in the United States and other prestigious European events Maria Lai is considered one of the most important artists in Sardinian history.
The fundamental breakthrough in her vocation was her extraordinary “Legarsi alla montagna” made in 1981. The opera is an interpretation of an ancient local legend. All houses in town and the surrounding mountain were bound together by an heavenly ribbon for over ten kilometres.
Following that first project, in the years to come, many other projects were made, establishing in Ulassai a true open-air museum of contemporary art.
Travelling the Ulassai area means living a powerful artistic experience.
Santa Barbara Waterfalls.
At the top of Ulassai in Ogliastra, rise the majestic Tacchi, a massive mountain covered in luxuriant vegetation, from which numerous water sources emerge. In times of increased rainfall these water sources become extremely appealing waterfalls. Just above the Lecorci waterfall, at the base of the Tacchi, is the opening to “Su Murmuri” Cave, one of the largest and most spectacular caves in Europe.
Su Marmuri cave
Su Marmuri is considered to be among the most impressive caves in Europe, due to its kilometre of length and the average height, that is about 35 metres.
The cave’s recess is sunken into the Ulassai Tacco: the entrance opens onto a steep detrital slope, made easily accessible thanks to a 200 step staircase. Su Marmuri is a cave which is still alive: this means that its concretions continue to form.
The largest hall is called La Grande Sala: it has a rectangular shape, it is 72 m long and 30 m wide. Another one is called La Sala dell’Organo (Organ’s Hall), because the concretions are similar to the pipes of an organ.
Whereas La Sala del Cactus (Cactus Hall) is characterised by the presence of two tall stalagmites, which resemble the well known exotic plant. Other rooms are: La Sala dei Pipistrelli ( Bats Hall), La Galleria delle Vaschette ( The tunnel of Pools) and La Sala Terminale ( The Final Hall). Inside the temperature is constantly around 10° C.
