Ogliastra · Provincia dell'Ogliastra

Things to do in Triei

Things to do in Triei, Sardinia: the Osono giants' tomb, Bau Nuraxi nuraghe, murals, old churches and Lotzorai beaches just minutes away.

Triei, Sardegna — © trolvag · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Triei is a small village in eastern Ogliastra, at around 140 metres, among hills of holm oak, carob, wild olive and cork oak, bordering Baunei, Talana, Urzulei and Lotzorai. It is just minutes from the sea yet keeps the soul of a rural village: stone houses, murals, old churches and one of the best-preserved giants' tombs in the area. It is ideal if you love archaeology, street art and traditional food, with beaches close at hand.

What to see in Triei

Osono giants' tomb

On the Osono plateau, about 3 km from the village, stands a giants' tomb (a Nuragic collective grave) in excellent condition, excavated from 1989: finds include a bronze dagger, pottery and glass-paste and amber necklaces. The view from the plateau stretches to the sea. The old village of Osono, mentioned in a document from 1227, also stood here.

Bau Nuraxi complex

About 2 km away on the bank of the Rio Murta, a nuraghe (Bronze Age stone tower) with a central tower, side towers, an outer wall and round huts.

Santi Cosma e Damiano church

The parish church, built in the 16th–17th centuries, has a single nave, a marble pulpit and almost intact fresco cycles.

Murals and old quarters

Triei is an open-air museum of murals on many themes, including a large painting about the Inquisition. In the Su 'ngiasseddu and Serra 'e pinna quarters, small stone houses of the past survive.

Things to do in Triei

Go on archaeology walks to Osono and Bau Nuraxi, stroll in Mullò park with its ancient mastic trees and a country chapel, and explore the murals on foot. In about fifteen minutes you reach Lotzorai's beaches, and from Arbatax boat trips leave for the coves of Baunei; inland, trails lead towards the Supramonte. To choose your adventure, check the experiences offered by local operators just below.

History

The area has pre-Nuragic and Nuragic remains. The name Triei first appears in 1316. In the Middle Ages the village belonged to the Giudicato of Cagliari, then to Gallura and Pisa; in 1323 Berengar Carroz took it during the Aragonese conquest and it joined the County of Quirra, a marquisate from 1603. It was freed from feudal rule in 1839.

What to eat and buy

Local wines include Cannonau and Moscato, along with rare honeys such as bitter strawberry-tree honey. On the table: roast goat, suckling pig and lamb, culurgiones filled with potato, cheese and mint, macarrones de busa and pistoccu incasau. Sweets include paniscedda, pabassinus, seadas and amaretti. Crafts: hand-loomed rugs, baskets, arresojas knives and wooden boards.

Festivals and traditions

Sant'Antonio Abate, mid-January: a great bonfire, su fogone, and paniscedda baking.
San Sebastiano, January and May: in May, a procession with ox-drawn carts.
S'Orroseri (Our Lady of the Rosary), first Sunday of May and October, with the ritual simbula bread.
Arte a Triei, May, devoted to murals.
Santi Cosma e Damiano, patron saints, 26 September.
Santa Lucia, 13 December: sa festa de is bagadius, the feast of unmarried young people.

Nearby

Baunei: the Golgo plateau and the coves of the Gulf of Orosei.
Lotzorai and Girasole: beaches and pine woods.
Tortolì-Arbatax: the red rocks and the port.
Talana and Urzulei: mountain villages towards the Supramonte.

Getting there and when to go

Reach Triei on provincial road 55, which joins the SS125 Orientale Sarda. Arbatax port and Tortolì airport are about 20–25 minutes away; Olbia about two hours. Spring and autumn are ideal for archaeology and hiking; summer for the nearby sea.