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CURRENT ITINERARY
We continue in the Ghistorrai e Talesso valley in the direction of Donnortei (1138 m), where there is an important nature park.
From here it is possible to access the ski slopes on Monti del Gennargentu. From the nature park we drop down towards Mattaleo. Here there is the junction between two rivers, Rio su Troccu and Rio Aratu, which descend from Bruncu Spina respectively down the slopes of Desulo and Fonni. Here we can see a change in the vegetation which is characterised by chestnut, cherry and walnut trees.
Climbing up again onto the ridge, we arrive at Genna Jacca from which we begin to catch a glimpse of the whole Mandrolisai area, part of the Marghine and Oristanese. We then arrive at the Passo Tascussi, one of the highest passes in the Barbagia. Tascussi is a destination for pilgrimages of devotees to the Madonna della Neve. We stop for lunch here with typical Desulo products. We drop down towards the village, surrounded by a thick wood of chestnut, hazelnut, walnut and cherry trees which are cultivated for timber and fruit.
We then enter Desulo, a mountain centre built along the shaded mountain ridge, which is characterised by its schist dwellings. The works of the shirt embroiderers are well known. Traditional dress is still worn on a daily basis by the elderly residents. There are also many carpenters.
We pass through the village following a dirt track towards Aritzo. We wade through the river Occile in the direction of Funtana Sa Ceressia. Sartu Asuai, Su Au de is Molinos, su Laccheddu. We then arrive at the Canale Figu sheep farm at the Aradonì farm accommodation where we stay for the night. The accommodation is characterised by bungalows built in the form of pinnettu, inspired by the typical architecture of the constructions admired on Supramont.
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19th CENTURY ITINERARY
Monte Spada...
"It is, above all, natural that, after having done the journey from Gennargentu to Fonni, I chose this last village that is closest to make my reader arrive more directly on the peak of Sardinia’s giant. The trail that leads to the mountain when leaving Fonni passes first of all at the feet of a hillock two kilometres from the village where the church of Nostra Signora del Monte is found. She is celebrated every year with a festival and a mass of people. From here we pass at the western feet of an almost isolated mountain called ‘Monte Spada’, which is almost conical with its peak at 1,626 metres above sea level. The ground we are covering for the whole of this route, interspersed here and there by a few trees, is exclusively granite, as is almost the entirety of Monte Spada, of which only the summit is schist. From this point onwards, the granite is hidden beneath the schist, which is the dominant rock of the whole group towards which we are heading."[...]
Bruncu Spina...
"This summit is 1918 metres above sea level and is subsequently the highest point on the whole island. [...] From this point we can enjoy a boundless view, which I would make bold to almost compare to what I saw from the top of Etna. The panorama embraces the whole of the Ogliastra and Tyrrhenian that bathes it, the San Pancrazio tower and the castle of Cagliari with the entire gulf, including the peninsula of Sant’Elia and the Pula headland. To the west, you can see the outlines of all the mountains which rise above the Campidano, the Gulf of Oristano, Montiferru, Monte Mierva close to Bosa, the summit of Monte Santo di Torralba and the Limbara range, behind which the Corsican Monte Oro and Monte Rotondo stand tall, which seem to be located in Sardinia from this viewpoint".
(From Alberto Ferrero Della Marmora, Itineraire de l’‘île de Sardaigne pour faire suite au voyage en cette contrée, Torino, Frères Bocca, 1860, 2 vol.)
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