Barbagia is the rugged heart of Sardinia, a land of granite hills, shepherds and fiercely held traditions, and on its western edge, near the village of Oniferi, the rock-cut tombs of Brodu are among the most elaborate on the island. Like other domus de janas, these chambers were carved into the stone by the people of the Neolithic Ozieri culture and later, but here several of them have carved decoration inside: false doors, imitation roof beams and, in some, the curved horn motifs that are thought to represent the bull, a symbol of strength and fertility that appears again and again in Sardinian prehistory.
The area around Oniferi, Orotelli and Orani is a good place to see how deep those traditions run. Orotelli has its own carnival masks, the thurpos, men in dark cloaks with blackened faces who play out a strange ritual of ploughing and yoked oxen. Orani was the birthplace of the sculptor Costantino Nivola, and a museum dedicated to his work sits in the village. Nuoro, the provincial capital just to the east, gave the world Grazia Deledda, the novelist who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1926, and her house there is open to visitors.
Riding here is excellent but asks for attention. The main SS131 dual carriageway between Abbasanta and Nuoro gets you in quickly, but the real pleasure is on the smaller roads that wind across the hills between the villages, with tight bends, short climbs, granite outcrops and wide views across valleys of cork oak and pasture. The surfaces are often rough, and there is always the possibility of livestock on the road. Up towards Monte Ortobene above Nuoro, the road climbs in a series of curves through pines to a statue of the Redeemer and views over the Barbagia.
Nuoro, about thirteen kilometres away, is the place for fuel, food, accommodation and workshops. The villages have small bars where you can get a coffee and a sandwich with local cheese, and in the right season you may be offered a glass of Cannonau, the dark red wine of the region. Spring and early autumn are the best times; in midsummer the heat on the open hillsides is intense, and the necropolis offers little shade beyond a few trees.