Orosei, not just the sea: this is a slogan to be spread and defended.
Orosei is alive with soul, grace, and ancestral strength. The town is located on the ancient Fanum Carissi site and became an important village surrounded by towers and walls in the early Middle Ages. Rich in archaeological monuments with numerous nuraghi: Osalla, which rises in the cove of the same name, dominating the entire gulf; Golunie, one of the best kept and most interesting nuraghi; Sa Linnarta, with a tribute nuraghe, numerous huts, and a beautiful sacred spring.
The magnificent historical centre of the village, still in an excellent state of preservation despite the passing of time. The ‘Palathos Vezzos’ continue to accompany the life of the centre and enrich Orosei with that beauty made up of contrasts that is characteristic of all of Sardinia. Tomaso Mojolu, who embodies most poetically and nobly the idea of balance, a character whose life moves on the border between history and myth, it is said that in the early 1800s, he was the first inhabitant of Orosei, to notice the entrance of the Turks in the city and led the revolt against the invader. Brave, Balance, and a lover of his land.
It would be reductive to stop at the lure of the transparent waters of the Gulf of Orosei without taking the time to breathe in the scent of history at every glimpse and every alley. Thus, 150 metres from the S’Ortale hotel you reach the heart of the village.
From the Church of San Giacomo Maggiore (one of the most remarkable Baroque churches in Sardinia) to the Piazza del Popolo, to the Prigione Vecchia (a tower that was part of the walls that once surrounded the town in the 14th century). Centuries of history are recounted and take shape and colour in the stones and corners, in the views and windows of the mansions. These include the Casa Guiso, now a museum, opened in early 2000. On the three floors of this Young Lady’s Palace, the internationally renowned architect Vittorio Gregotti has involved the architects Cosimo Loddo and Nicolò Melis in the renovation project. Collections of miniature theatres, puppets and theatrical scenery, clothes by Dior, Versace, and Curiel, antique books, including a unique example dating from 1587, and furniture of excellent workmanship donated to the municipality by the notary Giovanni Guiso. A unique experience between past, present, and future with the hope of welcome and inclusion, symbolically representing Orosei’s opening up to the world.
The visit continues with Su Probanu from the 1700s and the unusual architectural complex of Sant’Antonio Abate, which includes the tower in the centre of the courtyard and the Romanesque church made of volcanic stone, which together with the small houses served as a hospital.
The S’Ortale hotel in Orosei, in collaboration with expert guides, can offer packages that allow you to visit not only the gulf but also to experience and breathe the whole area, which, as you have read, is steeped in culture and history.
