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Ogliastra Tourism - Comune of Ussassai
THE AREA
Via Nazionale, 120 - 08040 - Ussassai - phone number: +39.0782.55710 - fax number: +39.0782.55890
e-mail: comune-ussassai@tiscali.it
INFO ABOUT USSASSAI
Where to stay
- Bed and Breakfast
Where to eat
- Restaurants
The name Ussassai, according to local tradition, comes from Marco Usai, a pig farmer who came to live in Ussassi since there were so many acorns there. According to Massimo Pittau the name could come from the pre-Roman term Ossassi, meaning strachide, an endemic Sardinian plant. Others say the place name means beyond the "s'assa" (drop or ravine). The whole area is studded with the typical taccus (tacchi), sticking-up limestone cliffs (tacco means heel in Italian), which are still partly covered by a thick wood of holm oaks, strawberry trees and juniper. The finest is the Su Casteddu 'e Jeni complex, to the north-west, which with its pinnacles and towers dominates the valley below, which seems like something from the Far West. Ussassai has many archaeological sites, including domus de janas (Perdobia, Aurraci, Forrus) from the prenuragic period. There are tens of nuraghi, with among the best-preserved il Nela, Is Coccorronis, Taccu Addai.
The best-preserved ancient monument is the country church of San Salvatore, constructed in the Romanic-Byzantine style and perhaps from the XII century. According to tradition, it's the church of Trobigitei, a medieval town, which disappeared under Spanish rule. The church is surrounded by "Is Cumbessias": typical little stone houses arranged in a semicircle, which give shelter for pilgrims during the celebrations of San Salvatore and San Girolamo. The Ussassai area has many woods, such as Takigeddu and Taccu Mannu, and water bubbles from the springs at the foot of the limestone mountains such as those of Niala and Militai, popular destinations for tourists. You can visit Su Tuvu Nieddu, where the river has created a natural bridge in the limestone rock as it runs down towards the Rio San Gerolamo. Local foodstuffs include hams, culurgionis made with mint, the coccois prenas (focaccia filled with potatoes) and su stripiddi (a pizza made with herbs, onion and croccariga, pumpkin).
THE COMUNI OF OGLIASTRA