Which Villages Are in Sardinia's Blue Zone?

Sardinia is widely known as one of the world's original Blue Zone regions. This does not mean, however, that the entire island belongs to one continuous longevity area. You can read the full overview on our Sardinia Blue Zone page.

Demographic research identified an exceptional concentration of long-lived people in the mountainous central-eastern part of Sardinia, across the historical territories of Ogliastra and Barbagia.

The restricted and most thoroughly validated core consists of six municipalities: Arzana, Baunei, Seulo, Talana, Urzulei and Villagrande Strisaili.

It is important to understand that the Sardinia Blue Zone was not originally created as a tourism itinerary or a simple list of attractive villages. It was identified through civil records and demographic studies that measured the probability of people born in individual municipalities reaching the age of one hundred.

Where is the Sardinia Blue Zone?

The Sardinia Blue Zone lies around the Gennargentu mountain range and the surrounding inland territories of central-eastern Sardinia.

Historically, these communities shared several characteristics:

• small village populations
• pastoral and agricultural work
• regular movement across steep terrain
• food connected with local production
• strong family and social relationships
• continuity of traditions
• an active role for older people within the community

The demographic study that identified the area used an Extreme Longevity Index. Rather than simply counting the centenarians living in a place at one moment, researchers reconstructed how many people born in each municipality eventually reached one hundred.

The highest concentration emerged in the mountainous areas of central-eastern Sardinia, together with one particularly unusual feature: a remarkably high representation of male centenarians.

Which are the six core villages?

Villagrande Strisaili

Villagrande Strisaili is one of the communities most closely associated with Sardinian longevity research.

Its territory stretches through Ogliastra towards the Gennargentu mountains. Older generations lived in a setting shaped by pastoral work, farming, everyday physical activity and strong family networks.

The village became an important location for studying exceptionally long-lived people and reconstructing their life histories through detailed demographic records.

Arzana

Arzana stands on the slopes of the Gennargentu and retains a strong mountain and pastoral identity.

Its landscape, traditional occupations and community structure have made it particularly interesting for researchers examining possible relationships between environment, everyday movement, social support and longevity.

Arzana belongs to the restricted core of the Sardinian Blue Zone.

Talana

Talana lies in inland Ogliastra at the foot of the mountains.

Forests, rural activities, footpaths and local traditions remain central to the village's identity. For earlier generations, everyday life required regular walking and physical work naturally integrated into daily routines.

Talana is one of the six communities where exceptional longevity has been studied and carefully documented.

Baunei

Baunei is internationally known for the Supramonte and its coastline, but the village also has deep mountain and pastoral roots.

Its history developed among limestone plateaus, shepherds' settlements, footpaths and activities connected with the land. This combination of mountain and sea makes Baunei one of the most representative places in Ogliastra.

The municipality belongs to the historic core of the Sardinia Blue Zone.

Urzulei

Urzulei is surrounded by the rugged landscapes of the Supramonte, with limestone mountains, gorges, forests and historic pastoral routes.

For generations, the local environment required daily walking, manual work and a close relationship with the land.

Visiting Urzulei offers an introduction to one of the most authentic expressions of inland Ogliastra and its pastoral culture.

Seulo

Seulo belongs to the Barbagia di Seulo area, south-west of the Gennargentu.

The village is closely connected with the history of Sardinian longevity research and was included in the restricted group of the most extensively studied communities.

Seulo demonstrates that the Blue Zone does not correspond exactly to the current administrative borders of Ogliastra. It is a wider geographical, historical and cultural area centred on the mountains of central-eastern Sardinia.

Does the Blue Zone include only these six villages?

The six municipalities form the restricted core where exceptional longevity has been most thoroughly validated through the analysis of civil and demographic records.

Research also describes an extended area containing eight additional communities across Ogliastra and Barbagia. These places show high longevity indexes and have been studied, but they have not yet been validated to the same depth as the six core municipalities.

It is therefore useful to distinguish between:

• the restricted Blue Zone core
• the extended longevity area
• neighbouring territories with similar environmental and cultural characteristics
• the modern Ogliastra Blue Zone travel destination

This distinction helps explain the phenomenon accurately without applying the Blue Zone label indiscriminately to every village in Sardinia.

Is all of Sardinia a Blue Zone?

No. Sardinia as a whole is an important territory for longevity research, but the original Blue Zone was identified in a specific mountainous area of the central-eastern part of the island.

Long-lived people and communities with significant numbers of centenarians also exist elsewhere in Sardinia. This does not mean that the entire island can be scientifically described as one Blue Zone.

The designation comes from demographic analysis, age validation and the reconstruction of generations born in different municipalities.

Why did these villages become so important?

One of the features that attracted the greatest scientific interest was male longevity.

In most populations, women greatly outnumber men among people who reach one hundred. In the core of Sardinia's Blue Zone, the difference between the two sexes was considerably smaller.

Researchers have investigated several possible influences:

• lifelong physical activity
• pastoral work and manual occupations
• traditional food patterns
• mountainous geography
• family support
• the social role of older people
• successful stress coping
• psychological wellbeing
• genetics
• historical and environmental conditions

No single factor offers a definitive explanation. Exceptional longevity is more likely to result from a lifelong interaction between environment, culture, biology, social relationships and personal history. Our page on Ogliastra Blue Zone and longevity explores these aspects in more detail.

Why is Ogliastra central to the Sardinia Blue Zone?

Ogliastra occupies a central position in both the study and the story of Sardinia's longevity area.

Five of the six municipalities in the restricted core are located in Ogliastra:

• Arzana
• Baunei
• Talana
• Urzulei
• Villagrande Strisaili

Within a relatively compact territory, Ogliastra also brings together an extraordinary variety of landscapes and traditions: the Gennargentu, the Supramonte, inland villages, pastoral culture, traditional food, craftsmanship and the coastline.

This is why Ogliastra is widely known as the land of centenarians and provides an ideal starting point for exploring longevity and the culture of central-eastern Sardinia.

Can you visit the Sardinia Blue Zone?

Yes. A meaningful visit should, however, go beyond searching for a miracle food or a supposed secret that guarantees a one-hundred-year life.

An authentic itinerary can include:

• historic village centres
• the landscapes of the Gennargentu and Supramonte
• walking routes and historic pastoral paths
• local food
• farms and producers
• craft workshops
• archaeological sites
• traditional festivals
• local communities
• activities connected with the territory

The value of the journey lies in understanding the environment in which exceptional longevity emerged: a combination of places, relationships, habits and individual life stories. Browse our experiences across the territory.

How many days do you need?

Two or three days can provide a useful introduction to the villages and traditions of inland Sardinia.

A five- or seven-day journey makes it possible to combine:

• Blue Zone communities
• the Gennargentu
• the Supramonte
• Ogliastra villages
• traditional food and crafts
• archaeological sites
• the sea and the Baunei Coast

The ideal duration depends on the season, personal interests and the pace at which you would like to experience the territory.

Plan a journey through the land of centenarians

Ogliastra Blue Zone connects travellers with villages, local businesses and authentic experiences across the territory.

Tell us when you would like to travel, how many days you have available and which aspects of the Blue Zone interest you most. Our travel agency will help you plan your trip: a tailor-made journey through communities, traditions, nature and culture.

Plan Your Trip

Sources and Further Reading

• Michel Poulain, Gianni Pes et al., Identification of a geographic area characterized by extreme longevity in the Sardinia island: the AKEA study, Experimental Gerontology, 2004.
• Michel Poulain et al., A Population Where Men Live As Long As Women: Villagrande Strisaili, Sardinia, Journal of Aging Research, 2011.
• Alberto Nieddu et al., Dietary Habits, Anthropometric Features and Daily Performance in Two Independent Long-Lived Populations from Nicoya Peninsula and Ogliastra, Nutrients, 2020.
• Mark J. Soloski, Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain, Does the trained immune system play an important role in the extreme longevity that is seen in the Sardinian Blue Zone?, Frontiers in Aging, 2022.