Masullas at Monte Arci: Nature and History

Masullas lies in the northern part of the Monte Arci Regional Park. Nature, geology and local history give the town several distinct themes to explore: you can discover the botanical garden’s vegetation zones, explore the obsidian landscape and take in historic churches, museums and the medieval character of the town center.

Nature and geology at Monte Arci

The Giardino Botanico del Monte Arci opened in summer 2020 on a previously abandoned site near the Capuchin monastery. It is home to a representative selection of endemic plants from Monte Arci and is divided into four vegetation zones: woodland, Mediterranean maquis, garrigue and riparian vegetation. Different plant habitats can thus be seen side by side. Visitors with reduced mobility can access the garden via a ramp at the main entrance and then use an elevator.

The Parco Ossidiana is part of Sardinia’s Historical Environmental Geomining Park. It contains the largest obsidian deposit in the Mediterranean. The path to the main quarry is covered with thousands of small black rock fragments. The landscape’s landforms are also striking: Su Columbariu is a steep rocky ridge that reaches almost 100 meters in places. Caves, fissures and hollows, known as tafoni, shape the ridge of weathered trachyte. Sa Spendula de Cannas is a waterfall on a five-meter-high slope; a temporary pond forms at its foot.

Historic center and churches

The historic center still corresponds to its medieval extent around the churches of Santa Lucia and San Leonardo. Paved streets and houses with exposed stone facades pass local workshops and shops. The town’s history spans several periods: San Leonardo dates from the first half of the 13th century. During restoration work in 1977, the remains of an earlier religious building were uncovered, dating back at least to Byzantine times. The church is also part of Itinera Romanica, a network of routes to Romanesque churches in Sardinia, Tuscany and Corsica.

Santa Lucia dates from the 14th century and is Masullas’s second-oldest church after San Leonardo. The parish church, now dedicated to San Sebastiano and formerly known as Madonna delle Grazie or Sa Gloriosa, was built in the 17th century in the Late Gothic style. During renovations in the same century, its facade was designed in an authentically Baroque blend of styles and materials. The Chiesa e Convento di San Francesco complex also dates from the 17th century.

Museums with different focuses

The GeoMuseo Monte Arci, housed in a former 17th-century Capuchin monastery, displays mineralogical, lithological and paleontological exhibits. The Museo di Storia Naturale Aquilegia presents a chronological tour across approximately 600 square meters, exploring the geological and biological changes that led to the development of living organisms and their habitats.

The Museum I Cavalieri delle Colline offers a different perspective: it tells the story of the rural aristocracy of Masullas and Parte Montis within the broader context of Sardinian nobility. The exhibition includes valuable works of art, weapons and documents from local noble families, reconstructions of period costumes, and precious old books. Natural history, the history of the Earth and regional social history thus offer different ways to explore the town.

Regional traditions and events

At the first Sagra de Is Crogoristas in 2024, a pasta typical of Masullas was introduced. It is handmade from durum wheat semolina, water and salt. The Sagra de su Caboniscu was held for the 13th time in 2024 and offered tastings of typical Masullas dishes, including food from the “Sa Idda de is Cabonis e de Is Puddas” tradition.

The 2024 edition of the Sa Gloriosa patron saint festival, held from June 29 to July 3, combined religious celebrations with food offerings and live performances. The San Leonardo festival falls on November 6 and takes place at the same time as the Sagra del melograno. If you would like to plan your stay around a festival, check the specific dates for the year in advance.

Discover more destinations: Seneghe, Abbasanta, Tramatza, Neoneli, Sedilo, Siamaggiore, Mogoro, San Vero Milis.

For the main travel overview: Oristano.