Meana Sardo, Ortuabis Forest
Meana Sardo, Ortuabis Forest - © Ivo Piras

Meana Sardo
Ortuabis Forest

The Ortuabis Forest, called Su Cumonali by the residents of Meana Sardo, is beloved for its fascinating sites hidden amongst the holm oaks and mastics.

Meana Sardo, Ortuabis forest. Lime kiln
Meana Sardo, Ortuabis forest. Lime kiln - © Ivo Piras

Walking along the trails through the lush Mediterranean vegetation and trees, you come upon fascinating traces of the toil of charcoal burners and workers called calcinagius, who were responsible for building and feeding lime kilns.

The kilns for the white stones, which were active until the 1960s, are similar in structure to a nuragh, and between eight and ten metres high. They produced between about 650 and 700 quintals of lime a month.
The lime was transported on people’s backs in special baskets called is coffasa or on oxen-pulled carts or the first lorries. The workers used rolled up sacks called is tidilisi to protect their backs from burns.

The forest is owned by the municipality of Meana Sardo and managed by the Ente Foreste delle Sardegna (Sardinia Forest Service) in collaboration with the town, with the aim of making the most of the land through the creation of sites and thematic itineraries for tourists.

Meana Sardo, Ortuabis forest
Meana Sardo, Ortuabis forest - © Ivo Piras

Contact

Address:
Via Mazzini, 4, 08030 Meana Sardo NU, Italia