Mount Ortobene, the “Mountain of Nuoro” sung by Grazia Deledda, is not only a wonder of granite and holm oaks, but also a true chest of ancient tales, where faith mingles with magic and reality blurs with legend.
Among its rocky recesses, people have whispered for centuries the tale of Su Tesoro de Mamudine, an immense cursed treasure that awaits only the greedy to claim their soul.
The Shadow of the Treasure and the Deception of the Lost Cart
This is the story of a farmer from Marreri, an honest man but not immune to the craving for wealth, who had just invested all his savings in the purchase of a brand-new cart and a pair of sturdy oxen.
One night, however, the man’s sleep was troubled by endless nightmares. In the morning, the icy air of Nuoro brought a chilling discovery: the cart had vanished.
No sign of forced entry, no logical trace, only emptiness.
Desperate, the farmer rushed into the thickets of Ortobene, following the faint hoofprints of his oxen.
The tracks led him to the area of Mamudine, a place long considered sacred and mysterious, where the wheel ruts suddenly turned chaotic, as if driven mad, and then abruptly stopped, as if the cart had dissolved into thin air.
The man was shaken, but his search did not end there.
S’Intrada: The Gate of Wealth (and of Ruin)
While the farmer and others who had joined the search inspected the surroundings, one of the youngest noticed something unnatural.
Hidden among the thick foliage of the shrubs opened a narrow passage: “S’Intrada”, the secret entrance to an underground world.
At first incredulous (“My cart is far too big to pass through there!”), the farmer was soon forced to reconsider. The boy, driven by a mysterious force, moved branches and leaves until the opening widened just enough.
The man cautiously entered the narrow gap, and what he saw surpassed all imagination. The interior was not a simple cave, but a vast underground square illuminated by a dim and inexplicable light. And there, before his dazzled eyes, lay the treasure:
- Cottas de oro (golden tableware), telajos de oro (golden looms), marengos (gold coins).
- And at the center of it all, the object of his search: his cart, intact, beside a hen with chicks, all forged in shining gold.
It was the treasure of an ancient king, cursed by a demonic entity for his excessive greed.
Greed, Fever, and the Devil’s Curse
Faced with such wealth, every caution and every memory of his original mission disappeared. Greed seeped into the farmer’s heart like a subtle poison. He emptied his satchel and, with trembling hands, brought it close to the immense mountain of gold coins.
He filled the bag until it was unbearable. But as he struggled to return to the light, a dark power seized him. As soon as he crossed the threshold, the gold turned into burning coals that scorched his skin, and his heart was struck with unbearable terror.
Back at home, the man was devastated, his body shaking with uncontrollable tremors and his face disfigured with horror. A violent and inexplicable fever struck him. He remained in bed for days, delirious, and in the ravings of illness recounted what he had seen: the gold, the secret square, and the terrible curse guarding the treasure.
The doctors were powerless. Within a week, the farmer was dead, taking with him the exact location of S’Intrada.
The Fate of the Bandit Balente
Another version, perhaps even more frightening, tells of a daring bandit (balente) who, some time later, managed to find the mysterious passage. But this treasure had a Guardian.
As soon as the bandit took a step toward the gold, he was attacked by a gigantic royal mastiff, a spectral dog that defended the treasure like a shadow. The balente fled in terror, and his fright was so great that he too fell into an anguished, silent agony, dying after days without being able to reveal to anyone the secret of Mamudine.
Even today, the elders of Nuoro say that the treasure lies hidden in the rugged area of Mamudine, awaiting another greedy soul who dares to challenge the curse.
From time to time, a dreamer or seeker of magical treasures ventures among the rocks of Ortobene, hoping that a premonitory dream, as Sardinian tradition says, might reveal the exact location.
But the only certainty is that Mount Ortobene jealously guards its secret, ready to strike anyone who seeks to seize the gold cursed by the devil.