Luras: Sardinia’s Millennial Olive Trees & the Accabadora

Introduction:
What links a 4,000-year-old olive tree to a mysterious woman who ended human suffering? In Luras, a quiet village in Gallura, ancient nature and ancient traditions intertwine in stories that still fascinate and unsettle.

The Story:
Just outside the town grows S’Ozzastru, one of the oldest olive trees in Europe, estimated at over 3,000 years. Its massive trunk, twisted and gnarled, seems like a living witness to all of Sardinia’s history. But Luras is also tied to the figure of s’accabadora—literally “the woman who ends.” This legendary figure, armed with a wooden hammer, was called upon to bring peace to the dying by delivering a “good death.” For centuries, the accabadora existed in the shadows between myth, religion, and necessity.

Cultural Significance:
The olive trees symbolize endurance and timeless life, while the accabadora embodies Sardinia’s intimate relationship with death, mercy, and tradition. Together, they form a striking duality: eternal nature and fleeting human existence. The Museo Galluras preserves the hammer of the last accabadora, giving tangible form to a story many thought was just folklore.

Traces Today:
In Luras, you can visit the Museo Galluras, housed in a stone house, which displays over 7,000 objects of rural life along with the original tools of the accabadora. Outside the town, the monumental olive groves of S’Ozzastru and other millenary trees invite reflection beneath their vast canopies. The countryside also hides four dolmens, adding another layer of ancient mystery.

Conclusion:
Luras is a journey into Sardinia’s soul: between the immortal silence of olive trees and the unsettling legend of the accabadora. To walk here is to feel both awe and shivers—standing at the crossroads of myth, history, and eternity.