Access
In the centre of Olzai, the outstanding predominant feature is granite. All the old houses and the canals that kept the mountain torrents at bay, are built with this hard stone and the streets of the beautiful historic centre are paved in the same way. You leave your car in the centre of the village, where Via Taloro intersects with Via Marconi, begin to climb the latter and keeping to the left the canal that captures the waters of the Riu Bisine. Drive up between the small houses of the centre until you reach a square on the right, where you will also find the signs for the House-Museum of Carmelo Floris, a famous painter born in Olzai: the museum is well worth a visit and arrangements can also be made here for a visit to the mill.
Uphill
You keep to the left, uphill, taking Via Anastasio and then following a small cemented road that leaves the last houses of the village behind. At the next fork, turn right again, uphill on the asphalt, plunging into a dense and silent Holm oak forest. The road climbs steeply, narrowing and gaining height with tight hairpin bends that are always paved.
Mulinu Vetzu
The road keeps to the left of the sunken valley of the Riu Bisine from which, in the rainy season, the roar of the torrent comes. A last uphill stretch leads to a widening where, under the forest trees, a few small tables have been set up for a rest. On the left, just below the road, some ancient buildings attract your attention. Su Mulinu Vetzu was mainly used for milling wheat and barley. In the main building was the large wooden wheel, set in motion by gravity from the water that was appropriately channelled. The mill dates back to the end of the 18th century and was renovated in the 2000s: today, the transmission shaft would need further restoration to make the gearing functional again. The old building retains intact the industrial charm of the times gone by; once the visit is over, you can stay and enjoy the coolness of the forest, before returning to the village by the road followed on the outward journey
