This village between the Campidano of Oristano and the Barigadu took longer to be rid of a name than of an administration. From 1928 to 1946 it was a frazione of nearby Simaxis, and from then on it was called Ollastra Simaxis; once an autonomous comune again, however, it kept the second name for another forty-five years, and only in 1991 did it become simply Ollastra. The bond with Simaxis, after all, came from far back: in the Middle Ages the village belonged to the judicate of Arborea and formed part of the curatoria of Simaxis, of which Simaxis was the chief town. In Sardinian it is Ollasta, and the variety spoken here is Campidanese of Oristano; the sources even feel the need to warn that Ollastra is not to be confused with Ogliastra, which is on the other side of the island.
The rest of the story is that of a fief changing hands. When the judicate fell in 1420, Ollastra entered the marquisate of Oristano; after the final defeat of the Arborean side in 1478 it passed under the Aragonese and then into the hands of the Salazar of Iglesias. In 1698 Gavino Salazar disposed by will of the salto franco of Ollastra in favour of one of his daughters — that is, he left a piece of the village as an inheritance, the way one leaves a piece of furniture. Around 1767, under Savoyard rule, the village was incorporated into the marquisate of Arcais, a fief of the Flores Nurra, from whom it was redeemed in 1839 with the abolition of the feudal system. Its churches, in the village and in the country, are four: San Costantino, San Marco, San Sebastiano and Santa Severa.
No events match these filters.
📅 Every year, on 20 January
On 20 January Ollastra celebrates its patron Saint Sebastian, to whom the town's church is dedicated; the territory also preserves the Nuraghe Accasa and the Nuraghe Su Pedru.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Ollastra, but an easy day trip away.
