An itinerary to discover Noragugume

Noragugume is easily accessible from the SS 131 highway, whether you're coming from Abbasanta or Macomer, as well as from the provincial road 33 Nuoro–Ottana.

Once in Piazza IV Novembre, the heart of the village, you’ll notice a curious peculiarity: within just a few meters, there are three churches! According to legend, the Church of the Virgin of Itria was built by a nun known as Sa Monza Santa. After traveling through various Sardinian towns with a statue of the Virgin, she decided to stop in Noragugume and build a church. She threw three oranges into the square—three, like the churches—and declared that wherever the first orange landed, that’s where she would build the Church of Itria.

An unexpected confirmation of the legend came during restoration work carried out in 1984–1985. Near the altar, alongside the tombs of two priests, the skeleton of a consecrated woman was found.

The church has a Catalan-Gothic layout and features a small side loggia. The rectangular façade faces west and includes a round-arched portal in red trachyte and a bell-gable on the right-hand side. The loggia contains a second entrance, with a lintel inscription in red trachyte dating the building to 1623. The interior has a single nave with two chapels on each side. At the center stands the main altar, housing an imposing wooden retablo, with the central niche featuring the statue group of the Virgin of Itria. The side chapels also contain polychrome wooden altars and Spanish wooden statues from the 17th century.

Also built in Catalan-Gothic style is the nearby Church of Santa Croce, dated to 1593 according to an inscription above the side door. The church features decorative elements in finely carved red trachyte and precious polychrome wooden sculptures inside. It is home to the local confraternity.

In the center of the square, between the two small churches, stands the parish church of San Giacomo, built in 1960 after the demolition of a previous church also dedicated to Saint James the Greater. Coarse and massive, the new structure lacks charm—even the imposing bell tower beside it does little to soften its appearance. It starkly contrasts with the other two, which are true gems of the rustic art that flourished in Sardinia between the 17th and 18th centuries.
However, it houses the "Fanciulla di Noragugume" (Girl of Noragugume), a delicate wooden statuette displayed in a glass case at the foot of the main altar. This sculpture, less than 30 cm long and 10 cm tall, was created by the renowned Nuoro-born artist Francesco Ciusa, commissioned by a wealthy local patron. The figure is shown lying down because, as scholar Roberto Concas suggests, it is a funerary monument.
Once nearly forgotten in the parish church—where it was known as S’Assuntedda, believed to be a depiction of the Dormition of the Virgin—it has recently been rediscovered and given new prominence.

On the outskirts of the village, near the cemetery, you can visit the panoramic viewpoint Su Fronte ’e Santu Giuanne, offering expansive views over the surrounding territories, reaching as far as the Barbagia mountains and Mount Gennargentu. From Noragugume, take the provincial road SP 86 south toward Sedilo. After about 1 km, turn left and continue for another 1.5 km until the road ends at Nuraghe Tòlinu, a large, complex nuragic structure. It stands imposingly on the edge of a slope overlooking the Ottana plain.
In addition to the main tower, the site features a unique bastion, preserved for about 8 meters on the northern side, and a separate structure ending in a small tower with traces of a circular chamber. Much of the building remains buried, and the southern portion is especially difficult to interpret due to extensive collapse. Nonetheless, the monument’s grandeur and the beauty of the surrounding landscape—visible from the nuraghe—make it well worth a visit.

Back in Noragugume, follow the ring road to reach the SP 33. After just over 3 km, on the right-hand side in a private field, you can visit the rock-cut tomb of Sa Cresia Noa. The tomb lies about 120 meters from the entrance to the enclosed field and resembles a small cave situated 2 meters below ground level. A staircase leads down into a rectangular chamber about 2 meters high and 2.5 meters wide, with arcosolium niches carved into its short sides and back wall—a type of funerary architecture commonly found in catacombs.
According to local tradition, the tomb was later transformed into a chapel dedicated to Saint Anthony.

Back on SP 33, continue toward Ottana. After another kilometer, turn right onto a country road. After just over 1 km, you’ll spot, isolated in a flat area, the menhir (standing stone) called Sa Perda ’e Taleri. Already documented by the 19th-century scholar Alberto La Marmora, it is one of the most famous in Sardinia.
This carefully worked basalt monolith, ogival in shape, stands 4.30 meters tall with a maximum circumference of 3.05 meters.
Scattered around the site are fragments of grindstones, pestles, undecorated pottery, and a large number of obsidian flakes.
The monument is also known as "The Stone of Giorgia Rajosa," based on a legend: Giorgia Rajosa, while bringing food to her family working in the fields, refused to give bread to a beggar. She claimed her basket held only stones—not food. The beggar, who was in fact Jesus Christ, turned her into stone—into the Perda ’e Taleri!