Oristano
Marina di Torregrande
Cabras
Tharros
Arborea

                            Oristano

The area of Oristano province combines many of the geographical elements which are characteristic of the morphology of the island: the bay of Oristano, half way along the western coast, in the middle of a "contraction" with two basaltic promontories at its ends, Capo San Marco and Capo della Frasca; the deserted peninsula of Sinis and the neighbouring lagoons, with canals, dunes and animals of great interest; Monte Ferru with its characteristic woods and the oasis of greenery of S. Leonardo and Santu Lussurgiu. Oristano is about four kilometers away from the sea and from the mouth of the river Tirso, in a fertile alluvial plain, surrounded by lagoons called ""Stagni" and opening onto the homonymous gulf. It is one of the most active agricultural, commercial and industrial centers in Sardinia. It is the fourth Sardinian province: this acknowledgement was granted to the town because of the many achievements it could be proud of, from the fact of being a busy and modern port to the one of being an archibishopric see. The town grew on the spot of the ancient Othaca, a small Roman village, mentioned in the itineraries describing the road from Karalis (Cagliari) to Turris Lybisonis (Porto Torres): Oristano is the heir of Tharros which was a Carthaginian port first, and eventually a Roman and Byzantine one, on the seashore, about 20 kilometers from the town whose inhabitants found  a shelter here not too long after the year 1,000. The archibishopric see and the Giudicato d'Arborea were soon moved there. The town joined forces with Genoa first and with the Aragonese eventually, but fought them when they were aiming at the ownership of the island. It is thrived in the XIVth century, especially under the leadership of Mariano the fourth, of his son Ugone the third and his daughter Eleonora d'Arborea (1384-1404): this last mentioned is one of the remarkable personalities in Sardinian history, a wise ruler and the promulgator of the "Carta de Logu", (which was extended to the whole of Sardinia in 1421 by Alfonso of Aragon). The conflict with the Aragonese lasted with ups  and downs until Leonardo Alagon, he Marquis of Oristano, was captured after the battle of Macomer (1477). In 1637 the inhabitants of Oristano opposed the landing of the Protestant army of the Bishop of Bordeaux. There is nothing left today of the period between 1600 and 1700 during which the town declined and the surrounding plain became almost completely depopulated, after the great work of land-reclamation which lasted more than half a century and changed the plain of the lower Tirso into a beautiful garden, which has been even compared to the Huerta of Valencia. The town retains monuments dating from the Middle Ages, while traces of the Spanish period are still evident in the appearance of the center, which is now showing signs of a quick revival. Particularly important are fishing and the production of sugar, cheese, rice. Ceramics and embroidery are the most remarkable handicrafts. Quite interesting are the Fair and Festival of S. Croce (12-14th of September() and the horse-races in traditional costumes during the Carnival. Coming from Macomer through Via Tirso or from Cagliari through Via Crispi and Via Umberto, you end up in tree-lined Piazza Roma, center of the town. Here you come across Porta Manna or Torre di S.Cristoforo (tower), an imposing structure built in 1291, a remnant of the town walls, as is the Portixedda (=little door) at the bottom of the nearby Via Mazzini. Pottery shops can be found in Via Figoli. At number 4 of Via Parpaglia you can still see the XVIth century  house of Eleonora d'Arborea. From Piazza Roma, going along Via Umberto, you get to Piazza Eleonora d'Arborea, with the heroine's monument and the Law Courts. Leaving the square you move to the Piazza del Municipio, where the Town Hall is. Walking along Via Vittorio Emanuele, at number 8 you find the Antiquarium Arborense, which contains a small art collection transferred here from the Town Hall, and a very interesting archaeological collection, most of it a gift from the collector Efisio Pischedda, with findings dating from the Neolithic Age and the Nuragic and Roman periods. The street comes out into Piazza del Duomo: the Duomo (=cathedral) was rebuilt in the XVIIIth and the XIXth century and conserves just in the apses some elements of the previous XIIIth century structure; the stately, polygonal shaped bell-tower pierced all round by single-arched windows, dates from the XIVth century. The almost classical interior has got a single nave and dome-shaped Baroque chapels at the sides. In the first chapel on the right, above the altar you can see the "Annunziata", a polychrome wooden statue by Nino Pisano (XIVth century). The Gothic chapel of the "Rimedio", in the right transept, is closed with  a balustrade made of the fragments of a Romanesque ambo (XIth century; Daniel in the lions' den; lions and fawns), carved on the external face by a fourteenth century artist from Barcelona. On the altar, made from more fragments of the ambo, a polychrome marble statue of the "Madonna del Rimedio" can be admired. In the presbytery there is  a big painting, the "Madonna in Gloria" by S.Conca. From the sacristy, which is on the right of the presbytery, you can turn into the ancient choir, called 1626, and into the "Aula Capitolare" where you can have a look at the thirteenth century illuminated anthem-books, the precious holy ornaments and two bronze=-knockers from the same century. In Piazza del Duomo you can also see the Seminario Arborense (seminary), built in 1712; along Via del Duomo rise the neoclassical facade of the church of San Francesco (1838) with remains of  a previous Gothic building. On the left altar there is a  XVIth century polychrome wooden statue of Christ on the Cross. In the sacristy there are S. Francesco, a painting by Paolo Cavaro (XVIth century) and S.Basilio, a marble statue by Nino Pisano. There is also a reliquary of S.Basilio, mentioning the emperor Teodosio. The main part of the traditional fair of the Sartiglia, with beautiful costumes, takes place in front of this church.

       Marina di Torregrande
8,5 km Westward from Oristano. Marina di Torregrande is a very popular seaside resort: it stretches along the low coast of the Gulf of Oristano. At the entrance of the village stands the Spanish Torre Grande (tower), the biggest of the coastal towers built by the Spaniards in the XVIIth century, to defend the straits, still perfectly kept. There is   a beautiful view over the gulf of Oristano, ending the to the North with the Sinis peninsula and to the South with the Santadi promontory and the Iglesiente mountains in the background.
Heading northward, among dwarf-palms, 11.5 km from Oristano, we find Cabras,a big fishing viillage, on the shore of the stagno di Cabras (stagno=pond; 2,000 Ha) teeming with eels and mullet. The Bottarga,  a compound made of tuna or mullet eggs, and the local Vernaccia wine are both really excellent. Quite remarkable are the Fassoni, boats made of reeds and rushes.
Going southward for 2 km the roads bends to the right, across  a sandy area rich in dunes and borders the northern extremity of the gulf, going along the fish-filled lagoon of Mistras.
18.5 km along, on the right, the small church of the Salvatore stands on the homonymous hypogeum: it is  a  late Roman sanctuary (IVth century A.D.), which used to be dedicated to Hercules and then to Christ the Saviour; it contains frescoed rooms with interesting figures (Aphrodites, Hercules and the Lerna snake, Eros among the Nymphs). Going on (km.24.8) we reach, at the base of the promontory of San Marco, the church of S.Giovanni di Sinis, a picturesque Vth century building (dome-shaped central structure with arches) enlarged in the XIth century (nave with low arches and massive tub-shaped vaults), with a facade in the Byzantine style. A little beyond the church, crossing the dunes scattered with typical straw shacks, we reach the base of a promontory with a tower on its summit: here the ruins of Tharros, still being excavated, are overlooked by the XVIth century tower of S. Giovanni. Tharros, founded by the Phoenicians and then ruled by the Carthaginians, was abandoned in consequence of Moorish raids, during the early Middle Ages. The urban complex is composed of very plain houses, of Punic style, distributed along a network of Roman paved streets, organized on the basis of the system of "Cardines" and "Decumani", among which the big "Cardo Maximo" stands out, with its deep underground sewer, open along its longitudinal axis. Going southwards we can distinguish: an imposing early Punic fortification, with parallel walls; a sanctuary (tophet) for ritual sacrifices; the northern gate of the imperial Roman town with a temple of Demeter nearby; the monumental reservoir of the acqueduct; a late Punic wall made of squared blocks, flanked by the base of a semicircular tower: a palaeochristian baptistery (Vth century) and a Punic temple, founded on   a big lump of rock, on which some Doric semicolumns are carved (IVth-IIIrd centuries B.C.); a holy ground, three of its sides cut in the living rock; two thermal buildings, the tower of S.Giovanni; some hypogean funeral chambers, at the base of the promontory of S.Marco and, on its top, a late Phoenician-Carthaginian sanctuary. Owing to land-slip the remains of the town continue under the surface of the sea in front.

Arborea

It is an important agricultural center; rising at the heart of a  large reclaimed region, South of the river Tirso, facing for quite a long stretch the arc of the Gulf of Oristano. It was founded on the 28th of October 1928 and set up as a "comune" two years later. It is a typical example of  a modern agricultural country village, with   a pleasing appearance, its buildings and habitations placed along rectilinear, tree-lined avenues. The main road goes across the wide Piazza V.Emanuele, which widens on the left, embellished by a garden. The square is bordered by the "Palazzo delle Scuole", the "Parrocchiale" and the "Albergo"; on the right, beyond a canal, is the Town Hall where some Roman archaeological material is kept, which comes from the tombs discovered in s'Ungroni. A little farther on, the road crosses the long main avenue, such as a very big Wine Center and a well equipped cheese factory.