SARDINIA

The coast in Sardinia is truly without match and it is not by accident that Sardinia is one of the most popular tourist destinations for both Italians and foreigners.

The province of Cagliari is one of the most well known areas from a tourism point of view and it offers enchanting landscapes and beaches as well as the possibility of visiting the city of Cagliari which is rich in both history and art. The coast to the south is filled with natural coves and you can enjoy solitary and enchanting beaches. For ancient history lovers there is a destination that you cannot miss: the necropolis of Tuxiveddu where you can visit tombs of Carthage from the sixth century B.C. The western coast and its inland areas are the part that is less well known and for this reason the unspoiled countryside is even more enjoyable.

The island also contains other treasures: incredible landscapes, that are filled with history and charm, the nuraghi and vestiges of primitive civilization, the interior high plains for hiking along the paths of the shepherds, the hospitality of its people, the coastal cities and the inland towns,

In Sardinia more than in other regions of Italy, agritourism has contributed to promoting the economy and environment in the rural less developed areas creating a model type tourism that is completely ecological and aids in the discovery of previously undiscovered natural and cultural sites.

DON’T MISS THE FESTIVAL

Sa Sartiglia, Carnival in Oristano

Sa Sartiglia is a charming tournament of knights that is held on the last Sunday of Carnival. The propitiatory rite most certainly has archaic origins. Particular importance is given to the androgynous figure – the componidori – who compete for the main role- Each year the gremio, which is the festival committee composed of local artists and tradesmen, chooses a young knight who will hold the sacred role of componidori. He is taken to a place decorated with fronds and flowers that is closed on one end and open at the other: an obvious allusion to the initiation cavern.

TAKING THE HABIT.  He is attended by young women called massaieddas guided by a mature woman called sa massaia manna. The young man is made to sit in a chair placed on a table: from that moment he can have no contact with the ground otherwise he will lose the magic energy that the right confers. Taking the habit continues in the presence of the crowd. In great silence and very carefully the young people undress the componidori leaving only his clothing from the belt down. On the upper part of the body, they sew a white shirt decorated with coloured ribbon like a marriage corset. On his face the massaia manna places a mask with enigmatic feminine features; a wedding veil topped by a black cylinder is placed on his head. The androgynous knight is then taken underarm to the grotto where he must lay on his spine on a horse until it goes out into the open where he will receive the symbolic sa pippìa de maiu, which is a bunch of violets and pervinca blooms, with which he will bless the crowd and they will throw flowers and grain. During the ceremony the bells ring, the horns and the traditional luneddas squeal, the tambourines shake and the atmosphere is magical and hypnotic.

THE PARADE.  The second part of the rite foresees an initiatic test: the componidori are followed by a line of knights dressed in masculine costumes with feminine masks. The knights gallop and try to quickly stab the centre of a star, sa sartiglia, hanging on a string along the route. If they manage, it means the fields will be fertile that year.

THE TOURNAMENT.  The most spectacular part of the event begins: tournaments and knight's games, tests of ability and incredibly fascinating equestrian games. The componidori sign the end of the event with a gesture and return to bless the people before returning to the cave: here they will take off the costume, but this time there will only be a few close friends, so as to leave the memory of the image whole – the magical element of fecundity and union between masculine and feminine energy.

THE WINES IN SARDINIA

Though this island has a great deal of historic and artistic wealth, it is mostly appreciated for the enchanting environments that it offers. The coast is varied and especially beautiful for its colours and light contrasting with the inland areas that are frequently dry and inhospitable, and yet, incredibly fascinating.

For wines in the area of Cagliari, you can try the Barbera Sardo, or the Canonau, an intense red that makes a great dinner wine, while Malvasia is a good white wine with a high alcohol content. Nasco is another white with an aftertaste of bitter almond and Sardus Pater is a soft red that is well suited to desserts. The area in the north of the island is the land of the famous Vermentino di Gallura, a famous DOCG wine produced in the province of Olbia-Tempio and Sassari.

THE FLAVOURS IN SARDINIA

Sardinia’s isolation in the centre of the Mediterranean, its condition of frequent foreign rule and the prevalently mountainous regions are conditions that are reflected faithfully in the traditional Sardinian cuisine, which is strictly tied to the shepherd lifestyle, not just for the type of meat, but also for the prevalence of meat cooked on a spit or an open flame and for the choice of long conservation foods that are easy to carry including the famous carasau bread “paper bread”. The sea in Sardinia is abundant and plentiful, allowing for tasting the freshest and most flavourful seafood, especially if you get a chance to eat it prepared like the fishermen do.

THE SPECIALTIES. One of the most famous seafood specialties is bottarga di muggine consisting of mullet roe. This dish is made by salting the ovaries of mullet fish and pressing them into a quadrangular shape and then drying it. After drying the bottarga is then covered in beeswax to preserve it. It is eaten in slices as an appetizer or grated to make a topping, with a few other simple ingredients, for pasta or rice. Another dish that can be considered either an appetizer or a first course is the pane frattau, which uses the paper thin carasau bread dipping it for a few seconds in boiling water and layering it with tomato sauce and basil, grated pecorino cheese, and placing a poached egg over the top.

FIRST COURSES. Among the first courses, the most common is possibly malloreddus which in Sardinian means “calves.” They are semolina dumplings made with water and a pinch of saffron and then topped with a tomato sauce with a base of sausage from Campidano or ground veal or pork and grated pecorino cheese. Another dish made from semolina and saffron are the fregula pasta, which is a small soup pasta cooked in broth which is made by skilfully forming the dough into tiny balls the size of peppercorns, while the culingiones are a pasta filled with mashed potatoes, fresh pecorino cheese and mint in brine. A more traditional filling is that of angiulottos, which even in name is reminiscent to the agnolotti pasta eaten on the continent, filled with ground meat or fresh pecorino or ricotta and egg, and topped with oil or butter and grated pecorino cheese. With the exquisite lobsters on the Sardinian coast, they make spaghetti all'aragosta a sauce of lobster, olive oil, garlic, onion, tomato, parsley and bay.

SECOND COURSE SEAFOOD.  Lobster is prevalent on the western coast in the zone of Alghero and it is cooked quite simply, roasted with olive oil, salt, lemon and parsley or boiled and topped in a sauce of oil, salt, lemon or vinegar and the dark yellow broth from inside the crustacean. A more complex preparation is the burrida, a dish made from dogfish, cut into pieces, boiled and then topped in a sauce made from oil, garlic, boiled dogfish liver

grated walnuts, vinegar and marinated for at least one day. A fish stew that is simple and tasty is the burrida made from sepia and different blue fish varieties.

SECOND COURSE MEATS.  One of the most famous meat dishes is porchetto allo spiedo, a suckling pig that is cooked whole on a spit on a fire made from aromatic wood and covered, then it is wrapped in myrtle leaves after cooking. The same procedure is used for lamb and goat, while beef is prepared in coiettas which are meat wraps filled with crushed garlic, lard and parsley and then flavoured with oil and wine and cooked with a little bit of broth.

THE DESSERTS.  Some of the island desserts include sebadas or seadas, which are round fritters made from flour, cheese, honey, orange and lemon juice. The pardulas are circular sweets filled with ricotta, sugar, egg, saffron, and grated orange zest. The paper thin carasau bread is also used in a dessert. Broken into pieces and put together with a dough made from hard grain, egg and milk, it is divided into small dumplings that are fried and covered in honey making frittelle di pane carasau.