During a stay in Sardaigne, contemporary art enthusiasts are invited to stop in the village of Ulassai, in the Ogliastra province. A charming town-museum reveals itself behind the mountains.

When travel guides speak of a town-museum, they typically use the expression figuratively. But the mountainous town of Ulassai in Sardaigne is an open-air museum in the truest sense of the term. It is Maria Lai, a renowned artist originally from the region, who initiated the project. She drew inspiration from pastoral legends. A young girl sent to the hills to bring provisions to shepherds was caught in a violent storm. A miraculous ribbon descended from the sky, drawing the child out of the cave where she had taken shelter, helping her face the downpour, the tempest, and saving her from a landslide just in time. "Let us connect our homes to one another with a ribbon, the way we do when we are afraid and hold hands tight," Maria Lai proposed to the mayor. Thus began Maria Lai's artistic career: the dwellings were connected to the surrounding mountains by a sky-blue festoon 27 kilometers long. The town inspired the artist, and the artist recreated and transformed the town.

Maria Lai's Artistic Journey: A Pioneering Artist Passionate About Sardinian Myths and Traditions

Maria Lai needs no introduction—she is the leader of Italian relational art. Born in 1920 in Ulassai, a rural hamlet in Ogliastra tucked into the wild mountains of the interior, she studied painting and sculpture in Rome. Yet it was the games of her childhood that would awaken Maria Lai's creativity.

She grew up in the meadows, among goats and shepherds, gathering firewood and eating fresh farm bread. Maria Lai's compositions are a faithful reflection of this poetic universe. Breaking free from canvas, the artist produced a disparate collection of works: paintings, porcelain pieces, hand-sewn books, clay objects, textiles—even a humble loom becomes appropriated by the artist, demonstrating remarkable evocative power.

At one point, Sardinian writer Cambosu taught Italian to Maria Lai. He immediately believed in the genius dormant within his young student, even when her other teachers doubted she would receive public recognition and honor for her talent as a woman.

It was not until age 61 that the artist achieved international renown through the immense success of her masterpiece Legarsi alla montagna, or Binding to the Mountain, created in 1981. Twenty-five years later, a contemporary art museum, called Stazione dell'Arte (Station of Art), was erected in her memory. Yet Maria Lai's artistic legacy far exceeds the confines of the museum's three buildings. It spills beyond its walls—into the old laundry, the village's mother church, the library, the town hall chambers, and the cemetery where the artist was buried in 2013 at age 93.

Visiting Maria Lai's Contemporary Art Museum

The museum dedicated to Maria Lai opened in an unusual natural setting, covered with rocks and grassy cliffs. The location was carefully chosen: on one hand, accessing the museum requires some trekking and climbing; more importantly, visitors find themselves in the countryside and inevitably immerse themselves in the artist's childhood paradise. While the museum is an excellent starting point for discovering her multifaceted work, the visit continues through open countryside.

Works Displayed at Station of Art Museum

The collection comprises no fewer than 150 works bequeathed by the pioneer of the relational art movement in Italy. Among her masterpieces are:

• Binding to the Mountain, 1981
• Oggetto paesaggio (Landscape Object), 1967
• Interlaced Fairy Tales, tribute to Antonio Gramsci, 2007
• Loom of the Wind, 2007
• Oil of Words, 2008

Works Displayed at the Municipal Laundry

• Homage to the Women of Ulassai: a magnificent composition adorning the laundry ceiling. Dated and signed by Maria Lai in 1933;
• The Fountain's Source, dated and signed by Luigi Veronesi;
• The Wheat Fountain, dated and signed by Guido Strazza;
• The Sonorous Fountain, dated and signed by Constantine Nivola.

Works Displayed at Icnussa Library in Ulassai

When visiting the library, you will notice Capturing the Wing of the Wind, created by the artist in 2009. Do not miss Mercury's Hair, a piece dated and signed by Ettore Consolazione.

Works Scattered Throughout the Countryside

Beyond these installations, the mountains, valleys, winding streets, commercial walls, cemeteries, and dwellings are places where Maria Lai displayed her creations:

• The Escarpment, 2002
• The Sewn Goats, 1992
• The Road of Traditions, 1992
• The Shepherd with His Goat in the Morning, 2005
• The Game of the Goose's Flight, 2002
• The House of Worries, 2005
• Opera Capturing the Wing of the Wind, 2009

Works by Other Sardinian Artists

During your hike, you will delight in observing artworks by Italian masters who have settled in Ulassai: Luca Rossi's Suspended Stones (2012), Francesco Ciusa's Portrait of Maria Lai (1933), Guido Strazza's In the Light (2015), and many others.

To reach Maria Lai's town-museum, you must fly into Cagliari. Upon exiting the airport, take the train to reach Cagliari's bus station in 20 minutes. Direct buses to Ulassai pick up travelers at this location. Plan for an average journey of 3 hours and 15 minutes at a cost of 8 euros. Buses depart at 2 p.m. and maintain punctuality.

After 2 p.m., there are other bus services available, but you will be required to change lines since the route is not direct. The journey duration is considerably longer.