Street art Sardinia: the myth and magic of Orgosolo's murals

The Sardinian hill town of Orgosolo is famous for its anti-authoritarian streak – inspired by shepherds and immortalised in its street art

We were told about Orgosolo by an Italian on the ferry to Sardinia from Barcelona. Intrigued by his description, we negotiated our tandem over 1,000-metre-high mountains, winding by olive trees and ancient dry-stone walls. Breaking the brow of our final hill, we were confronted by the high cliff which walls Orgosolo in on two sides, and there below was the town itself, perched on a steep hillside. As we descended into it we passed the first of what we’d come for – the famous murals.

The arrival of decent roads and the affordability of the ubiquitous little Fiats must have opened up life here significantly, but the mountains remain enough of an obstacle that the area is still among Europe’s most remote and least populated.