Squeezed between two limestone bastions, Ulassai is Ogliastra's museum-village: here Maria Lai stitched art to the landscape, climbers scale the heels and the Su Marmuri caves descend into the mountain's heart.
Maria Lai's village
Ulassai is inseparable from its artist: the Stazione dell'Arte holds the largest collection of Maria Lai's works, but the village itself is the museum — mural looms, the artist's washhouse, the mountain "tied" in her famous 1981 performance. Contemporary art in Italy's most unexpected place.
Inside the mountain
The Su Marmuri caves are among Europe's most imposing: an hour's visit through 70-metre chambers and stalagmite forests. Outside, the heels are a vertical paradise for sport climbing, with hundreds of routes and an international festival.
The water
After rain, the Lequarci waterfall drops almost 100 metres from the heel's rim: spring and autumn give the best show. Pair the visit with a tasting at the village's historic cooperative winery.