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History & Fun Facts

The Secrets
of Loceri

4 curiosities and stories

01

Loceri's green gold: extra-virgin olive oil

The olive-growing tradition of Loceri has very ancient roots. Some of the olive trees in the municipal territory date back to medieval times or even earlier, with twisted, knotted trunks that look like natural sculptures. The predominant cultivars are the 'Nera di Villacidro' and the local 'Tonda di Cagliari', which yield an oil with low acidity, rich in polyphenols and with a characteristic herbaceous aftertaste. The village's cooperative oil mill runs during the autumn harvest, and the scent of new oil fills every corner of the village. Loceri's oil has won recognition at national competitions and is exported throughout Italy.

02

Pane carasau and the tradition of bread-making

In Loceri, the production of pane carasau — the famous 'carta music bread', thin and crisp, which kept for months in shepherds' saddlebags — is still practised in artisan form by some families in the village. The process requires skill and patience: a dough of semolina, water, salt and natural yeast is rolled into very thin sheets, baked in a wood-fired oven, then split into layers and baked a second time until crisp. Alongside the carasau, the women of Loceri prepare 'pane pintau', decorated with traditional geometric motifs, used at feasts and ceremonies. An intangible heritage that endures.

03

Intact countryside and rural biodiversity

The territory of Loceri is one of the few in Ogliastra where the traditional agricultural landscape has remained almost unchanged from fifty years ago. The absence of large infrastructure and the hilly terrain have protected the village from intensive urbanisation. Almond trees, fig trees, vines and olive groves alternate with dry-stone walls and white dirt tracks leading to silent farmsteads. In spring, when the Mediterranean scrubland is in flower, the countryside around Loceri offers extraordinary colours and scents. Enthusiasts of birdwatching, nature photography and hiking will find here an intimate and authentic environment.

04

Agricultural economy and demographic resilience

Like many villages in the Sardinian interior, Loceri has had to contend with depopulation over the course of the twentieth century. However, the resilience of the agricultural economy — and the olive-growing supply chain in particular — has guaranteed a degree of stability for the community. In recent years there has been a tentative return of young people who choose to reclaim abandoned land, produce olive oil, raise flocks and experiment with forms of rural tourism. This quiet ferment is one of the most encouraging stories in contemporary Ogliastra. Loceri has not given up: it cultivates the land with the same hands as always, and with a new awareness of the value of what it produces.

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