Sardinia

SARDINIA OUR HOMELAND

It is always difficult to write about one’s own land, especially when one is bound to it by a mad and visceral love.
The sandal-shaped island in the middle of the Mediterranean (the ancient Greeks called it “Ichnusa” – sandal) is the Motherland of those who were lucky to be born there, and of those who dream of it with melancholy because they had to leave it to seek their fortune elsewhere.
But he always has Sardinia in his heart and in his thoughts.

SHARDANA AND GIANTS

There was a time when the ancient Sardinians, the Shardana, reled the Mediterranean far and wide. And not only.
The proud and courageous people of warriors and skilled navigators was known, respected and feared by all: Egyptians, Greeks, Hittites, Carthaginians, Phoenicians, Achaeans, Mesopotamians and Philistines were often annihilated and upset by their incursions.

They were probably the same builders of the over 7,000 nuraghi, the symbol of Sardinia.
According to some theories, they were able to reach Irleand and England with their agile and fast ships, making them protagonists in the construction of Stonehenge.

NATURE

Unspoilt nature is and must be the symbol of the island in the middle of the Mediterranean.
Preserving it is everyone’s right and duty, starting with the fight against sand theft.
Every year, the worst tourists secretly fill plastic bottles and try to take sand home, only to throw them away when they realise that sand is not enough to rebuild the beaches and the sea that have unfortunately welcomed them in Sardinia.

SEA

Sardinia is universally known for its clean and transparent sea.
However, the beaches and waters are very different depending on the area.

CAGLIARI

The Poetto is the beach of city of Cagliari.
Starting from the spectacular promontory of the Sella del Diavolo, the long beach, almost 8 km long, reaches Margine Rosso, territory of the municipality of Quartu Sant’Elena.
Attended throughout the year thanks to the kiosks on the beach and the pedestrian area is one of the symbols of Cagliari.
Although the memory of the fine white sand dunes is now distant and nostalgic, the Poetto continues to make the Cagliaritani grow every day.

SOUTH-EAST COAST: FROM CAGLIARI TO VILLASIMIUS AND COSTA REI

If you avoid the fast 125-var road and follow the SP17 coastal road, you will be dazzled by spectacular landscapes where the blue of the sea is accompanied by the green of the vegetation.
There are many beaches to suit all tastes.

Passing by Foxi, Capitana, Terra Mala and Cala Regina, you will feel the need to stop and photograph the colour of the water at Mari Pintàu.
If you’re’t not interested in sand, but in stones, walk along the path and enjoy this painted sea.
The name says it all.

If you are not afraid of  the deep waters just a few steps from the shore, you can stop at the beautiful and long beaches of Geremèas or Solànas, interspersed with the shallow waters of Torre delle Stelle.

If you resist all these temptations, you will reach the famous Villasimìus.
There are many wonderful beaches in one of the most popular destinations in the world: Porto Sa Rùxi, Campus, Campulongu, Spiaggia del Riso, Capo Carbonara, Porto Giunco, Simius, Punta Molentis.
The sea is rich in flora and fauna because it is a protected marine area.
Divers will be able to live fantastic experiences starting from the Tourist Port of Villasimius.
Among the Secca di Santa Caterina, the Isola dei Cavoli and the Isola di Serpentara you can also see cicadas, tuna, groupers, barracudas, turtles, dolphins and, more rarely, whales.
Cala Pira, Cala Sinzias and Costa Rei are the beaches with which to conclude the great tour of the south-east coast.

OGLIASTRA: FROM ARBATAX TO OROSEI

SOUTH-WEST COAST: FROM CAGLIARI TO PORTO PINO

WEST COAST: FROM THE GREEN COAST OF THE SULCIS TO BOSA

HIKING

If you only stop at the beaches, you miss a lot of Sardinia.

Between Ogliastra and Barbagia, between the Supramonte and the sea, lies the gorge of Su Gorròppu, considered by international experts to be the most beautiful canyon in Europe.
About 1.5 km long, it goes down for about 500 metres and narrows at the bottom to a minimum width of 4 metres.
The numerous nuraghe present in the area of ​​Su Gorroppu show that the gorge was certainly a strategic defensive bulwark, where the inexperienced enemy armies were attacked and overwhelmed by the ancient Sardinians.

The Selvaggio Blu (Blue Savage), is considered one of the most difficult treks in Europe: 50 kilometres to be covered in 6 or 7 days from Santa Maria Navarrese to Cala Gonone.
If it is true that some streches are really difficult, it is to say that the landscapes are incredibly spectacular and unimaginable.

The “Cammino Minerario di Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara Mining Trail)” is a journey of about 400 km that crosses the south-western part of ​​the Sulcis Iglesiente.
The suggested route starts and finishes in the medieval town of Iglesias, but of course you can only choose some sections or points of interest.
It goes from the beaches of Piscinas, Cala Domestina, Masua and Buggerru to the forest of Monte Linas, from the magnificent mining engineering work of Porto Flavia to the mines that have characterised the life of this area, from the Caves of Is Zuddas and Santa Barbara to the waterfalls of Sa Spendula in Villacidro.
And, of course, there are many churches along the way.

CAVES

The Grotte di Is Zùddas (Caves of Is Zuddas) are located in the municipality of Santadi.
500 metres can be visited, about a third of the actual size.
It is characteristic for the presence inside it of the remains of the prolagus sardus, a rodent that lived only in Sardinia and Corsica and that became extinct about 400 years ago.
But what makes it unique in the world is the concentration of eccentric aragonites, very thin filaments that develop without taking gravity into account.

The expansion of the San Giovanni mine in 1952, led to the discovery of the Grotta di Santa Barbara near Iglesias.
The link with the mining activity is still visible today, as access to the cave is first by train and then by lift, after wearing a helmet.
So, in addition to being a bit of a speleologist, you can also be a bit a miner.

In the Grotta di Ispinigòli (Ispinigòli Cave), in Dorgali, there is one of the largest stalactites in the world, about 38 metres high.

To reach the Grotta di Nettuno (Neptune’s Cave) in Alghero, you have to go down 654 steps.
In the tunnels inside, besides the stalactites and stalagmites, it is possible to see the subterran saltwater lake of La Marmora.

ANIMALS

FLAMINGOS

Sardinia’position is also strategic for the flamingos, which for centuries have used the Sardinian ponds as a stopover on their migrations between Africa and France.
In 1993 the flamingos nested for the first time in the Molentargius pond in Cagliari.
It was an exceptional event and everyone looked up when hundreds of flamingos flew over the Poetto beach, colouring the sky pink.
“Sa genti arrùbia” – the red people – had chosen Cagliari and Cagliari, proud of this, adopted them.
Since then, in the only case in the world in a densely populated urban area, there are about 10,000 flamingos all year round, while in spring there are more than 40,000.
The little people of Cagliari turn the pond grey for a few months.

MOUFLON

Although present in various parts of Europe thanks to artificial introductions, the mouflon has its natural habitats as Sardinia and Corsica.
Here, the progenitor of all modern sheep breeds can live peacefully, in the absence of its dangerous predators; wolves and bears.

LITTLE HORSES OF THE JAR

The steep walls of the Giara di Gèsturi plateau have completely isolated the herds of horses, that now live in the wild in this area in about 600 units.
They are the only wild horses in Europe.

WHITE DONKEYS

Many people associate Asinara exclusively with the prison that “housed” bandits, Brigate Rosse and the mafia.
It’s important to know that the island is a large natural park, a paradise for endemic Sardinian and endangered species.
Among these there is certainly the characteristic white donkey, of which there are about 100 in the wild on the island.
Less than a metre high, with a large head, a small neck and short, strong limbs, its main characteristic is its color.
In fact, the puppies have very white hair, while the adults, living in the wild, have the dirtiest hair due to dust and general dirt.
Albinism also causes rosy and cerulean eyes, and an unsteady gait in the presence of light.

An evocative story tells of a shipt from Egypt that was shipwrecked on its way to France.
The white donkeys that were part of the cargo could have saved themselves by reaching the island of Asinara.

SAINTS AND TRADITIONS

SANT’EFISI

For a Cagliaritano, Sant’Efisio is a close relative.

Born in Antioch in 250, he became a Roman soldier and was sent to Sardinia by the Emperor Diocletian to fight against the Christians.
Here, however, God appeared to him as a cross in the clouds and Efisio converted to Christianity.
Imprisoned and tortured in the crypt under the present church of Stampace, he was killed on 15 January 303 on the beach of Nora, first asking God to protect his Cagliari.

Unfortunately, Labour Day is the 1st of May. Unfortunately, because in Cagliari the 1st of May means exclusively Sant’Efisio.
Historically speaking, when Labour Day was born in Paris in 1889 to commemorate the workers and anarchists killed in Chicago 3 years earlier, people of Cagliari had been accompanying the pilgrimage of Efisio for 233 years.

It all began in 1656, when, in a Cagliari decimated by the plague, which was killing more than 200 people a day, the people of Cagliari remembered Efisio and his petition.
Despite the fear of contagion caused by crowds, the survivors carried the statue of the saint in procession.
The plague miraculously ceased and since then, on the 1st of May, the statue of Efisio is carried in procession from the small church in the Stampace district to the place of his martyrdom, and on the 4th of May he returns home.

After the plague, the Cagliari people asked for a new great intercession and brought the statue of Efisio to the Cathedral on Easter Monday 1793, when the French ships arrived in the Gulf of Cagliari ready to conquer the island.
A terrible storm sank them and saved Cagliari again.

The most important and dramatic procession was certainly tha one of 1943.
Efisio was carried on a milk truck through the streets of destroyed Cagliari, almost completely razed to the ground by the American bombings of 17, 26, 27 and 28 February.

SANTU ANTINU

On the evening of 6 July and on the morning of 7 July, a wild horse race is held i Sedilo in honour of Saint Constantine.
It commemorates the battle of Ponte Milvio in 312, in which the Christian Constantine defeated Massenzio, and thus paganism.
Every year, the parish priest of Sedilo appoints the race director, strictly following the chronological order of registration in the appropriate register.
It takes place at a young age due to devotion to the saint and passion for horses, but years will pass before they can be appointed race director.
He chooses two trusted people tol accompany him, and then the 3 choose another 3 riders to accompany them in the mad race.

The 6 in fact represent Constantine and his men, and will have to fight not to be overpowered in the race by the other knights, about 100, who symbolise the pagans.
They can also use banner sticks to defend themselves.

Other important characters are the fusiliers. It is up to them and their gunshots to accompany the fiery and finally the knights to the village, as the winners of the battle.

REDENTORE (REDEEMER)

SARTIGLIA

On the last Sunday and Tuesday of Carnival, the city of Oristano stops at Sa Sartiglia.
This has been happening since the middle of the 13th century.
Moors and Aragonese often challenged each other in equestrian games, and the links between the Giudicato of Arborea and the Kingdom of Aragon allowed the importation of these chivalrous practices.

ILLUSTRIOUS SARDINIANS

ANTONIO GRAMSCI

EMILIO LUSSU

Born in Armungia in 1890, he took part in the First World War as an officer in the Sardinian Brigade in the mountains of Asiago.
In his masterpiece “A year on the plateau” he described the irrationality of the war lived in the trenches.
On 17 July 1921 he founded the Sardinian Action Party, which gave the peasants and shepherds a voice against the wealthy landowners and the political parties that supported them.
His political actions, focused on the benefit of Sardinia, led to his election to the italian parliament.

After the clashes with the fascists during the “March on Rome”, the fascist attack on his house in Cagliari and the suppression of the parties that opposed the fascists, Emilio Lussu was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment in Lipari.
He managed to escape and took refuge first in Tunis and then in Paris.
Back in Italy in 1943, he fought with the Action Party against the Nazis and Fascists.

He was then elected to parliament several times until he retired from political life in 1968, for health reasons.
He died in Rome in 1975.

He never hid his Sardinian roots, and he always despised those who denied them.

GIOVANNI LILLIU

The father of Sardinian archaeology is responsible for almost all the discoveries about the Shardana and the nuragic villages.
Born in Barumini, he brought to light in his native town the majestic nuragic village of Su Nuraxi.
The site was recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1997.

PINUCCIO SCIOLA

Already a world-famous artist, in 1967 he decided to return to his land, persuading numerous artists from the island and abroad to decorate his native town with murals.
There are more than 250 works that today make San Sperate a museum town, open free of charge to all who pass through its streets.

Since 1996 he has devoted himself to the study of stones and the musicality they can generate.
It seems impossible, but he has achieved what even Michelangelo could not: to give a millenary material a voice, almost to make it a living being.
By caressing the stones, he gave Mother Earth a voice.
His “talking stones” are available to everyone in the Sound Garden of San Sperate and in some places in Cagliari.

GRAZIA DELEDDA

ELEONORA D’ARBOREA

Born in Molins de Rei, in Catalonia, perhaps in 1347, she is considered by Sardinians to be the heroine who tried in every way to realise the dream of an independent Sardinian republic.

Self-appointed Giudicessa del Giudicato di Arborea thanks to the ancient Sardinian law, she continued the policy of her father, Mariano IV.
She fought both militarily and politically against the Kingdom of Aragon in order to unite the whole of Sardinia under a single flag, an independent state.
Her dream, now almost realised, was only defeated by fate: the plague hit Sardinia hard, decimating the population and killing the same Eleonora around 1404.
However, her strength and her dream lived on.

She was also responsible for the updating of the Carta de Logu, a vast legal system valid throughout Sardinia and containg 198 articles on civil and criminal law.
It was so advanced for its time that it is recognised as the forerunner of many current constitutions.
The Carta de Logu remained in force in Sardinia until 1827, but many of its laws are still considered valid in the “unwritten” code that influences the way Sardinians live and think.

GIOVANNI MARIA ANGIOJ

A revolutionary hero of Sardinian independence, he led the riots against feudal privileges (1794 – 1796).

From January to May 1793 the army of the newborn French Republic made several attempts to invade Sardinia, trying to land both in Cagliari and in La Maddalena, the latter under the command of the young Napoleone Bonaparte.
The Sardinians, however, organised themselves and everywhere defeated what was considered a great military power.

For this reason, requests were made to King Vittorio Amedeo III of Savoy to bring greater justice and equality between Piedmont and Sardinia, too different faces of the same coin called the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Instead, the king showed ignorance and disrespect, humiliating the Sardinians and their representatives.
The 28th of  April 1794 went down in history as Sa die de sa Sardigna (the Day of Sardinia), when the Sardinians rebelled against the Savoys and expelled the Viceroy and all the Piedmontese officials from Cagliari and the island.

Faced with the rebellion, which inflamed Cagliari and then the whole of Sardinia, the viceroy decided to appoint the magistrate Giovanni Maria Angioj to put and end to the situation, especially after the feudal fortress of sassari had been attacked and easily conquered.
However, when he set out from Cagliari to cross the island, the politician came into contact with the people.
Everywhere he was greeted with sympathy and gratitude, and he realised how much oppression, misery and backwardness the Savoys had imposed on the Sardinians.

He openly sided with the people, against the Savoys and their accomplices.

He fought strenuously in Sardinia, but when he was one step to triumph, the peace between Savoy and France interrupted his campaign.
The sassaresi, the rich feudal servants of the Savoys, launched a campaign of slander against him that led to his dismissal as alternos, a bounty on his head and the promise of amnesty for those who had abandoned him, siding with the Savoy troops that arrived in forces to defeat him.

Exiled in France, he tried to persuade Napoleon to liberate the island and proclaim the independent Republic of Sardinia, under French protection.

Unfortunately, he failed and died in Paris on 22 February 1808.

The anthem of Sardinia remains from those years. One of the oldest folk songs in Europe, “su patriotu sardu a sos feudatàrios” (“the Sardinian patriot speaks to the feudal lords”) is better known as “Procurade ‘e moderare“.
The 47 stanzas and 376 verses underline the strong identity of the Sardinian people, who fight against the exploiters, promise revolts and curse the foreigners who oppose the independent Sardinian State.

1969/70 CHAMPIONS

HELMAR SCHENK

His name may be unknown to many people, but if the Molentargius pond and other wetlands in Sardinia have become a naturalistic symbol and a protected area of ​​international importance, it is thanks to this man.
Arriving in Cagliari from East Germany in 1964, the zoology student used the GDR scholarship to protect and repopulate the ecosystem he recognised as unique in the Mediterranean.
He has done so much for Sardinia that he must be considered a Sardinian.