Oristano Location guide

Oristano was one of the four seats of power in Sardinia during the 1300’s, home to the Arborean Court and Judge Eleonora, a key figure in the unification of the Sardinia.
Today, Oristano is a lively town which has kept some of its medieval traditions, including the annual horse event, Sartiglia, held every spring.

Main Attractions
The Sartiglia Festival
Explore the historic centre between Via Dritta and Piazza Roma
Visit Piazza Eleonora and the old palaces of the Casa de la Ciudad and Scolopi
See the Mariano II Tower which dates back to 1290
Visit the 15th century Gothic style Santa Chiara Church
Admire the 14th century sandstone Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral
Visit the Tridentine Seminary
Tour the Archeological Museum
Visit Torre Grande, an area of Oristano with ancient coastal defences
Go to the Bastogi Palace

Events
The Sartiglia is the town’s most important event. This medieval festival is a combination of horse racing, jousting and games that salute the arrival of spring. One key feature of the event is a competition to catch a star which is suspended on a ribbon above the riders who try to catch it with their jousting poles.
But the main attraction of the festival is the arrival of ‘Su Componitori’, an androgynous masked figure, part man, part god, who rides through the streets wearing a black top hat. The event has taken place for 500 years, dating back to the Spanish occupation, and as well as horse related events, you can enjoy many other kinds of entertainment such as acrobatics.

Local Food and Drink

Vernaccia
This old wine is a golden colour with a very delicate flavour. No one is exactly sure when production began but Judge Eleonora of Arborea set out laws governing the care of the wine crop in her judicial charter. It originates from the area around Oristano and the Sinis Peninsula and has a high alcoholic content, often used as an apertivo or as an accompaniment to a local delicacy made from the roe of dried mullet.

Mustazzolus
These simple biscuits are made by hand with simple ingredients using traditional Sardinian methods. They are made with flour, sugar, lemon rind, yeast, cut into diamond shapes and coated with icing sugar.

Spotlight on Judge Eleonora d’Arborea
Judge Eleonora was a skilled politician and statistician who was born in Catalonia. She lived in Sardinia during the 1300’s, and took this position of power after the death of her brother, acting as a regent for her infant son. She drove forward the implementation of the ‘Carta de Logu’, one of the first European constitutional agreements which governed civic and constitutional matters and remained in force until around 1800. During her time in office, she also succeeded in unifying Sardinia and led a resistance against the Catalan Argonese. Today she is remembered as the last great ruler of Sardinia.

How to get there
By air: Oristano is about halfway between Alghero and Cagliari, both of which have airports where you can find connections to the main Italian and Europeans cities as well as low cost flights including Easyjet and Ryanair. From Cagliari and Alghero you are best advised to hire a car to reach Oristano, although there are some bus and train connections. The journey takes around 2 hours.
By car: Oristano is on the west coast near the SS 131 that connects the south to the north. It is around 1.5hrs by car from Cagliari or from Alghero.
By train: Oristano is connected by daily trains to Sassari, and Olbia. The trains are regional and cheap to use, stopping at almost all the small towns and villages. The views are beautiful but getting anywhere takes a long time.
By Bus: There are different bus lines that connect Sassari to Cagliari and then onwards for Oristano.