Uri

Overview and Geography

Uri is an inland plain municipality situated in the historic Sassarese region (Logudoro Turritano), located roughly halfway between Sassari and Alghero. It lies at the edge of the Valle dei Giunchi at an elevation of 150 meters above sea level. Its territory encompasses an uneven terrain ranging from 41 to 276 meters in elevation, bordered by nearby peaks such as Mounts Miale Spina, Rosso, and Casillones.

Uri shares the artificial Cuga Lake basin with the neighboring municipality of Ittiri. The town is a member of both the Associazione Nazionale Città dell’Olio and the Associazione Nazionale Città del Vino. Etymologically, the name is likely of pre-Roman Paleo-Sardinian origin (Ur), linked to Basque terms associated with water or muddy terrain (Urium).

Economy and Local Culture

• Agriculture and Saffron/Artichoke Production: The primary economic driver is agropastoralism, centered on cereals, forage, vineyards, olive groves, and livestock breeding. Uri is especially renowned for cultivating the Carciofo Spinoso Sardo DOP (Sardinian Spiny Artichoke), a tender and elongated artichoke variety irrigated via Lake Cuga.

• Industrial & Tertiary Sectors: Small-scale industries operate in food processing, woodworking, brickmaking, and construction.

• Festivals and Traditions: Key annual celebrations include:

  • Sagra del Carciofo: Held annually on the second Sunday of March (first organized in 1990) alongside a summer edition in early August.

  • Festa della Madonna di Paulis: Celebrated on the first Tuesday after Pentecost.

  • Sa Die de Su Inu: A local summer wine tasting festival.

  • Feast of Nostra Signora della Pazienza: The patronal festival held on September 13.

History

Human settlement dates to the Nuragic era, evidenced by over 40 nuraghi across the territory. Traces of Roman Republican and Imperial settlements have also been identified. During the Middle Ages, Uri belonged to the Giudicato of Torres within the curatoria of Coros. It was subsequently tied to the Barony of Osilo and later the County of Usini.

Notable Native Figures

• Matteo Fara: A long-serving primary school educator in Uri from 1881 to 1913.

• Michele Diaz-Delogu: Early 20th-century Mayor of Uri and agricultural entrepreneur responsible for building the public washhouse, the police barracks, and local primary schools.

• Giovanni Maria Cherchi (1922–2000s): Antifascist politician, regional councilor, President of the Sassari Province, and poet who wrote social works in Italian, Sassarese, and Logudorese Sardinian dialect.

Architecture and Main Sights

Historic and Sacred Architecture

• Church of Santa Croce: Originally built in Romanesque style in the 11th century under Giudice Gonnario de Salanis (or Barisone I) as the Church of Santa Maria. It later served as the seat of the Confraternity of the Holy Cross (Santa Croce).

• Parish Church of Nostra Signora della Pazienza: First documented in historical visitor logs (condaghe) under the name Santa Maria, it adopted its current dedication to Our Lady of Patience in 1688. The octagonal bell tower, facade elements, and Crucifix Chapel date to the 18th century, with major structural updates completed between 1948 and 1950.

• Church of Santa Maria de Paulis: A modern parish church constructed between 1991 and 1995 featuring an Orosei marble floor, local craft acquamanile basins, and relics of Beata Antonia Mesina and San Giuseppe Cottolengo.

• Funtana Manna: An 18th-century public stone fountain located in Piazza Funtana Manna, commissioned by the Countess of Ittiri and Baroness of Uri, and built by Sassari master mason Gavino Pirino.

• Su Trogliu Historic Washhouse: Constructed in 1910 under Mayor Michele Diaz-Delogu.

• Casa Dettori: A historic estate with roots dating to the late 17th century. It served historically as the municipal seat and post office; it is preserved as a house-museum and agricultural promotion center.

• Casa Diaz-Delogu: An late 19th-century Art Nouveau villa featuring two entrance statues depicting Industry and Agriculture, complete with decorated painted ceilings.

• War Memorials: Piazza Felice Arisa hosts a white marble high-relief war memorial created in 1997 by sculptor Antonio Chessa. The Old Cemetery wall displays a 1920s World War I commemorative plaque showing a winged Victory eagle motif.

Civic Infrastructure and Sports

• Municipal Public Library: Located in the restored 1914 Iscola Etza building (named after Giovanni Maria Cherchi in 2016).

• Sports Facilities: Includes the Ninetto Martinez synthetic football pitch (home to Atletico Uri in Serie D), an indoor sports hall, and municipal calcetto courts.

Archaeological Sites and Surrounding Area

Urban & Nearby Prehistoric Sites

• Nuraghe Santa Caterina (Santa Cadrina): A complex, trilobate limestone and trachyte nuraghe built in the center of Uri at an altitude of 163 meters. It includes a central keep (mastio) with four elevated interior niches and an adjacent workshop hearth/furnace, two secondary towers, a trapezoidal courtyard with a water well, and an surrounding hut village showing multi-layered occupation from Nuragic to Byzantine times.

• Sa Pedra Longa Giants’ Tomb: Located near Mount Pedra Longa, preserving a monolithic centenate stele standing at 147 meters elevation.

• Su Valzu Sacred Well: Ruins of a Nuragic water temple located in the surrounding countryside.

• Badde Dejana Domus de Janas: An underground rock-cut tomb featuring interior carved support pillars painted in red ochre, accessed via a sunken entrance shaft.

Lake Cuga and Submerged Archaeology

• Cuga Dam and Lake: An artificial reservoir created in 1975 on the Cuga River for agricultural irrigation in the Nurra plain. It holds approximately 30 million cubic meters of water.

• Submerged Nuraghi: Several archaeological sites sit along the basin and are partially or fully submerged depending on seasonal water levels:

  • Nuraghe Attentu: A complex polylobed trachyte nuraghe excavated in 1874 by Giovanni Spano, where a notable bronze antenna sword was recovered.

  • Nuraghe Peppe Gallu: A corridor nuraghe/protonuraghe studied in 1959 by Ercole Contu; carbon testing dated organic remains inside the site to between the 6th and 3rd centuries BC.

  • Nuraghe su Igante: A single-tower nuraghe where Ercole Contu recovered a bronze votive boat (navicella) with a bovine prow.

  • Nuraghi Asturedu and Chessedu: Entirely submerged Nuragic towers; Chessedu yielded a decorated ceramic basin now housed in the Sanna Museum in Sassari.

  • Other Lake Nuraghi: Includes S’alzol ‘e Sa Cudina, Sa Pigalvedda, Su Cuttu, and Bilianu Pinna.

Historic Religious Sites Around Uri

• Abbey of Nostra Signora de Paulis: Ruins of a Cistercian monastery founded in 1205 in Romanesque style by Comita II, Giudice of Torres. Occupied by monks until the 14th century, it was later home to the 20th-century hermit archeologist Piero Cau (Su Padre Biancu), who was murdered on site in 1959.

• Church of San Leonardo al Cuga: A 12th-century Romanesque church featuring white limestone masonry and blind arcades. It was originally situated in the Cunucla valley, but was dismantled block-by-block and reconstructed on higher ground above Lake Cuga to prevent its submersion after the dam’s construction.