Nuoro
Nuoro is a city and municipality in central-eastern Sardinia in Italy, situated on the slopes of Mount Ortobene. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Nuoro. As of 2025, with a population of 33,106, it is the sixth-largest city in Sardinia. Its frazione of Lollove is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Birthplace of several renowned artists, including writers, poets, painters, sculptors, Nuoro hosts some of the most important museums in Sardinia. It is considered an important cultural center of the region and it has been referred to as the "Sardinian Athens". Nuoro is the hometown of Grazia Deledda, the only Italian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
History
The earliest traces of human settlement in the Nuoro area are the so-called Domus de janas, rock-cut tombs dated at the third millennium BC. However, fragments of ceramics of the Ozieri culture have also been discovered and dated at c. 3500 BC.The Nuorese was a centre of the Nuragic civilization, which developed in Sardinia from c. 1500 BC to c. 250 BC. More than 30 Nuragic sites have been discovered in the area, including a village discovered in the countryside of Tanca Manna, just outside Nuoro, which comprised over 150 huts.
The Nuorese was crossed by a Roman road which connected Karalis to Ulbia. The legacy of the Roman colonization can especially be found in the variety of the Sardinian language which is still spoken today in Nuoro: Nuorese Sardinian is considered the most conservative dialect of Sardinian, which is in turn the most conservative Romance language.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Sardinia was held first by the Vandals and then by the Byzantines. According to the letters of Pope Gregory I, a Romanized and Christianized culture co-existed with several Pagan cultures mainly located in the island's interior. As the Byzantine control waned, the Judicates appeared. A small village known as Nugor appears on a medieval map from 1147. In the two following centuries it grew to more than 1000 inhabitants. Nuoro remained a town of average importance under the Aragonese and Spanish domination of Sardinia, until famine and plague struck it in the late 17th century.
After the annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia, the town became the administrative center of the area, obtaining the title of city in 1836.
Climate
Demographics
As of 2025, Nuoro has a population of 33,106, of whom 48.1% are male and 51.9% are female. Minors make up 11.9% of the population, and seniors make up 28.5%, compared to the Italian average of 14.9% and 24.7% respectively.As of 2024, the foreign-born population is 1,111, equal to 3.3% of the population. The 5 largest foreign nationalities are Romanians, Senegalese, Chinese, Pakistanis and Moroccans.
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 RomaniaCultureISRESince 1972 in Nuoro is active the Istituto superiore regionale etnografico, which is an institution that promotes the study and documentation of the social and cultural life of Sardinia in its traditional manifestations and its transformations. In fact, in addition to managing museums and libraries, it organizes national and international events, including:the Sardinia International Ethnographic Film Festival and the Festival Biennale Italiano dell’Etnografia . Museums
FoodNuoro is home to the world's rarest pasta, su filindeu. The name in Sardinian language means "the threads of God" and is made exclusively by the women of a single family in the town, with the recipe being passed down through generations.Cultural international events
TransportRoadNuoro is served by the SS 131 DCN, the SS 129, and the SS 389.BusARST, Azienda Regionale Sarda Trasporti provide regular connections to Cagliari, Sassari, Olbia, and to several minor centres in the province and the region.Other private operators connects Nuoro to various cities and airports in the island. RailNuoro is connected by train to Macomer via Ferrovie della Sardegna.Local transportationATP Nuoro's bus system provides service within the city.Notable people
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