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Sardegna (Sardinia) is a region with
a special, semi-independent status
within Italy and the Italian
Parliament has also recognized the
people who live here as a distinct "popolo".
(Only the people of
Veneto
enjoy a similar distinction).
But, Sardegna is distinguished in
may other fascinating ways from the
rest of Italy, and wholly deserving
of its reputation as a unique,
compelling and immensely interesting
travel destination.
For instance, its earliest peoples,
the Nuragi, had settled the
island as long ago as 1700 BC.
Unlike the Italic tribes who
inhabited southern Italy and who
were subjugated by Greek colonists,
the Nuragia were displaced by
Phoenicians who had been
expelled from Egypt by the
Pharaoh Amasis in about 1540 BC
and another group who were expelled
by Ramses III in about 1180
BC. The Phoenicians in turn
fell into the orbit of the
Cartheginians, who were
conquered by the
Romans in the First Punic War in
238 BC. After the Romans,
control over the island fell into a
variety of different hands,
including that of the
Vandals, the
Byzantines, the Aragonese, and
the French, to mention a few.
Every group had its impact on
Sardegnese life, architecture,
culture and language.
The island, 200 kilometers west of
mainland Italy, is also home to
several animal and bird species not
found elsewhere, and is not home to
various species which are plentiful
in other parts of Italy.
The waters around Sardegna still
teem with fish and shell fish, and
its coast is one of the most
spectacular in the world, featuring
soaring cliffs on some stretches and
long dazzling beaches, where the
water is crystal clear on others.
The better-known coastal areas are Costa Rei (south) and
Costa Smeralda (north) while hidden stretches of
largely deserted coastline include Cala Gonone on
the east coast and Costa Verde (aka the 'Silent
Coast') on the west. The Costa
Gennargentu is another popular
beach and tourist hang-out.
The mountains of the interior are
dotted with prickly pear, wild
myrtle bushes and pine trees, the
mountain valleys checkered with
vineyards, olive groves, fields of
wheat and pastures for grazing
sheep, goats and cattle. They
are also pocked with caves, some
natural, and some carved as tombs by
the early paleolithic
peoples.
Gold and silver mining exist on a
small scale, and there is a
smattering of secondary and tertiary
industry, and an emerging
"information technology" industry,
but the mainstay of the economy is
agriculture (grapes, wheat, olives),
food production (wine, bread, oil)
and tourism.
Travelers can fly to Sardegna via
the major airports at both ends of
the Island, one in the south at
Cagliari (Sardegna's capital
city), and one in the north west at
Alghero. Or, one can
travel by way of ferry, leaving from
various Italian ports, and ports
from
Sicily, Corsica, Spain, and
France.
Some ferry's are able to take cars,
but rental cars are available on the
island. There are no
super highways (Autostrade) but the
secondary highways (Superstrade)
are as good as anywhere on the
mainland. The main road swings
north from Cagliari to
Oristano, then north of Oristano
forks, with one branch going to
Sassari and Alghero and
the other to Olbia. The
secondary and local roads, which are
recommended if you really
want to get off the beaten track,
are variable in quality. The
going can be slow.
Lots of travelers use the train,
which can also be very slow, but one
will see wonderful sites that are
simply not visible from the roads.
The "trenino verde" (little
green train)
from Cagliari, is recommended
to the patient and curious.
If you know a little (or a lot) of
standard Italian, you will get by.
It has been taught in the area for a
few generations. But, be
prepared to find some people,
particularly in out of the way
places, and particularly amongst the
old, totally incomprehensible.
In reaches of the north, the
language is a Corsican dialect.
In San Pietro, it is Ligurian.
People around Alghero speak
Catalan, a Spanish dialect.
Sites to see, apart from the
stunning landscape, include
necropolises in Alghero,
Villaperucio, and Montessu,
which is set in a natural
amphitheater. There are also
stone constructions called "Menhirs"
built by the Nurhagi,
connected with fertility rites and
ancestral worship. They are
scattered about, but there is a
concentration of them, and some
curious tombs, at Goni in
Gerrei.
The Sardegnese are said to be among
the most devout of all Italians, and
so it is not surprising that there
are a multitude of churches from all
of the post Roman Christian periods,
including the present. The
Sardegnese also enjoy festivals, and
there are many throughout the year,
during which the local people don
colorful costumes and engage in
evocative and emotional
ritual, dance and drama.
The cuisine - well, delicious of
course. In the port areas, try
the seafood risotto which goes down
well with a Nuragus
white wine. Or try a shard of roast suckling pig (a fiesta dish)
with a red Carignano. The pasta sauces are
piquante, and the cheeses deeply
flavorful.
Go to Sardenga by all means. It's
one of the most wonderous places on
earth. But, do not go to
Sardegna on a whim. Pre-plan.
It is a place - a cosmos all its own
- that one needs to be prepared for.
Prices are the highest in July and
especially August - the Sardegnese
know how to pull money from a
traveler's pocket! - but summers can
be sizzlingly, make that
blisteringly, hot, so Sardegna is
not only less expensive to visit in
the spring and fall, but more
comfortable too. Of course,
one can visit the island in winter
too, but be forewarned, it can be
cold (and many hotels are not open
or, if they are, not heated except
in a perfunctory way). The
winter winds, coming from the north
and west can howl and rage across
entire island. |
Flag of Sardegna |
