Autunno in Barbagia: Cortes Apertas in Orune 2026

What to expect at Autunno in Barbagia and Cortes Apertas in Orune 2026

On Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December 2026 it is the turn of Orune to host one of the closing stops of Autunno in Barbagia: the village of the Barbagia di Bitti, perched at over seven hundred metres on a granite plateau overlooking the mountains of the Nuoro area, renews its appointment with Cortes Apertas and, together with Ortueri and Seulo, brings to a close the long journey of the festival that began in September in nearby Bitti. In mid-December the village welcomes visitors with crisp upland air, the scent of lit fireplaces and the already festive, pre-Christmas atmosphere of its stone streets.

Over the two days the cortes, the courtyards of the traditional houses in the historic centre, open to the public with tastings of produce rooted in the pastoral culture, from cheeses to cured meats, from carasau bread to festive sweets, paired with the red wine of the Nuoro area. Orune has always been a weaving centre: in the courtyards you can watch artisans at the loom making rugs and blankets with traditional motifs, while canto a tenore, listed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and traditional dancing fill the squares. It is also a chance to see Orune's traditional dress up close, with the women's gold-embroidered headscarf, violet shawl and yellow-orange bodice and the men's long black berrita cap.

Orune lies about twenty kilometres from Nuoro and around an hour and twenty minutes' drive from Olbia, well placed for combining the visit with the nearby villages of Lula, Onani and Benetutti, or with a detour to the Nuragic sacred well of Su Tempiesu. Entry to the courtyards is free; the detailed programme for the 2026 edition will be published by the organisers in the coming weeks.

Cortes Apertas Orune 2026 Programme

On Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December 2026 Orune hosts Autunno in Barbagia with its Cortes Apertas, part of the edition "Il gusto antico dell'ospitalità" (The ancient taste of hospitality), which from 5 September to 13 December travels through more than thirty villages of the Nuoro area. As at the other stops, the days revolve around the open courtyards of the historic centre, with tastings, crafts, exhibitions and performances of traditional music, singing and dance.

Dates and the detailed programme are being finalised pending the official 2026 calendar. Check back for updates.

How to Get to Orune

Frequently Asked Questions about Autunno in Barbagia in Orune

Is there an entrance fee for the Cortes Apertas in Orune?

No, as at every stop of Autunno in Barbagia, entry to the courtyards and the historic centre of Orune is free on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December 2026. You only pay for tastings, meals at the food stalls and any purchases from the artisans.

When will the detailed programme be available?

The programme with times, open courtyards, workshops and performances is usually published by the Municipality and the organisers in the weeks before the event. This page will be updated as soon as the official Orune schedule is available.

What is there to see in Orune during the Cortes Apertas?

Besides the open courtyards, it is worth visiting the parish church of Santa Maria Maggiore, with its murals by Antonio Caboni, and above all the Nuragic sacred well of Su Tempiesu, a few kilometres from the village, unique in Sardinia for its gabled roof. In the courtyards you can watch the rug weavers at work, listen to canto a tenore and see the village's traditional dress up close.

Where can I park and which other villages can I visit on the same weekend?

During the event, parking areas are signposted on the edge of the historic centre, which is easily explored on foot. On the same weekend of 12 and 13 December, the last of the 2026 edition, Autunno in Barbagia also stops in Ortueri and Seulo.

History and Traditions

Autunno in Barbagia is the travelling festival promoted by the Nuoro Chamber of Commerce through its special agency ASPEN, which since 1996 has brought dozens of villages in Barbagia and the surrounding areas to life between September and December: each weekend a different municipality opens its cortes, the stone courtyards of its traditional houses, turning them into open-air workshops full of flavours, crafts and music. The 2026 edition, entitled "Il gusto antico dell'ospitalità", runs from 5 September to 13 December, and Orune takes part on the very last weekend with its Cortes Apertas.

The territory of Orune has been inhabited since pre-Nuragic times, as shown by its domus de janas rock-cut tombs and the dolmens of Istithi and Su Urreddu, while numerous nuraghi, giants' tombs and above all the sacred well of Su Tempiesu date from the Nuragic age: one of the most remarkable monuments of ancient Sardinia, with its gabled façade built of perfectly squared blocks of trachyte and basalt. In the Middle Ages the village belonged to the Giudicato of Torres and, from 1259, to that of Arborea; it then passed to the Marquisate of Oristano and, from 1478, to Aragonese rule, until the redemption of the fiefs in 1839. In the late 19th century a long feud with neighbouring Bitti was ended by the famous "Paci di San Giovanni" peace pact.

Today Orune has around two thousand inhabitants and preserves a strong identity rooted in sheep farming, rug weaving and canto a tenore. The parish church of Santa Maria Maggiore, built in neoclassical style in the mid-19th century, houses murals by Antonio Caboni; the village was portrayed by Grazia Deledda in her novel Colombi e sparvieri and by Carlo Levi in his Sardinian travel writings, and it is the birthplace of the writer Bachisio Zizi. The feasts of the Madonna del Carmelo, the Consolata and Sant'Isidoro still mark the year, bringing the community together around its traditions.