Sardinia · Nuoro
Ulassai
The highest village in Ogliastra at 775 meters, where Maria Lai tied the houses to the mountain with blue ribbon in 1981.
Known for
MARIA LAI
Born here in 1919, the textile artist who tied the village to the mountain with 27 km of blue ribbon in 1981.
SU MARMURI
One of the largest karst caves in Europe, 70 meters high and nearly a kilometer long, open to guided tours.
THE TACCHI
Limestone buttes shaped like shoe heels that ring the village and give the Ogliastra interior its skyline.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Antioco di Sulcis, 15 giorni dopo Pasqua
Why come
Ulassai sits at 775 meters on a ledge beneath the Tacchi d'Ogliastra, the limestone buttes that rise like broken teeth above the inland Ogliastra. It is the highest village in the subregion. The artist Maria Lai was born here in 1919.
In 1981 she organized Legarsi alla Montagna, tying 27 kilometers of pale blue denim ribbon between every house in the village and up to the summit of Monte Tisiddu, an act of collective art that took three days and is still considered the founding event of Italian relational art. The former railway station now holds 140 of her works as the Stazione dell'Arte, opened in 2006. Outside the village, the Su Marmuri cave is one of the largest karst chambers in Europe, and the Lequarci waterfalls drop 100 meters off the Tacchi when the rains arrive.
The population has been declining for decades. The art keeps the village on the map.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Ulassai’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
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What to see
Stazione dell'Arte
Former railway station converted in 2006 into a museum holding 140 works by Maria Lai, the village's most famous daughter.
Grotta di Su Marmuri
One of the largest karst caves in Europe, with a single chamber 70 meters tall stretching nearly a kilometer into the limestone.
Cascate Lequarci
A 100-meter waterfall on the Tacchi cliffs above the village, active after winter rains and usually dry by midsummer.
Tacchi d'Ogliastra
The limestone buttes that frame the village, named for their resemblance to shoe heels, walkable by marked footpaths.
Chiesa di Sant'Antonio
Parish church in the upper village, the starting point of Maria Lai's 1981 ribbon work toward Monte Tisiddu.
The slow-trip planner
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Living here
- Population 1,366
- Very remotei
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Sardinia, 2 h 4 min drive
- Regional capital Cagliari, 1 h 46 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 775 m
- Population: 1,366
- Surface area: 122.41 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Close by
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