Mamoiada is an Italian municipality of 2 364 inhabitants in the province of Nuoro, located 644 meters above sea level in the Barbagia di Ollolai, on the border between Gennargentu and Supramonte.
The municipality is located in an area where numerous streams spring and flow through land largely used for cultivation or grazing.
The area was inhabited in pre-Nuragic, Nuragic (presence of domus de janas and some nuraghi) and Roman times. Given its strategic location, the town of Mamoiada was affected by a Roman military presence.
In the Middle Ages it belonged to the Giudicato of Arborea. In 1420, at the fall of the giudicato it came under the rule of the marquisate of Oristano, and then passed under Aragonese domination. In 1604 it was joined to the duchy of Mandas, a fief of the Maza family. From the Mazas it then passed to the Tellez-Giron of Alcantara, to whom it was redeemed in 1839 with the abolition of the feudal system desired by the Savoys.
Mamoiada’s evocative carnival is one of the island’s oldest popular celebrations, an attraction for visitors from all over the world. The protagonists are the Mamuthones, who wear a black mask with marked features, carved from precious woods, and wear sheep skins on which they load thirty kilos of cowbells(sa carriga). During the parades, they pace with cadenced steps, generating dazed sounds.
Source: https://www.sardegnaturismo.it/it/esplora/mamoiada#:~:text=Mamoiada%20% C3 %A8%20un%20accogliente%20center,routes%20di%20trekking%20e%20biking.; https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamoiada#Geografia_antropica
