Ollastra
Welcome to Ollastra!
Hi everyone! Today I want to tell you about Ollastra, a municipality in the Campidano di Oristano region of Sardinia. With just over a thousand inhabitants, Ollastra is a small village that still preserves evidence of its ancient history.
The History of Ollastra
The area where Ollastra is located has been inhabited since the Nuragic period, as evidenced by the nuraghi present in the area. During the Middle Ages, Ollastra belonged to the Judicate of Arborea and was part of the curatorship of Simaxis. After the fall of the Judicate in 1420, it became part of the Marchesato di Oristano and then, after the defeat of the Arborenses in 1478, it passed under Aragonese domination and then into the possession of the Salazar family. In 1698, one of the members of the Salazar family granted the exemption of Ollastra to one of his daughters. In 1767, the town was incorporated into the Marchesato d'Arcais, a fief of the Flores Nurra family, which was redeemed in 1839 with the suppression of the feudal system. From 1928 to 1946, the town was part of another municipality, Simaxis, but since 1991 it has had its current name: Ollastra.
Symbols of Ollastra
The coat of arms and the banner of the municipality of Ollastra were granted by decree of the President of the Republic on April 5, 1995. The banner is a parti-colored flag of blue and yellow.
What to see in Ollastra
Ollastra is a small town, but it has many interesting churches to visit. The Church of San Costantino is a Romanesque church from the 11th century, with a stone facade and an ancient bell tower. The Church of San Marco is a Baroque church from the 17th century, with frescoes of remarkable artistic interest. The Church of San Sebastiano is a 16th century church with a beautiful Catalan Gothic style facade. The Church of Santa Severa is a small chapel in Gothic Aragonese style from the 14th century, located in a rural area.
The Society of Ollastra
The population of Ollastra has undergone changes over time: in 1853 there were 1,462 inhabitants, while in 2019 there were 1,148. The language spoken in Ollastra is Campidanese-Oristanese Sardinian.
Conclusions
I hope that this brief summary of Ollastra has piqued your interest and made you want to visit this Sardinian town. Despite its small size, Ollastra has a millenary history and some monuments of remarkable artistic interest. I recommend visiting the churches, strolling through the alleys of the historic center, and discovering the beauty of this small Sardinian gem. See you soon!
