Among the plateaus of Ogliastra, the timeless charm of Ulassai

In the heart of Ogliastra, ancient and wild territory of central-eastern Sardinia, rises, among the many rich centers of interest, a village, famous for its limestone plateaus, for one of the most beautiful and largest caves  of Europe, for an ancient and highly acclaimed textile production and for being the birthplace of one of the greatest Sardinian artists of all time: Maria Lai. We speak about Ulassai, charming urban center of Ogliastra with a stunning variety of karst landscapes and very rich artistic heritage.

The center of Ulassai is famous primarily because of the Su Marmuri Cave, one of the longest in Europe, full of charm for the impressiveness of some stalagmites groups and the presence of a series of small lakes.
 

This area, inhabited since ancient times, from a geological point of view is a very charming place. To make it so is the presence of many plateaus called "tacchi" (heels) of limestone, which rise perpendicularly, reaching considerable heights, and represent today a must for all the fans of extreme sports.
 

They are present throughout the Ogliastra, but in this area they take on a unique feature. The peculiarity of this village is the fact that is located between the plateaus of Ulassai and Mount Tusiddu, making its location very suggestive. One of the things that immediately strikes the visitor is the very specific shape of the village, almost clung at the rock.

Of special interest, from a naturalistic point of view, moreover to the caves, there are the Lequarci waterfalls. In winter, during the most rainy periods, they become a real attraction. The water flow rate reaches the highest levels and with a vertical drop of about one hundred meters, pour into the valley, offering a unique sight.
 

Ulassai is also an important textile center, home of a small cooperative: the cooperative artisan textile Su Marmuri, which promotes from a number of years, through the ancient technique of working with handloom, very valuable products entirely made of natural fibers.
 

The country has finally given birth to an extraordinary artist: Maria Lai. Unforgotten and inimitable visual artist, who perhaps more than any other artist from Sardinia, was able to interpret her land without being local, creating a unique and variegated, of strong creativity and making known to the whole world a different and authentic Sardinia.
 

The municipality of Ulassai dedicated to this extraordinary figure an art museum called Stazione dell'arte, located in the premises of a former railway station and managed by the "Fondazione Stazione dell'arte Onlus". For the construction of the museum was decisive the contribution of the artist that in this perspective donated several of her works.
 

Today this extraordinary museum, unique in its kind, with various closed and open spaces, is not limited to collect the many artworks of Maria Lai, but it is also open to other disciplines, such as music and theater, and plays an important work of art education.
 

The miracle of Maria Lai's art all here: being able to change perspective in a village, that from emblem of isolation, becomes the starting point and symbol of rescue, because as the (same) artist said: ". ... The art is born from the tragedy and insecurity in the world, but it does not close, in fact, it opens and expands the consciousness of every possible player ... "and of opening today, we feel terribly need.