Sardinia Italy - The Best Places to Visit
Historic and Unusual Island - Porto Cervo, Costa Smeralda,Orgosolo
Jan 29, 2009
Many different cultures have occupied Sardinia: Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Spanish, to name a few, many of them bringing poverty and famine to the island. But throughout, Sardinia's history has been closely linked to the shepherd. They can still be seen leading their flocks of sheep around the countryside, fiercely resisting modern ways of milking and cheese-making. Even so, this small island, with more sheep than people, produces almost half of Italy's sheep milk.
Tourism is making slow inroads and there is much of Sardinia where the old customs and ways of doings still holds.
Sardinia Porto Cervo
The Aga Khan knew he was onto a good thing when he got his eye on Sardinia's Costa Smeralda in the 1960's. He spent millions creating a resort for the rich and famous at Porto Cervo. Too expensive for most pockets but worth exploring if you like to look at shops full of Gucci and Pucci. You don't have to be rich to enjoy a picnic on the beach, so stock up on bread, wine and cheese and share a patch with the jet set. This is where Princess Diana and Dodi spent their last night together before flying off to Paris and the tragedy under the Place d’Alma.
Sardinia The Barbagio
This inland mountainous region is one of the best places in Sardinia to see well-preserved nuraghi - the circular stone towers that first appeared around seven thousand years ago, dotting the landscape like giant bee hives. There are about 8000 nuraghi and they are found only in Sardinia. There are also long stone tombs which, legend says, is where giants were buried. Some of the tombs are at least 35 feet long and are surrounded by huge Stonehenge-like boulders.
Sardinia Orgosolo
Orgosolo is a small town in the Barbagio that should not be missed. Almost every wall is covered with brightly painted murals depicting the battles for women's rights, the problems of the shepherds of the region, the demands of the unemployed. And not only local concerns; there are powerful murals protesting the coup in Chile, famine in Africa, the power of crooked landowners, and so on. It's a fascinating place and great for photo opportunities.
Sardinia Nuoro
Nuoro is the main town in this region. It is referred to as the heart of the Barbagia. D.H. Lawrence decided there wasn’t much to see in Nuoro, although he did later admit “I am not Baedeker”. That was nearly eighty years ago. Today Nuoro is a good spot from which to explore the regions. It has a very good Museum of Folk Costumes which also so displays the traditional craftsmanship of Sardinia. Nuoro is the birthplace of Grazia Deledda, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. She was born in 1871 and wrote close to fifty books; in all of them Nuoro is at the centre.
Sardinian Food
For centuries Sardinia has been a nation of shepherds and away from the coast it still is. They make many cheeses from sheep and goats' milk. The ricotta is fabulous and is sometimes served as dessert, sprinkled with honey. Fantastic! Roast suckling pig is popular and seafood salads containing calamari, shrimps etc are commonly served as a first course. Sardinian wine is good too.
A holiday in Sardinia offers a great combination of beautiful beaches and historic sites.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
