The Area of Nuoro lies in the centre of Sardinia and covers an area of about 7,000 sq. km,
with a population of 280,000 inhabitants.
The region boasts a very varied landscape, with magnificent beaches, beautiful plains, plateaux, rolling hills and mountains.

The area also boasts fascinating testimony to its pre-historic past and visitors can admire remains dating back to Neolithic, Nuragic and Punic times, as well as evidence which traces the island's history through the Roman, Medieval and "Giudicial" periods.

Sardinia is noted for its crystalline sea and charming, unspoilt beaches, however, the interior of the island is also an oasis of great natural beauty. Visitors who venture into the heart of Sardinia will discover other treasures of the island and its warm, hospitable people. It is a journey between the past and the present, which takes visitors through charming villages and splendid countryside, rich in flora and fauna.

Ogliastra lies within the region of Nuoro and was relatively unknown until just a few decades ago. It is considered one of the most beautiful places in the world, with its fine, white, sandy beaches, crystalline water, impressive cliffs, which drop down to the sea below, and secular woods.

Flora

The region of Nuoro is particularly noted for its wonderful, natural environment. The territory is, in fact, considered one of the few remaining "lungs", or green zones, of the whole Mediterranean basin. The rolling hills are covered in dense woods made up prevalently of holm oak, yews, juniper and durmast trees, chestnut, hazelnut and cork oak trees, as well as the splendid Mediterranean scrub.

On the peaks of the highest mountains there are plum and dwarf juniper trees, as well as Corsican broom and some other rare, endemic plants, such as the santolina insularis, the aquilegia nugorensis and the exceptional thistle, lamyropsis microcephala. The flowering plants are also an extraordinary sight and decorate the mountainsides with splashes of colour. The place of honour goes to the splendid and delicate peony, while in summer the oleander trees in flower offer a vision of rare beauty.

Fauna

This unspoilt natural environment is the perfect habitat for a very rich and varied fauna. Among the most common species, visitors will see moufflon, wild boar and foxes.

The woods are inhabited by wild cats, dormice and martens, while the plains are home to partridges, rabbits and hares. The mountains also offer the perfect refuge for many species of birds on their migratory flights, such as wood-pigeon and thrush.

Visitors will also see a number of birds of prey, which live and nest throughout the whole area, such as the golden eagle, the peregrine falcon, the buzzard, the kestrel, the sparrow hawk and the goshawk, as well as species of vulture which have become very rare in recent years. The rugged coasts are the perfect habitat for the Corsican gull, which is the only gull exclusive to the Mediterranean, the queen's falcon and the colourful sultan hen. There have also been sightings of the rare monk seal ('bue marino' in the local dialect) along the coast, however, the few remaining examples are in danger of extinction.