Sardinia is an island in the Mediterranean and a region of insular
Italy. Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea by
extension (24,090 km²), after Sicily. Its
insularity is attenuated only by its proximity to the island of Corsica
(France) from which it is separated by the Bocche di Bonifacio
(Gallura). Its strategic position in the center of the western
Mediterranean Sea has always favored, since ancient times, the
"colonial" relations for commercial and cultural purposes of various
populations, from the Phoenicians to the Romans, from Pisa to the
Spanish and Piedmontese, and in the last century by economic, military
and strategic interests, such as the NATO bases of Santo Stefano and La
Maddalena, and the luxurious Costa Smeralda.
Many travelers and
writers, including foreigners, have told the story of Sardinia, exalting
the beauty of its coasts and described the ruggedness and
uncontamination of the interior of the island.
The first
archaeological excavations go from Giovanni Spano to Giuseppe Manno, who
wrote the first great general history of the island; instead Pasquale
Tola publishes important documents of the past, Pietro Martini writes
biographies of illustrious Sardinians. Alberto La Marmora traveled the
length and breadth of the island, studying it in detail and writing an
imposing work in four parts entitled Voyage en Sardaigne, published in
Paris and then introduced into European cultured circles. This is the
period in which many travelers visit the cities and districts of the
island. During the century, Alphonse de Lamartine, Honoré de Balzac,
Antonio Bresciani, Emanuel Domenech, Paolo Mantegazza, Gustave Jourdan,
to name a few, arrived in Sardinia. In the early 1900s, Sardinian
society was admirably described by Enrico Costa, by the poet Sebastiano
Satta and by Grazia Deledda, the latter awarded the Nobel Prize for
literature in 1926. In this century, alongside the literary production,
the political experience of characters of great value such as Antonio
Gramsci and Emilio Lussu.
After the Second World War, figures
such as Giuseppe Dessì emerged with his Country of Shadows. Recently,
however, the echo that Gavino Ledda's autobiographical novels had in
Father Master and Salvatore Satta's Judgment Day was vast, while the
work of Sergio Atzeni was contemporary.
Sardinia, with a total area of 24,100km², is by extension the second
largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily, and the third largest
Italian region after Sicily and Piedmont. It has a maximum length of 270
km between its most extreme points (Punta Falcone in the north and Capo
Teulada in the south) and a maximum width of 145 km (from Capo
dell'Argentiera in the west to Capo Comino in the east). To the north it
is separated from Corsica by the Bocche di Bonifacio, to the west the
Sea of Sardinia separates it from the Balearic Islands, to the south the
Channel of Sardinia from Tunisia, to the east the Tyrrhenian Sea from
the Italian peninsula. Sardinia is predominantly hilly (the hills
represent 68% of the territory). The reliefs have a modest height; in
fact the highest peak is Punta La Marmora, in the Gennargentu massif. To
the south rise the Sulcis and Iglesiente mountains. The largest plain is
the Campidano.
The coasts in the northeastern region are high and
rocky, in the southwestern area they are sandy and low. The main rivers
are the Tirso, which flows into the gulf of Oristano, the Flumendosa in
the south-east, the Coghinas in the north and the Cedrino in the
centre-east.
There are 1.66 million inhabitants for a population
density of 69 inhabitants per km². It is 188km from the coasts of the
Italian peninsula, from which it is separated by the Tyrrhenian Sea,
while the Sardinia Channel divides it from the Tunisian coasts of the
African continent which are located 178km further south, the Bocche di
Bonifacio separate it from Corsica and the Sardinian Sea , to the west,
from the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. It is located
between the 41st and 39th parallels, while the 40th divides it almost in
half. More than 80% of the territory is mountainous and hilly. 68% is
made up of hills and rocky plateaus for a total area of 16,352km². Some
of these are very characteristic and are called jars or heels. The
average altitude is 334m above sea level. The mountains make up 14% of
the territory for a total extension of 3.287km². The mountains of Punta
La Marmora, at 1,834m, Bruncu Spina (1829m) and Monte Spada (1595m),
located in the Gennargentu massif, as well as Monte Albo and Supramonte,
culminate in the center of the island. To the north, Monte Limbara
(1.362m), the Monti di Alà (1.090m) and Monte Rasu (1.259m) emerge. In
Ogliastra the heels stand out with Punta Seccu 1000m high in the
territory of Ulassai. To the south, Monte Serpeddì (1.069m), the Massif
dei Sette Fratelli (1.023m), Monte Linas (1.236m) and the Iglesiente and
Sulcis mountains which slope down towards the sea at lower altitudes.
The flat areas occupy 18% of the territory. In addition to the
Campidano, the most extensive plain located in the south and already
mentioned, the Nurra plain is relevant, between Sassari and Alghero. The
coasts are divided into the gulfs of Asinara to the north, Orosei to the
east, Olbia to the north-east, Cagliari to the south and Alghero and
Oristano to the west. For a total of 1,897 km, they are high, rocky and
with small inlets that become deep in the north-east and wedge
themselves in the valleys (rias).
The most spoken language today is Italian, introduced on the island by law in 1760 by the Savoys. However, historical languages are still spoken such as Sardinian (mainly divided into the two main dialect bands Logudorese and Campidanese, mutually intelligible), Algherese (an archaic variant of Catalan spoken in Alghero), Gallurese and Sassarese (a Corsican spoken transplanted some time ago in northern Sardinia). In the islands of Sant'Antioco and San Pietro, the Ligurian Tabarchino has been spoken for about three centuries. In the urban area of Cagliari, Campidanese has become much Italianised, due to relations with mainland Italy.
Tourism represents a fundamental activity in Sardinia, favored and
supported by the breathtaking landscapes, the purity of the marine
waters and the wide variety of stories and traditions in every point. In
2008, 11,896,674 tourists arrived in Sardinia. Among the most visited
places are Gallura and Ogliastra.
Northern Sardinia — Includes
Logudoro and Gallura. The most relevant places in this area are the
Costa Smeralda, Olbia, Alghero and Sassari. Main economic center of
Sardinia, the historic region of Gallura also finds interesting
destinations inland. An example of this is Calangianus, the capital of
cork.
Eastern Sardinia — Includes Ogliastra, Barbagia and Baronie,
characteristic areas of Sardinia. Ogliastra characterizes a mainly
summer destination, endowed with wonderful seaside destinations such as
Tortolì. The relevant centers are Tortolì, Lanusei, Nuoro, Siniscola,
Orosei.
Southern Sardinia — Includes Sulcis, Iglesiente, Campidano di
Cagliari, Campidano di Sanluri, Parteolla, Sarrabus-Gerrei, Quirra,
Trexenta, Sarcidano and Marmilla. Relevant centres: Cagliari, Iglesias,
Carbonia.
Western Sardinia — Includes Campidano di Oristano, Sinis,
Montiferru and Planargia. Most important centre: Oristano.
1 Cagliari — Capital of Sardinia. Italian
capital of culture in 2015, it is the most important city in Sardinia.
2 Sassari — The second city in Sardinia by
extension and inhabitants.
3 Alghero —
Important tourist destination and important historical stop in Sardinia,
Alghero is the only Sardinian city to have preserved the Catalan
language.
4 Calangianus — Town in the center of Gallura, it was
chosen as one of the hundred richest and most industrialized cities in
Italy. Important from a historical point of view, it is the Capital of
Cork.
5 Olbia — Olbia, the historic capital
of Gallura, is today the main port of Sardinia.
6
Oristano — Oristano is the mother city of the
Giudicato of Arborea, historically important in Sardinia.
7
Nuoro — Nuoro is the main center of the Sardinian
hinterland.
8 Tortolì — Tortolì is the main city of Ogliastra, a
renowned seaside resort.
9 San Teodoro
10 Iglesias — Capital of
the Iglesiente, has a historic center full of ancient churches. It
preserves the castle and medieval fortifications.
11 Cuglieri —
Municipality of Montiferru, it is the capital of oil and panadas
12
Sedilo - capital of Ardia
13 Mamoiada - Famous for masks
14
Barumini — Famous for the presence of the Su Nuraxi nuragic complex
15 Orroli — Famous for the presence of the nuragic complex of Nuraghe
Arrubiu
16 Tuili — The Sardegna in Miniatura theme park is located
here
17 Abbasanta — The Losa Nuragic complex is located here
18
Cabras - Famous for the production of wine and for the Giants of Mont'e
Prama
19 Borore - Here is the museum of ritual bread
20 Torralba —
Torralba offers the famous nuraghe Santu Antine and a beautiful city
centre
21 Carbonia
By plane
Sardinia is served by three airports located in Olbia,
Alghero and Cagliari.
Olbia-Costa Smeralda airport (IATA: OLB)
hosts mainly national, European and low-cost traffic. It is located in
Olbia, north-east of Sardinia. It has two terminals:
The main
terminal, dedicated to passenger flights. Here different companies
connect different Italian and European cities. The companies operating
at the airport are: Ita Airways with Rome-Fiumicino and
Milan-Linate and
other scheduled and low-cost airlines including Easyjet, Volotea,
Smartwings, Transavia, British Airways, Austrian and many others.
There is also a second terminal, the Eccelsa terminal. Opened in 2009,
it is dedicated exclusively to general aviation flights such as private
flights, air taxis and helitaxis.
Alghero is home to the
Alghero-Fertilia airport (IATA: AHO), which hosts national, seasonal
traffic in Europe and mainly low-cost, with the main presence of Ryanair
and Ita Airways. In addition to the city, Alghero-Fertilia airport
serves the entire north-western area of Sardinia.
Cagliari-Elmas
Airport (IATA: CAG) is located in Cagliari and serves the entire
southern part of Sardinia with continental flights. Mainly EasyJet, Ita
Airways and Ryanair operate there.
On boat
There are six main
passenger ports in Sardinia. The Port of Olbia is the main port in
Sardinia, the main access to the renowned Costa Smeralda. Near Olbia, in
Golfo Aranci, there is another tourist port which works in conjunction
with the port of Olbia.
The two ports of
Cagliari and Arbatax
mainly serve southern Sardinia with continental voyages.
The Port
of Porto Torres is a tourist port mainly served by national ferries.
The port of Santa Teresa Gallura is served by a relatively
inexpensive car ferry from Bonifacio, Corsica.
Arbatax
From
Civitavecchia and Genoa with the Tirrenia ferries
Cagliari
From Civitavecchia with Tirrenia
From Naples with DiMaio Lines.
Orange gulf
From Fiumicino with the Tirrenia ferries
From
Civitavecchia and Livorno with Sardinia ferries.
Olbia
From
Genoa with the ferries of the companies Tirrenia, Moby Lines and Grandi
Navi Veloci
From Livorno and Piombino with Moby Lines
From
Civitavecchia with the ferries of the Snav and Moby Lines companies
From Naples with DiMaio Lines
Porto Torres
From Genoa with the
ferries of the companies Tirrenia, Moby Lines and Grandi Navi Veloci
Santa Teresa Gallura
From Bonifacio with the ferries of the Moby
Lines and Blue Navy companies.
By car
If you land in Alghero, Olbia, Cagliari or in another
airport in Sardinia, and you decide to rent a car for your holidays or
for work, you can do it in one of the rental companies present in the
same airport, such as Only Sardinia Car rental. Typically the rental
prices at the airport are higher than those in the city, therefore it is
advisable to compare them in advance through the various sites available
online.
On the train
Sardinia is crossed by a backbone
railway managed by Trenitalia which crosses it from Cagliari to Olbia,
touching Oristano and Chilivani. The lines that lead to the Iglesiente
(Carbonia and Iglesias) and to Sassari / Porto Torres branch off from
this.
Secondary lines with regular frequency are managed by the
ARST between Nuoro da Macomer, Alghero and Sassari, Sassari and Nulvi.
Other lines have been dedicated to the tourist service (Macomer-Bosa
Marina, Cagliari - Mandas - Arbatax, Nulvi - Palau).
By bus
ARST (Azienda Regionale Sarda Trasporti) is the regional company that
manages road and rail transport. The capillarity of the car service
makes it the most effective means of public transport to move around the
island. ARST S.p.A. represents the largest LPT company in Sardinia and
one of the most important at a national level. It operates throughout
Sardinia mainly with extra-urban services, as well as with urban
services in the cities of Alghero, Carbonia, Iglesias, Macomer and
Oristano.
In the Municipalities of Cagliari and Sassari it also
manages two light rail lines
Metrocagliari and Metrosassari.
In the railway sector, the LPT offer is present across five lines
Monserrato - Isili
Macomer - Nuoro
Sassari - Alghero
Sassari -
Sip,
Sassari - Clouds
The company operates in the tourist railway
through the connections of 'Il Trenino Verde della Sardegna'
Near the inhabited center of Goni, in the Sarrabus-Gerrei area, along
the road that leads to Orroli and the Sarcidano, is the archaeological
park of Pranu Mutteddu (plain of the myrtle, in Italian). The area,
which extends for about 20 hectares, is divided into two parts, in which
it is possible to admire, respectively, various burials in the domus de
janas (4th millennium BC approximately), on one side, burials in tumulus
and menhir (late IV-beginning of the III millennium BC approximately),
on the other.
Architectures
Nuraghe Barumini (Barumini,
province of Cagliari)
Nuraghe Cuccurada (Mogoro, province of
Oristano)
Nuraghe Palmavera (Alghero, province of Sassari)
Nuraghe
Santu Antine (Torralba, province of Sassari)
Nuraghe Su Nuraxi
(UNESCO heritage in Barumini, in Medio Campidano)
Well of Santa
Cristina (Paulilatino, province of Oristano)
Church of the Holy
Trinity of Saccargia
Church of San Pietro di Sorres (Borutta,
province of Sassari)
Church of Ardara
Church of San Gavino in
Porto Torres
natural areas
Capo Caccia (west of northern
Sardinia). At this spur of rock there are the Porto Conte Regional Park
and the Capo Caccia-Isola Piana Marine Protected Area.
Grotta Is
Zuddas Located in the south-western part of Sardinia, they constitute a
splendid underground scenario created by the incessant action of water.
Museums
Museum of Mining In this museum it is possible to see
machines that were already used in mines at the end of the 1800s or
flotation cells still used today in mineral enrichment plants, as well
as about 400 m of tunnels which, started in 1934 as a laboratory for
students, became a safe air-raid shelter in the last years of the 2nd
world war.
Porto Flavia Built in 1924 by excavating the mountain for
about 600 metres, the underground complex consists of two superimposed
tunnels and a conveyor belt which received the minerals from the
underground deposits and then transferred them, with an ingenious mobile
arm, to the hold of the cargo ships at anchor.
Windsurfing, the most famous places are: Porto Pollo, Capo Mannu, Alghero Mugoni, Alghero Lido, Porto Ferro, Coluccia, Platamona, Stintino, Funtana Meiga and Sant'Antioco.
In Maimoiada on January 17 one of the most famous events of Sardinian folklore is held, the carnival in which the disturbing masks of the Mamuthones and Issohadores parade.
The gastronomy of Sardinia is very particular and speaks to us of the
different influences it has had in its history and at the same time of
its isolation, given that we also find ancient traditions at the table.
Speaking of Sardinia it is essential to talk about bread, there are many
types. The most famous is pane carasau, a thin and crunchy bread with
almost no yeast. It can easily be kept for a long time and is
traditionally made by women starting from the dough made into a ball, a
ball that is introduced into the oven and swells, to later become a flat
circle with a stroke. Carasau bread can be seasoned with olive oil and
placed in the oven, taking on all the flavor of the oil. This variant is
called pane guttiau. For special occasions, Sardinians have continued to
prepare ceremonial breads since the Bronze Age (there are archaeological
remains that prove this). The ceremonial loaves are real sculptures,
many times with flowers and birds, with eggs on top to make them shiny.
They are almost never eaten. The most used are the bread of the spouses
in weddings and the Easter bread on Resurrection Sunday.
In
Sardinia, sheep and its products are very present in gastronomy. Here
the famous pecorino is made, a sheep's milk cheese, which can be more or
less aged. The "Fiore Sardo" and the "San Leonardo" are well-known among
the seasoned cheeses, with a strong and decisive flavour. Lamb meat is
widely cooked throughout Barbagia and the central area of the island.
Another Sardinian dish is fregola. Fregola is a pasta in the shape
of small spheres that is toasted in the oven. This gives the dough an
exotic and different flavor of the common pasta. It can be cooked with
different foods, but perhaps the best is seafood. Obviously, to be
consumed, it must be cooked.
Vermentino di Gallura is a delicious fruity DOCG white wine whose vines grow in central and northern Gallura, in addition to this little gem, there are many DOC wines produced in Sardinia: Alghero, Arborea, Cagliari, Campidano di Terralba, Cannonau di Sardegna, Carignano del Sulcis, Girò di Cagliari, Malvasia di Bosa, Mandrolisai, Monica di Sardegna, Moscato di Sardegna, Moscato di Sorso-Sennori, Nasco di Cagliari, Nuragus di Cagliari, Sardegna Semidano, Vermentino di Sardegna, and Vernaccia di Oristano.
Crime in Sardinia is not a problem worthy of excessive consideration, but in any case care must be taken, especially in the most crowded places of the cities, not to suffer pickpocketing and muggings. Sardinia is the only Italian region where there are no venomous snakes.
Sardinia has a total area of 24100 km² and is by extension the second largest island in the Mediterranean (after Sicily) and the third Italian region, again after Sicily and Piedmont. The length between its most extreme points (Punta Falcone in the north and Capo Teulada in the south) is 270 km, while the width is 145 km (from Capo dell'Argentiera in the west to Capo Comino in the east). The inhabitants are 1 628 384 for a population density of 69 inhabitants per km². It is 188 km (Cape Ferro - Monte Argentario) from the coasts of the Italian peninsula, from which it is separated by the Tyrrhenian Sea, while the Sardinia Channel divides it from the Tunisian coasts of the African continent which are located 178 km further south (Cape Spartivento - Cap Serrat). To the north, for 11 km, the Strait of Bonifacio separates it from Corsica and the Sardinian Sea, to the west, from the Iberian peninsula and the Balearic Islands. It is located between the 41st and 39th parallel north, while the 40th divides it almost in half.
The geological history of Sardinia appears to be clearly separated
from that of the Italian peninsula (which was formed in the Cenozoic),
being instead linked (together with that of Corsica) to that of
continental Europe, of which it was part until the end of the Eocene. It
can begin with the so-called Sardinian phase of the Caledonian orogeny
at the beginning of the Palaeozoic, in which the first nucleus of the
current Sulcis was formed, to then emerge completely, together with
Corsica, during the Hercynian orogeny (Carboniferous). Between
thirty-five and thirteen million years ago along the coast that goes
from Catalonia to Liguria, through the displacements and clashes between
the great African, Eurasian and North Atlantic plates, a deep fracture
was created from which, about twenty million years ago, the detachment
of a micro-plate that included present-day Sardinia and Corsica
originated in the north-east.
The two islands reached their
current position about six or seven million years ago and the phenomenon
of migration was later added to by the opening tension of the Tyrrhenian
Sea, which consequently created the eastern conformation between the two
islands and the Italian peninsula. Although earthquakes have been
documented in the past, Sardinia is considered a non-seismic area and
all the municipalities that make it up are classified in seismic zone 4.
In fact, there are no faults that could generate major earthquakes on
its territory. The only macroseismic resentments belong to tremors that
have occurred and may occur in the central and southern Tyrrhenian Sea.
More than 80% of the territory is mountainous and hilly; 68% is made
up of hills and rocky plateaus for a total area of 16,352 km². Some of
these are very characteristic and are called jars or heels. The average
altitude is 334 m a.s.l. Mountains make up 14% of the territory for a
total extension of 3,287 km².
The mountains of Punta La Marmora
(Perdas Crapìas in Sardinian), 1,834 m, Bruncu Spina (1,829 m), Punta
Paulinu (1,758 m) and Mount Spada (1,595 m), culminate in the center of
the island, located in the Gennargentu, as well as Mount Albo and
Supramonte which includes Mount Corrasi di Oliena (1 463 m). To the
north, the Limbara mountains (1,362 m), the Alà mountains (1,090 m), the
Rasu mountain (1,259 m) emerge. In Ogliastra the heels stand out with
Punta Seccu about 1,000 m high in the territory of Ulassai while in
Montiferru (which is the largest volcanic massif on the island) rise
Monte Urtigu (1,050 m) and Monte Entu (1,024 m ) and in the Marghine the
Punta Palai (1 264 m). To the south, Mount Serpeddì (1,069 m), the
Massif of Sette Fratelli (1,023 m), Mount Linas (1,236 m), the
Iglesiente mountains, which reach 1,091 m with Mount Lisone, and the
Sulcis which reach 1116 m with Monte Is Caravius ending up sloping down
towards the sea.
The flat areas occupy 18% of the territory (for 4 451 km²); the most extensive plain is the Campidano which separates the central northern reliefs from the Iglesiente mountains, while the Nurra plain is located in the north-western part between Sassari, Alghero and Porto Torres. The most important rivers are the Tirso, the Flumendosa, the Coghinas, the Cedrino, the Temo and the Flumini Mannu. The largest ones are blocked by imposing dams that form large artificial lakes used mainly to irrigate the fields, including the basin of Lake Omodeo, the largest artificial lake in Italy. Then follow the basin of Flumendosa, Coghinas and Posada. The only natural lake is Lake Baratz, located in the southwest part of the territory of Sassari.
The coasts are divided into the gulfs of Asinara to the north, Orosei
to the east, Olbia to the north-east, Cagliari to the south and Alghero
and Oristano to the west. For a total of 1,897 km, they are high, rocky
and with small creeks that become deep in the north-east and wedge
themselves into valleys (ria). Low and sandy coasts, sometimes marshy,
are found in the southern and western areas: these are the coastal
ponds, important wetlands from an ecological point of view, the largest
of which is that of the Cabras pond and the adjacent marshy areas.
Many islands and islets surround it and among these the largest is
the island of Sant'Antioco (109 km²), followed by Asinara (52 km²), the
island of San Pietro (50 km²), La Maddalena (20 km²) and Caprera (16
km²). The four extreme points are: Capo Falcone (to the north), Capo
Teulada (to the south), Capo Comino (to the east) and Capo
dell'Argentiera (to the west).
The Mediterranean climate is typical of Sardinia. Along the coastal
areas, where the majority of the population resides, thanks to the
presence of the sea, winters are mild, while summers are hot and humid,
characterized by considerable ventilation. The sea breezes and the
constant ventilation allow it to bear the high summer temperatures which
normally exceed 30 °C and even reach 35 °C. In the flat and hilly inland
areas, due to the greater distance from the sea, lower winter
temperatures and higher summer temperatures are recorded compared to the
coastal areas. Overall, the climate is quite mild, but during the year
there can be minimum winter values of a few degrees below zero and
summer maximum values even above 40 °C.
On the mountain massifs
in the winter months it frequently snows and temperatures drop below
zero, while in the summer the climate remains cool and it is rarely hot
for many consecutive days. Sardinia is also a very windy region: the
prevailing winds are the mistral and the west.
The natural landscape of Sardinia alternates mountainous profiles
with complex morphology to scrubland and forests, ponds and lagoons,
tumultuous streams that form gorges and waterfalls, long sandy beaches
and jagged cliffs and overhanging cliffs. The limestone formations make
up 10% of its surface and karst phenomena are frequent in the
central-eastern and south-western sectors, with the formation of caves,
chasms, sinkholes, underground lakes, karst springs, such as those of Su
Gologone di Oliena and by Su Marmuri of Ulassai. Noteworthy are the
granite rock formations, characterized by jagged pinnacles modeled by
the erosion of atmospheric agents, creating singular sculptures
scattered throughout the island, such as the Bear of Palau, the Elephant
of Castelsardo, the Mushroom of Arzachena, the dykes del Montiferru and
sa Conca in Nuoro on Mount Ortobene.
Some of the most important
stretches of the coast and large inland territories are under protection
as natural parks. This natural heritage integrates with the historical
and cultural one, represented by the ancient sites of archaeological
interest and the remains of the most recent mining complexes. In order
to conserve and enhance this unique heritage, the Autonomous Region has
defined with the law n. 31 of 7 June 1989 the protected areas subject to
protection. Overall there are: two national parks, two regional parks,
60 nature reserves, 19 natural monuments, 16 areas of significant
naturalistic interest, five WWF oases. Since 1985, Sardinia has had its
own forestry corps, called the Sardinian Region's Forestry and
Environmental Surveillance Corps.
The wildlife heritage includes several examples of species of great
interest. The fauna of the higher vertebrates shows analogies and
differentiations with respect to that of continental Europe: the
analogies are due to the migration during the glaciations or to the
introduction by man in the Neolithic or more recent times, while the
differentiations are due to the long geographical isolation which has
given rise to neo-endemisms at the level of subspecies or, more rarely,
of species.
The populations of large herbivorous mammals (deer
and mouflon) have undergone a drastic contraction, reaching real
emergencies up to the seventies, but in recent decades they have resumed
a significant growth thanks to protection actions. The Sardinian wild
boar, on the other hand, is widely distributed, as are various species
of rodents and lagomorphs. The largest predators are the common
Sardinian fox and the rare Sardinian wild cat, which are flanked by
small carnivores such as mustelids. Among the mammals, apart from the
Sardinian goat, caprine breed, particular curiosity arouses a variant of
the domestic donkey, i.e. the white donkey, present only on the island
of Asinara (there are about 90 specimens), but also the characteristic
Giara pony (Equus caballus Giarae), a species of endemic horse, of
uncertain origin or most likely imported by Phoenician or Greek sailors
in the 5th-4th century BC.
The interest in the avifauna is
divided into three contexts: birds of prey, the avifauna of the wetlands
and that of the cliffs. Birds of prey are represented by almost all
European species, among which there are some endemic subspecies; two
species of vultures have become extinct and a few colonies of griffon
vultures survive only in the territories of Bosa and Alghero. Wetland
birdlife boasts a long list of species, many threatened by severe
habitat shrinkage. The high number of coastal ponds and lagoons (about
12,000 hectares, equal to 10% of the Italian heritage) means that this
region has eight Ramsar sites (second place in Italy, after
Emilia-Romagna). The symbol of this fauna is the pink flamingo, which
forms colonies of thousands of specimens in some ponds.
This
species, historically wintering in Sardinian ponds, has also been
nesting for several years. Of the 1 897 km of coastline, 76% consists of
reefs and a large number of islands and reefs. This is the realm of
seabirds, which can form colonies of thousands of individuals. Among the
species of greatest interest is the extremely rare Corsican gull.
Finally, there are four endemic subspecies of birds which are the finch
(f.c. sarda), the great spotted woodpecker (d. m. ssp. harterti), the
great tit (P. m. ssp. ecki) and the jay (g.g. ssp ichnusae). The minor
terrestrial vertebrates include reptiles and amphibians including many
important Tyrrhenian, Sardinian-Corsican or Sardinian endemics; of
these, some have a marked and exclusive geographical location.
Although deriving from a common Mediterranean substratum, the flora
in Sardinia is characterized by specificity and endemism. The
phytoclimatic zones present are limited to the Lauretum and the warm
sub-zone of Castanetum, the latter limited to the colder inland and
mountainous areas; the forest vegetation is, therefore, largely
represented by Mediterranean maquis and evergreen forest and only above
1,000 meters is the frequency of the deciduous species of Castanetum
significant.
The prevailing tree species is the holm oak,
accompanied and partly replaced by the downy oak in the coldest stations
and by the cork oak in the warmest ones. In the cold areas there are
also relicts of an ancient Cenozoic flora (yew, holly, trefoil maple).
On the top of the metamorphic reliefs of the Paleozoic, at 1,000-1,900
metres, steppes and garrigue develop which can be assimilated to the
alpine flora which, in the other regions, occupies altitudes of
2,500-3,500 metres. The forest cover is what remains of intense
deforestation that reached its peak in the second half of the 19th
century.
The passage of vast territories from the Cassa
ademprivile to the state property and, later, to the former EFDRS, has
allowed the preservation and slow reconstitution of the residual forest
heritage, despite the annual threat of fires. The serious degradation of
vast areas exposes the island to desertification, but the forest
heritage boasts some peculiarities, such as the Sulcis maquis-forest,
considered the largest in Europe, and the state-owned forest of Montes,
one of the last primary holm oaks in the Mediterranean. The work of
protection and recovery of the residual heritage places Sardinia as the
Italian region with the largest forest area, with 1 213 250 hectares of
woods (according to data from the National Forestry and Carbon Inventory
of the State Forestry Corps, published in May 2007 ). Of great botanical
interest, due to their endemisms and rarity, are also the minor
floristic associations that inhabit the coastal ponds, sandy coasts and
cliffs.
The submerged landscapes are complex and rich in color and variety of fish, sponges and corals and are characterized by the extraordinary clarity of the water; this clarity favors the flourishing of numerous colonies of Posidonia. The unequivocal sign of the presence of Posidonia meadows is the presence of piles of algae which are sometimes found abundantly on the beaches. A particular mention should be made of the monk seal: for a long time persecuted by fishermen and disturbed by holidaymakers, it is a species at high risk of extinction: the last documented reproduction dates back to the early eighties
The Sardinian natural environment is characterized by a high number
of endemisms. Some of these are paleoendemisms, i.e. relicts of the
ancestral fauna and flora dating back to the Cenozoic before the
detachment of the Sardinian-Corsican plate from the European continent;
these species, real living fossils, became extinct in continental lands
in ancient times while they survived in particular conditions in
Sardinia.
Most of the endemic species are instead neoendemisms,
produced by a differential evolution starting from the Neozoic or from
more recent times, thanks to geographical isolation. There are more than
220 botanical endemisms ascertained and they represent about 10% of all
Sardinian flora. Some of these are real rarities also due to the low
number of specimens and the very limited extension of the range, in some
cases reduced to a few hectares. In 2002, the Plecotus sardus, an
endemic species of bat, was discovered in the Gennargentu caves, while
in 2014, the discovery of the Amblyocarenum nuragicus, a spider endemic
to the island, was announced.
The rocks of Sardinia are considered among the oldest in Italy. The
karst formations cover a rather limited area in relation to the granitic
or metalliferous ones and constitute 6% of the total area, or 1,500 km².
The oldest geological formations date back to the Paleozoic, but other
formations appeared in later periods, in the Mesozoic, Tertiary and
Quaternary, contributing to the creation of a remarkable variety of rock
formations.
Sardinia's speleological heritage includes more than
1,500 caves. The Supramonte area is the richest, together with the
Sulcis-Iglesiente area and the promontory of Capo Caccia. Among the
submerged ones, the cave of Nereo is considered the largest in the whole
Mediterranean. The best known coastal caves are the Neptune caves in
Alghero and the Bue Marino caves in Cala Gonone. Among those on land,
some of the most important are those of Sa Oche-Su Bentu in Oliena, Is
Zuddas in Santadi, Su Mannau in Fluminimaggiore, the cave of Su Marmuri
in Ulassai, that of Ispinigoli near Dorgali, of San Giovanni near
Domusnovas, in the Iglesiente, and the cave of Santa Maria nel Sulcis.
Since the dawn of civilization, Sardinia has been a dock frequented
by those who sailed from one shore to the other of the Mediterranean Sea
in search of lands and commercial outlets. Thus it was that in its
millenary history it has been able to take advantage of both its
insularity and its strategic position, as an essential place in the
network of ancient routes.
In its historical and cultural
heritage there are abundant testimonies of indigenous cultures but also
the influences and presence of the major ancient colonial powers. With
reference to the historical experiences involving the island, the
American historian John Day defined Sardinia as "one of the oldest
colonial dependencies in the world."
The pre-nuragic period is characterized by the succession of
different archaeological cultures: the culture of cardial pottery
(6000-4000 BC), the culture of Bonu Ighinu (4000-3400 BC), the culture
of San Ciriaco (3400-3200 BC), the culture of Ozieri and Sub-Ozieri
(3200-2700 BC), the Abealzu-Filigosa culture (2700-2400 BC), the Monte
Claro culture (2400-2100 BC), the bell jar culture (2100-1800 BC) and
the culture of Bonnanaro (1800-1600 BC).
The maritime traffic of
the obsidian of Mount Arci probably began from the Mesolithic, as
evidenced by some findings in Ligurian contexts, and intensified with
the advent of the Neolithic, when its diffusion reached its peak going
to reach central Italy -northern, Corsica and southern France.
The most eloquent vestiges of that period are the megaliths, which
appeared for the first time in the Arzachena culture (4th millennium
BC), such as the tomb circles, menhirs and dolmens, the hypogean tombs
called domus de janas and the stepped temple of Monte d'Accoddi.
The Nuragic civilization was born and developed on the island over a
period of time ranging from the Middle Bronze Age (about 1700 BC) to the
Iron Age. It survived in Barbagia until the 2nd century AD. or,
according to some scholars, as late as the 6th century AD. in the early
Middle Ages. About eight thousand nuraghes, numerous villages, the tombs
of the giants, the sacred wells, the small bronzes and the large statues
of Mont'e Prama bear witness to this civilization.
The ancient
Sardinians, or Nuragics, were a population of warriors and navigators,
shepherds and farmers, divided into many tribes who lived in the
so-called "cantons". They traded with Mycenaean Greece, Crete, Cyprus
and Sicily, with the Iberian peoples, the Etruscans and the Phoenicians,
along routes that crossed the Mediterranean Sea from the Iberian
peninsula to the Levantine coasts.
Phoenician-Punic Sardinia
Around the 9th century BC. the Phoenicians, coming from today's Lebanon,
began to frequent the coasts of Sardinia where they founded new landing
places, often on pre-existing Nuragic settlements, such as Caralis,
Nora, Bithia, Sulki and Tharros which soon became real urban centers
from which trade departed both internally, with the native populations
of Nuragic culture, and towards other overseas lands.
In 509 BC.
the Punics, through a military campaign, conquered much of southern and
central-western Sardinia, including the Phoenician city-states of the
coast, including Olbia in the north-east. For about 271 years the
Carthaginian civilization was confronted, not always peacefully, with
the Sardinian populations of the interior. During this period, the
continuous wars were followed by a phase of adjustment, determined by
the arrest of the Carthaginian penetration at the foot of the mountain
massifs of Barbagia and the Goceano ridge.
To defend themselves
from the natives, a sort of limes was traced that went from Padria to
Macomer, Bonorva, Bolotana, Sedilo, Neoneli, Fordongianus, Samugheo,
Asuni, Genoni, Isili, Orroli, Goni, Ballao up to the mouth of the
Flumendosa.
Sardinia entered the Roman sphere of influence from 238 BC, in the
aftermath of the first Punic war, going to constitute, together with
Corsica, a province (Sardinia and Corsica), chronologically the second
province established after Sicily.
The Romans expanded the cities
of the coast and founded new ones, such as the Colonia Iulia Turris
Libisonis (Porto Torres) and Usellus; they also built new roads,
aqueducts and bridges. Despite the numerous revolts of the tribes of the
interior (the most famous were the one led by Ampsicora in 215 BC and
that of the Balari and the Iliensi in 178/174 BC), the Latin language
and civilization finally took root capillarily throughout the island .
Caralis, provincial capital, Nora and Sulci were elevated to the rank of
municipalities within the 1st century AD. and from 212, with the
Constitutio Antoniniana of Caracalla, all Sardinians obtained Roman
citizenship.
In the imperial age, the well-being of Sardinia was
due to unprecedented agricultural and mining exploitation: in fact, the
island exported large quantities of lead and silver, thanks to its
numerous mines in the Iglesiente area, where Metalla stood, and wheat,
grown in large estates landed estates called latifundia, so as to be
considered one of the "granaries of Rome". Salt, hides, wines, wool,
cheeses and other products were also exported.
Roman rule lasted
694 years, until the arrival of the Vandals in 456.
The history of Vandal Sardinia began in the mid-fifth century, when
the island was conquered by the Vandals, a Germanic population who had
settled in North Africa for some time, becoming part of the kingdom of
the Vandals and Alans, together with Corsica. Thus ended the long Roman
domination.
The conquest of the island took place between 456 and
460. The first occupation took place in 456 AD. around it was a partial
occupation limited to the coastal cities, while between 474 and 482 the
island fell again under the dominion of the Vandal armies, perhaps led
by Genserico or by his son Huneric. In 533 a certain Goda, who was a
Vandal governor of the island of Gothic origin, after having rebelled
against the central power resisted the Vandals for a certain period
assuming the title of "Rex".
The Vandals, of Aryan religion,
confined a certain number of African religious to the island, such as
the bishop of Carthage Fulgentius (later San Fulgentius), and Feliciano,
bishop of Hippo, who brought with him the relics of Saint Augustine (now
preserved in Pavia). In this historical period there was the ascent to
the papal throne of two Sardinian popes: Ilario and Simmaco.
Sardinia remained a Vandal for about eighty years, from 456 to 534.
The Byzantine age began with the reconquest of Justinian in 534, in
the context of the Vandal war fought against the Vandals for the
possession of Africa: the new province of Sardinia would have been part
of the praetorian prefecture of Africa[87]. Between 551 and 552, while
the Gothic war raged on the Italian peninsula, Ostrogoth contingents
occupied the island, uncorking it for a short time in Byzantium.
The Byzantine Empire was an autocratic state and the entire
administration revolved around the figure of the emperor. Many of the
Byzantine institutions were used for the construction of the judicial
realms. During the pontificate of Pope Gregory I (590-604) Sardinia
returned to the Roman sphere; from a letter from Gregory addressed to a
certain Ospitone, "dux of the Barbaricini", it is clear that inland
Sardinia was substantially independent and that the ancient Nuragic
deities were still worshiped there.
Following the intensification
of the Arab presence in the western Mediterranean, after the Islamic
conquest of Sicily (827) the contacts between Byzantium and the island
became less frequent; in the 9th and 10th centuries the political
autonomy that would belong to judicial Sardinia was consolidated.
Between the end of the 10th century and the first decades of the
11th the local institutions reformed making themselves independent from
Byzantium. Thus began the period of the Giudicati, an original form of
government that lasted for the next four hundred years.
The
written sources of the period are scarce but it is assumed that a single
autonomous state entity was initially formed on the island, headed by
the Archon of Sardinia or iudex Sardiniae (belonging to the Lacon-Gunale
family and residing in Caralis), over which Byzantium exercised only
nominal authority. Only after the attempted Muslim conquest by Mujāhid
al-ʿĀmirī, thwarted by the Sardinians by land and by the fleets of Pisa
and Genoa by sea, did the four independent kingdoms of Torres, Gallura,
Arborea and Calari form to an effective political and administrative
organization characterized by elements of modernity compared to the
contemporary continental kingdoms. The territory was divided into
curatoria; after the year 1000 that of Torres included 20, that of
Arborea 13, that of Cagliari 14 and that of Gallura 10. Some of the
ancient names still survive, even if, in many cases, they do not
correspond to any administrative entity.
The local legal system
reached its apex with the promulgation of the Carta de Logu arborense in
the 14th century «considered one of the most important Constitutions of
principles of the Middle Ages».
The history of lordly and municipal Sardinia refers to that period of
Sardinian history which began in the second half of the XIII century
when, following the fall of the Giudicati of Calari (1258), Torres
(1259) and Gallura (1288), in the former judicial territories that ended
up under the influence of Pisa and Genoa, a new historical phase began
characterized by a new stately and municipal political-administrative
order inspired by the models in force in central-northern Italy. This
historical phase lasted until the complete Aragonese conquest of the
island and the consequent unification of the kingdom of Sardinia.
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia was established in
1297 by Pope Boniface VIII, in compliance with the treaty of Anagni of
24 June 1295, to resolve the political and diplomatic crisis, which
arose between the Crown of Aragon and the Duchy of Anjou, following the
war of the Vespers for the control of Sicily. The fiefdom deed, dated 5
April 1297, stated that the kingdom belonged to the Church and was given
in perpetuity to the kings of Aragon in exchange for an oath of
vassalage and the payment of an annual census.
It was
territorially conquered starting from 1323 with the war waged by the
Aragonese, in alliance with the Sardinians of Arborea, against the
Pisans. The conquest was subsequently opposed for a long time by the
resistance opposed on the island by the kingdom of Arborea itself, led
by Mariano IV of Arborea and his sons, and could be considered partially
concluded only in 1420, with the purchase of the remaining territories
from the last judge for a hundred thousand gold florins.
The
institutions of the Kingdom (based in Cagliari), in addition to the
viceroy, by royal appointment, were the Cortes and the Real Udiencia:
the Cortes were a pactial parliament, in which the royal cities, the
church and the feudal nobility were represented; the Real Udiencia,
established in 1564, was the supreme court of the Kingdom, from which
the current Court of Appeal derives and, in the absence of the viceroy,
assumed its government duties. With the intensification of the raids of
the Barbary pirates, starting from the 16th century an efficient defense
system was set up with numerous coastal towers and the strongholds of
Alghero and Cagliari.
The Kingdom of Sardinia was part of the
Crown of Aragon and of its Supreme and Royal Council until 1713, even
after the marriage of Ferdinand II with Isabella of Castile, when Aragon
was first linked to Castile, and then from 1516, in already Habsburg
era, also to the other state entities governed by them.
Immediately after the War of the Spanish Succession it became part of
the dominions of the Austrian Habsburgs, but already in 1720, with the
Hague Treaty, Sardinia was ceded, after a brief Spanish reoccupation, to
the Duke of Savoy Vittorio Amedeo II; in exchange for what was perceived
as an unequal exchange, Austria was awarded Sicily.
In 1847, with
the so-called perfect fusion, all the possessions of the royal house of
Savoy merged into the Kingdom. By means of this controversial legal act,
the state subjectivity of the previously preserved island was completely
lost, and consequently all the vestiges acquired in the Iberian period
disappeared (viceregal office, parliament of Stamenti, supreme court of
the Royal Audience); the island thus became a region of a larger state,
with a unitary configuration no longer as it had been after 1720.
Although the merger had definitively sanctioned the political center of
gravity of the Kingdom, eminently peninsular, the residual name of
"Kingdom of Sardinia" was formally maintained until, once the political
unification of the Italian peninsula was achieved, it finally assumed
the name of Kingdom of Italy ; likewise the anthem of the Savoyard
kingdom s'hymnu sardu nationale ("the Sardinian national anthem"), first
joined to the Royal March and replaced by it de facto in 1861.
Sardinia was one of the least developed regions of the new kingdom of
Italy. In the first decades of the unification of Italy, the phenomenon
of banditry was also rampant on the island, harshly repressed by the
state.
On April 26, 1868, the Su Connottu revolt broke out in the
Nuoro area. There were many mines active in Sardinia at the turn of the
19th and 20th centuries, mainly located in the Iglesiente area. On
September 4, 1904, the Buggerru massacre took place, where three
demonstrators on strike lost their lives.
In the First World War
the Sassari Brigade distinguished itself on the battlefields, in which
100,000 Sardinian soldiers were recalled, of which 13,602 fell at the
front.
In the twenty years the reclamation works were started in
the plain of Terralba, in the Nurra and in other areas. Several centers
arose out of nowhere, the most populous was that of Carbonia, founded in
1938.
During the Second World War the island was almost spared
from land combat but Cagliari was heavily bombed by the Allies and 2,000
citizens lost their lives.
In 1948 Sardinia became an autonomous
region and has been administered since then with a special statute.
Well known in antiquity by both the Phoenicians and the Greeks, it
was called by the latter Ichnussa (in Greek Ιχνούσσα) or Sandálion
(Σανδάλιον) due to the similarity of the coastal conformation to the
imprint of a foot (sandal). The Greeks also called it argyróphleps nêsos
(ἀργυρόφλεψ νῆσος) or the island with silver veins, due to the silvery
richness of its subsoil. For Herodotus, Sardinia was the largest island
in the entire Mediterranean Sea and remained so in the knowledge of
ancient navigators for a long time, as the length of the Sardinian
coasts (1,232 km excluding the islands) is actually greater than the
Sicilian or Cretan ones .
According to recent linguistic studies,
the Latin name Sardinia derives from another Greek denomination known as
Sardṓ (Σαρδώ, feminine ending typical of some Greek toponyms; compare
the morphological variant Συρακώ Surakṓ of ancient Syracuse), name of a
legendary Anatolian woman from which we have news in Plato's Timaeus and
whose origins came from Sárdeis (Σάρδεις), capital of Lydia.
Sallust in the 1st century AD maintained that: «Sardus, generated by
Hercules, together with a great multitude of men who left Libya occupied
Sardinia and named the island after him», and Pausanias in the 2nd
century AD. he confirmed what Sallustio said by adding that: «Sardinian
came from Libya with a group of colonists and occupied the island whose
ancient name, Ichnusa, changed to Sardò (...)». In a stone stele dating
from the 8th / 9th century BC. found in today's Pula, the word b-šrdn
appears written in Phoenician which means "in Sardinia", testifying that
this toponym was already present on the island when the Phoenician
merchants arrived.
With the decree of the President of the Republic of 5 July 1952, the
Autonomous Region produced a coat of arms and a banner. The regional law
15 April 1999, n. 10 to art. 1 decrees: «The Region adopts the
traditional flag of Sardinia as its flag: a white field with a cross of
red with in each quarter a blindfolded Moor's head on the forehead
facing in the opposite direction to the luff.» Of uncertain origin, the
emblem of the four Moors represents a strong identity element and its
use is constantly documented starting from the establishment of the
kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica (1324) up to the birth of the Autonomous
Region.
The coat of arms of the four Moors appeared on the lead
seals of the Aragonese Royal Chancellery under the reign of Peter the
Great of Aragon, the oldest example dates back to 1281. The current
graphic form reproduces the one consolidated in the 18th century for
institutional purposes.
In 2018, in memory of the Sardinian
Vespers, the song Su patriotu sardu a sos feudatarios, long considered a
regional anthem in popular culture, was officially recognized as the
official anthem of Sardinia. The text was composed in 1794 by the
magistrate Francesco Ignazio Mannu in a context of political ferment
nourished by the ideals of the Enlightenment widespread in Europe.
Through a long and elaborate historical journey, the initial
indigenous cultures were joined by multiple contributions of
civilizations from the Mediterranean world, contributing to the
formation of a cultural heterogeneity with highly original features.
Archeology has clearly highlighted this long evolution, finding traces
of it in the varying architecture of buildings over the centuries, but
this long journey is also found in the traditions intimately linked to
the art of craft production, to the variegated musical expressions, to
the internal rules of the agro-pastoral world and Sardinian culture in
general.
The finds and the precious testimonies of the past are
collected and kept in numerous museums and in the archaeological parks
scattered throughout the territory. A law issued by the Autonomous
Region of Sardinia has been in force for several years and has given new
impetus to the reorganization of the places responsible for the custody
of the testimonies of the past. In addition to the museums, libraries
and historical archives, the archaeological parks and ecomuseums have
also been reorganised, a living expression of the historical memory of
the area.
Languages from antiquity to the modern age
The first written testimonies in Sardinia date back to the
Phoenician-Punic period with finds such as the stele of Nora. According
to some interpretations, the ancient Sardinians of the pre-Nuragic and
Nuragic period preserved the pre-Indo-European language and customs of
Old Europe without significant alterations. According to some theories,
the Sardinian or Proto-Sardinian language would have been similar to the
paleo-Hispanic Basque-Iberian ones, while according to Massimo Pittau it
would have been similar to the Etruscan one; yet another hypothesis
supposes that on the island there were populations distinguished by both
Indo-European and pre-Indo-European languages.
The Roman conquest
of Corsica and Sardinia, incorporated into a specific province, would
have marked the decline of the pre-existing indigenous languages in
favor of the politically dominant one, Latin. Latin would in turn be
supplanted in official use only by Greek during the Byzantine period,
but it made a comeback in the medieval variant as a "cultured language",
alongside Sardinian, a neo-Latin language used in various official
documents such as condaghes and Carta de Logu . Other documents were
drawn up in several languages, such as the Sassari Statutes in Latin and
Sardinian, or again in Tuscan, such as the Brief of Villa di Chiesa in
Iglesias.
The establishment of the Kingdom of Sardinia first led
to the use of Catalan and Spanish, which remained until the
mid-eighteenth century, and then of Italian with the Savoyard reforms of
Giovanni Battista Lorenzo Bogino, who introduced this language for the
first time in island with a potestative deed in July 1760.
In Sardinia today several Romance languages coexist, mostly belonging
to the Sardinian and Italian linguistic systems. Sardinian is the
historical language of the Sardinian peoples which succeeded Nuragic and
considered, together with Italian, as the most conservative of the
Romance languages. Sardinian has been used at various times as the
official language of Sardinian institutions; among the most important
documents are the condaghi (condaghes), the Sassari Statutes (Istatutos
Tataresos) and the Cartas, among which the famous Carta de Logu del
Giudicato di Arborea stands out, which remained in force until it was
replaced by the Italian Codice Feliciano in 1827.
Starting from
the eighteenth century, which was followed by the official introduction
of Italian in Sardinia by law (1760, 1764), a slow but pervasive
phenomenon of cultural Italianization of social structures took place,
as well as a linguistic drift towards Italian, in now advanced stage:
ISTAT, in 2006, revealed that only 29.3% of the Sardinian population
alternated between Italian and Sardinian in the family environment, and
only 16.6% spoke mainly Sardinian or other non-Italian languages; more
recent data suggest that to date only 10% of the young population has
declared some competence in the language. Italian, fluently expressed by
the majority of speakers in its regional variant, is thus nowadays the
most widespread language on the island: on the basis of ISTAT data from
2006, Italian was used habitually by 52.5% of the Sardinian population,
even in the family sphere.
The Sardinian language, traditionally
spoken in a large part of the island, is conventionally divided into
variants represented by two basic and standardized orthographic models:
Logudorese Sardinian (sardu logudoresu) represents the central-northern
variants, which have remained more similar to Latin in endings and
pronunciation; poems and compositions were written in this orthography
such as, for example, No potho reposare, the patriotic hymn Procurad'e
moderare, barones, sa tirannia, the religious song Deus ti salvet Maria
and the hymn of the Savoy Kingdom. In Logudorese the Nuorese and
Barbagia variants are also generally included (sardu nugoresu and sardu
barbaritzinu), which is characterized by an even greater conservation
and fidelity to the Latin but with frequent archaic elements of the
proto-Sardinian substrate.
Campidanese Sardinian (sardu campidanesu)
represents the central-southern variants, relatively more innovative
than classical Latin but also more widespread. In Ogliastra the dialect
has an archaic Campidanese matrix with many Barbagian words, hence the
name of "eastern barbarian". Finally, in the Guilcer region,
transitional dialects between the two models are widespread, the
so-called limba de mesania which inspired the scholars who would later
elaborate the written variant of Limba Sarda Comuna, adopted by the
Region in 2006.
Overall, the Sardinian linguistic system presents
a substantial syntactic and morphological homogeneity, organized in a
continuum in which it is difficult to draw a clear dialectal border due
to the existence of numerous dialects with median characters (e.g.
Arborense, Southern Barbagia, Ogliastra, etc. .); the division of
Sardinian into the two orthographic models would follow psychological
rather than linguistic boundaries, since they are connected not to
specific isoglosses, but to the two administrative areas into which the
island had been politically divided in the centuries-old Iberian period:
the "capo di sopra", whose the Sardinian Logudorese dialects would be
ascribed, and the "capo di sotto", to which the Sardinian Campidanese
ones would be ascribed.
Alongside the Sardinian language proper,
two Romance idioms of mainly Corsican-Tuscan derivation but often
associated with Sardinian are spoken in the north of the island:
in
the northwestern region of the island, Sassarese (sassaresu) is spoken
in Sassari and with small variations in Nurra, Romangia and Anglona. It
is a language born in the late medieval period from the mingling of
Corsican, Pisan, Ligurian and the subsequent strong influence of
Logudorese Sardinian;
in the north-eastern region of the island,
Gallura, Gallurese is spoken (gadduresu /gaɖːu'rezu/) which is
particularly close to the dialect spoken in Southern Corsica, the fruit
and testimony of the contacts between the two islands and of the
migrations in the Strait of Bonifacio occurred since prehistoric times,
in particular from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century.
Finally, there are some non-Sardinian linguistic islands, present on the
western side of the island:
in the city of Alghero since the 14th
century an archaic variant of eastern Catalan has been spoken, the
Algherese (alguerès), which is the co-official language of the
Municipality;
in the Sulcis archipelago, on the island of San Pietro
(Carloforte) and in the northern part of the island of Sant'Antioco
(Calasetta) a colonial Ligurian dialect is spoken, called tabarchino
(tabarchin) because it was brought there by immigrants of Ligurian
origin (Pegli ) exiled from the island of Tabarka in Tunisia in the 18th
century;
then the cases of Arborea, Tanca Marchese and Sanluri Stato,
populated by settlers who came from Veneto and Friuli, and the Alghero
hamlets of Fertilia and Maristella, which host nuclei of Ferrarese
origin and Istrian, the latter settled in the village after the Second
World War. In these centres, in addition to Italian and the local
languages, Veneto and Istriot are also spoken.
With the approval
of the law n. 482 of 1999, which for the first time implemented article
6 of the Italian Constitution, Sardinian and Catalan were recognized and
protected at the state level as historical linguistic minorities, while
the protection of Sassari, Gallurese and Tabarchino is recognized both
by the regional law n. 26 of 1997 and by the law, also regional, n. 22
of 2018. As part of the initiatives for the Sardinian language, the
Region has launched projects called LSU (Limba Sarda Unificada) and LSC
(Limba Sarda Comuna) in order to define and standardize the
transcription and grammar of a unified language that includes the common
characteristics of all variants. In April 2006, Limba Sarda Comuna
became the official Sardinian communication language of the regional
administration. In 2012, the Cappellacci council introduced the wording
«Regione Autònoma de Sardigna» in Sardinian, with the same graphic
emphasis as in Italian, in the documents, in the coat of arms of the
Region and in all the graphic productions linked to its institutional
communication.
The first prehistoric settlements of the Homo genus (specifically
Homo erectus) in Sardinia date back to the Lower Paleolithic
(450,000-150,000 BC) according to archaeologists who in 1979-1980
discovered a lithic industry near the Altana stream in Perfugas, in
Anglona. Inside the Corbeddu cave, in the Supramonte of Oliena, the
oldest attestations of the presence of Homo sapiens on the island were
discovered, dating back to around 20,000 years ago.
In the second
half of the 4th millennium BC. the first cultural expression developed,
traces of which can be found throughout the island, the Culture of
Ozieri. The archaeological finds conserved in the most important museums
on the island have highlighted the social and cultural progress achieved
by the Sardinian prehistoric populations.
The archaeological
evidence of the Nuragic civilization, which originated in the Bronze
Age, is innumerable. Fragmented into cantons and at the center of
intense commercial exchanges with the peoples who inhabited the
Mediterranean coasts, it has left important and numerous vestiges on the
island. The Phoenicians assiduously frequented Sardinia introducing the
first forms of urban planning. Carthage and Rome fought over it leaving
indelible traces.
Archaeological studies on the island
In the
19th century, the canon Giovanni Spano began various explorations of the
major sites, publishing notations and descriptions in the Sardinian
Archaeological Bulletin. From 1903 to 1936 the archaeologist Antonio
Taramelli carried out a valuable activity of recovery and cataloging of
sites on the island. After the war Giovanni Lilliu brought to light the
Nuragic village of Su Nuraxi in Barumini, helping to open up new
perspectives and knowledge on the history of the ancient Sardinians.
There are numerous testimonies of prehistoric architecture in
Sardinia such as the domus de janas (hypogean tombs), the tombs of the
giants, the megalithic circles, the menhirs, the dolmens and the well
temples; however, the element that more than any other characterizes the
Sardinian prehistoric landscape are the nuraghes; the remains of
thousands of these constructions of various types (simple and complex)
are still visible today. There are also numerous traces left by the
Phoenicians who introduced new urban forms on the coasts.
The
Romans gave a new administrative structure to the entire island through
the restructuring of various cities, the creation of new centers and the
construction of multiple infrastructures of which the ruins remain, such
as the palace of the Barbarian King in Porto Torres or the Roman
amphitheater of Cagliari. Several testimonies remain throughout the
territory both on the coasts and inland from the early Christian and
Byzantine eras, above all linked to religious buildings.
Romanesque architecture had a particular development in the judicial
period. Starting from 1063 the judges (judikes), through substantial
donations, had favored the arrival on the island of monks of different
orders from various regions of the Italian peninsula and France. These
circumstances led to workers of different origins working on the island:
Pisans, Lombards and Provençals, but also of Arab culture, coming from
the Iberian peninsula, giving rise to unprecedented artistic
manifestations.
The basilica of San Gavino in Porto Torres is
considered the reference architectural text for the development of
Romanesque architecture in Sardinia. Among the most relevant examples we
can mention the cathedrals of Sant'Antioco di Bisarcio (Ozieri), San
Pietro di Sorres in Borutta, San Nicola di Ottana, the palatine chapel
of Santa Maria del Regno in Ardara and the basilica of Santa Giusta and
the Church of San Nicola di Silanis. In addition to the churches of
Nostra Signora di Tergu, the basilica of Saccargia in Codrongianos and
Santa Maria di Uta and, relating to the thirteenth century, the churches
of Santa Maria di Monserrato (Tratalias) and San Pantaleo (Dolianova).
After their arrival in 1324, the Aragonese concentrated the first
constructions in Cagliari; the oldest Catalan-Gothic church in Sardinia
is the sanctuary of Nostra Signora di Bonaria. Also in Cagliari in the
same years the Aragonese chapel was built inside the cathedral. In the
first half of the 15th century, a true Gothic jewel was built, the
complex of San Domenico, which included the church and the convent,
almost completely destroyed during the air raids of 1943, and of which
only the cloister remains. Other constructions were the churches of San
Francesco di Stampace (of which only a part of the cloister remains),
Sant'Eulalia and San Giacomo. In Alghero, in the second half of the 15th
century, construction began on the church of San Francesco and in the
16th century on the cathedral.
Renaissance architecture is
scarcely represented and, in general, it manifested itself in the late
period, often as partial interventions on pre-existing architecture, as
in the case of the cathedral of San Nicola in Sassari or the
co-cathedral of Sant'Antonio Abate in Castelsardo. The church of
Sant'Agostino in Cagliari is one of the most identifiable examples of
Renaissance styles.
Baroque architecture had a moderate
development: interesting examples are the facade of the cathedral of San
Nicola in Sassari and the Collegiate Church of Sant'Anna in Cagliari,
the church of San Michele in Cagliari, the church of Santa Caterina in
Sassari, the cathedral of Ales and that of Oristano, rebuilt between the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Starting from the 19th
century, thanks to the new ideas and experiences imported by some
Sardinian architects trained in Turin, new architectural forms of
neoclassical inspiration spread throughout the island. Among the most
representative figures of this architectural phase stands out the
Cagliari architect Gaetano Cima, designer of the Hospital of San
Giovanni di Dio in Cagliari and of the sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin
of the Assumption in Guasila. Others to mention are those of Giuseppe
Cominotti author of the Civic Theater of Sassari and Antonio Cano (dome
of S. Maria di Betlem in Sassari and the cathedral of Santa Maria della
Neve in Nuoro). In the second half of the 19th century, the neo-Gothic
Palazzo Giordano (1878) was built in Sassari, which represents one of
the first examples of revivalism on the island, while the neo-Romanesque
facade of the cathedral of Cagliari dates back to 1933.
An
interesting creation of eclectic taste, derived from the union between
inspirations from revivalist and liberty models, is the Palazzo Civico
of Cagliari, completed in the early years of the 20th century. The
advent of fascism strongly influenced architecture in Sardinia in the
1920s and 1930s: interesting constructions from that period are the new
centers of Fertilia, Arborea and the city of Carbonia, examples of
rationalist architecture.
The tourist development that began in
the 1960s meant that buildings of notable architectural value were built
on the Costa Smeralda together with the village of Porto Cervo, more
recently the headquarters of the Banca di Credito Sardo in Cagliari
designed by Renzo Piano.
Numerous manifestations of spontaneous
architecture with different traditional housing typologies are present
in different parts of the island: among these the high house of the
hilly and mountainous areas, built in stone and wood, and the courtyard
houses in ladiri (raw earth brick) del Campidano and different types of
settlements, such as the stazzi in Gallura, the furriadroxius and the
medaus in Sulcis.
The Neolithic was the period in which the first artistic
manifestations are detected. Numerous finds of the typical statuettes of
the Mother Goddess and ceramics engraved with geometric designs testify
to the artistic expressions of Sardinian prehistory. Subsequently, the
Nuragic Culture will produce hundreds of bronze statuettes and the
enigmatic stone statuary of the Giants of Mont'e Prama.
The union
between the Nuragic populations and merchants from all over the
Mediterranean led to a refined production of gold jewellery, rings,
earrings and jewels of all kinds, but also ceramics, votive steles and
wall decorations. In addition to the architecture linked to public
works, the Romans introduced mosaics and decorated the rich villas of
the patricians with sculptures and paintings. In the Middle Ages, during
the judicial period, the architecture of the churches was enriched with
capitals, sarcophagi, frescoes, marble altars and subsequently
embellished with retables, painted by important painters such as the
Master of Castelsardo, Pietro Cavaro, Antioco Mainas, Andrea Luxury, and
the school of the so-called Maestro di Ozieri headed by Giovanni del
Giglio and Pietro Giovanni Calvano.
In the 19th century, and then
continue in the 20th century, the myths of the genuineness of the
Sardinian people, of an uncontaminated and timeless island, affirmed
themselves in the collective imagination of the islanders. Told by the
many travelers who visited Sardinia in that period, these myths will be
celebrated mainly by Sardinian artists such as Giuseppe Biasi, Francesco
Ciusa, Filippo Figari, Mario Delitala and Stanis Dessy. In their works
they will tell the autochthonous values of the agro-pastoral world, not
yet approved by the modernity that pressed from the outside. Other
important Sardinian artists of the second half of the 20th century were
Costantino Nivola, Salvatore Fancello, Giovanni Pintori, Maria Lai and
Pinuccio Sciola.
The first literary work in Sardinian dates back to the second half of
the fifteenth century: a poem inspired by the life of the holy martyrs
of Turrita by the archbishop of Sassari Antonio Cano. Literary
production had a notable development in the sixteenth century, the
protagonist was Antonio Lo Frasso, his Los diez libros de Fortuna de
Amor is mentioned in Don Quixote della Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes.
The work is mainly written in Spanish, but there are parts written in
Catalan and in the Sardinian language. Multilingualism was a
characteristic trait of the island writers of that era, among them
Sigismondo Arquer, Giovanni Francesco Fara and Pietro Delitala stood
out. Delitala wrote in Italian, then Tuscan, and Gerolamo Araolla in the
three languages. But already in the seventeenth century there was a
total integration into the Iberian world as demonstrated by the works in
Spanish of the poets José Delitala y Castelvì, Josè Zatrilla and the
writers Francesco Angelo de Vico and Salvatore Vidal.
From 1720,
with the passage of the Kingdom of Sardinia to the House of Savoy,
Italian gradually became the official language. In the nineteenth
century there is a renewed interest of Sardinian authors for the history
and culture of Sardinia: Giovanni Spano undertakes the first
archaeological excavations, Giuseppe Manno writes the first great
general history of the island, Pasquale Tola publishes important
documents of the past and writes biographies of illustrious Sardinians.
Alberto La Marmora traveled the length and breadth of the island,
studying it in detail and writing an impressive work in four parts
entitled Voyage en Sardaigne.
In the early twentieth century,
Sardinian society was described by Grazia Deledda, Enrico Costa and the
poet Sebastiano Satta. In this century we should also mention the
literary production of political figures of great value such as Antonio
Gramsci and Emilio Lussu. After the Second World War Giuseppe Dessì
emerged, known mainly for his novel Paese d'ombre. In more recent years,
Gavino Ledda's autobiographical novels Father Master and Salvatore
Satta's Judgment Day had a vast echo, as well as the works of Sergio
Atzeni and the living active in recent decades (New Sardinian
literature).
Traditional Sardinian music, both sung and instrumental, is very
ancient. Dance scenes are depicted in a vase dating back to the Ozieri
culture, around 3,000 years BC. The characteristic Sardinian dance
called su ballu tundu is accompanied by the sound of the launeddas, an
ancient instrument that is traced back to an era prior to the eighth
century BC. Various studies were carried out on this instrument between
the late 1950s and early 1960s by the musicologist Andreas F. Weis
Bentzon. The launeddas are traditionally widespread especially in
Sarrabus, Campidano, Sinis and Ogliastra.
The tenor chant is
typical of Barbagia and is considered a peculiar and unique artistic
expression in the world. The first testimony could go back to a small
bronze of the 7th century BC. where a singer is depicted in the typical
tenor pose. In 2005 this song was recognized by UNESCO as an oral and
intangible heritage of humanity. The cantu a chiterra is a song born in
Logudoro and later spread also in Gallura and Planargia. This song has
had a great diffusion since the twentieth century thanks to the numerous
village festivals during which real competitions are held between
cantadores, accompanied by a guitarist and often also by an
accordionist, and has had international popularity thanks to the
activity of Maria Carta. In the cultured sphere, Sardinia has given
birth to several composers, among which we remember Luigi Canepa, Gavino
Gabriel, Lao Silesu and Ennio Porrino.
With bright colors and the most varied and original shapes,
traditional costumes represent a clear symbol of belonging to specific
collective identities. They are considered a treasure trove of
ethnographic and cultural traditions with very peculiar characteristics,
the result of centuries-old historical stratifications. Although the
basic model is homogeneous and common throughout the island, each
village has its own traditional clothing, both for men and women.
In the past, clothes also diversified within communities, performing
a precise communication function as they immediately made clear the
personal status and role of each member in the social sphere, the
historical region or country of belonging, a particular marital status
(baghiàna/u, gathìa/u). Even today in various parts of the island you
can meet elderly people dressed in costume, but until the mid-twentieth
century the costume represented the daily clothing in a large part of
Sardinia.
The materials used for their manufacture are among the
most varied: ranging from coarse wool to silk, linen, from byssus to
leather. The various components of the female dress are: the headgear
(mucadore), the shirt (camisa), the bodice (palas, cossu), the jacket
(coritu, gipone), the skirt (unnedda, sauciu), the apron (farda,
antalena, defentale), in Ogliastra the women of some towns have
particular hooks angancerias de prata on their headgear. Those of the
male dress are: the hat (berritta), the shirt (bentone or camisa), the
jacket (gipone), the trousers (cartzones or bragas), the skirt (ragas or
bragotis), the overcoat (gabbanu, colletu) , the mastruca, a sort of
sleeveless lamb or sheepskin jacket (mastrucati latrones or "brigands
covered in skins" was the name with which Cicero denigrated the
Sardinians who rebelled against Roman power).
Festivals have always marked the life of the island communities and
in modern times, especially with the revaluation of many minor
festivals, they are linked to the desire (and need) to reaffirm one's
unique cultural identity. In Sardinia, going for parties means immersing
yourself in an ancient culture to discover unknown sounds and harmonies,
rhythmic dances with rich traditional costumes, timeless poetic
competitions, unbridled horse races, folkloric parades, on foot or on
horseback , with precious and colorful dresses of the past.
The
festivities often last several days and involve the whole community;
many times, for the occasion, special desserts are prepared and banquets
are organized with traditional dishes in which everyone can participate.
The best known popular festivals are: Sant'Efisio in Cagliari, the
Faradda di li candareri (proclaimed oral and intangible heritage by
UNESCO in 2013) in Sassari, S'Ardia in Sedilo, Sa Sartiglia in Oristano,
the Sardinian Cavalcade in Sassari, the allegorical carnival of Tempio
Pausania and the rites of Holy Week in various parts of the island.
The Sardinian special statute, approved by constitutional law in
1948, is provided for by the Italian constitutional system, whereas the
art. 116, c. 1, establishes particular forms and conditions of autonomy
for five regions, including Sardinia.
For those involved in
Sardinian studies, the special conditions of autonomy are the
recognition of a strongly characterized historical, geographical,
social, ethnic and linguistic situation. In the context of the state
situation, according to the then President of the Italian Republic
Giorgio Napolitano, the special Statute would represent a unicum in
Italy in response to commitments, never fully respected, previously made
towards the Sardinians by the central government.
The path
towards the conditions of relative statutory autonomy, after its
renunciation offered by the island's ruling class through the perfect
merger with the Sardinian mainland states in 1847, was long and troubled
and went through a difficult process of integration within the context
of a unitary form of state, also requiring a heavy blood sacrifice
during the Great War. According to some historians, faced with the
sacrifice of the Sassari infantry on the Carso fronts, Italy would have
contracted a debt towards the island. The Prime Minister Vittorio
Emanuele Orlando, visiting the front in one of the most critical
moments, promised rewards at the end of the conflict; Back in Rome he
said in Parliament: «when I saw the infantrymen of the Sassari Brigade I
had the impulse to kneel. The nation has contracted a debt of gratitude
for the sacrifices and valor of the Sardinians in war, and this debt
will be repaid." Upon returning from the front, the ex-combatants
organized themselves politically, giving life to the Sardinian Action
Party whose main demand was autonomy, recognized with the special
statute - after the fascist period - by republican Italy on 22 December
1947, cent years after the perfect merger of 1847.
Unlike Alto
Adige, whose statute was based on responding to the needs of linguistic
minorities, in Sardinia there is no reference to the geographical and
cultural identity of the island: on the contrary, the "specialty" was
traced back to measures of contrast towards the economic-social
"backwardness" of the region, and the independence demands present up to
now.
The Statute, thus drafted, was finally approved on 26
February 1948.
In addition to the national political parties, several regional parties are present on the island, including autonomist or independence-inspired movements. Among them, the party with the longest Sardinian tradition is the Sardinian Action Party, founded by Emilio Lussu and Camillo Bellieni, who in the person of Mario Melis acted as president of the regional council in the 1980s, a fact repeated with Christian Solinas in 2019. Other local parties, including various independent movements and political groups, have some representatives in the Municipalities and in the Regional Council.
Sardinia has had various administrative and territorial subdivisions
over time. Initially, already in the Roman period, the Sardinian
territory had been divided into ecclesiastical dioceses, subsequently,
in the medieval period, Sardinia was divided into Giudicati and
Curatories, with brief seigniorial and municipal interludes. Then during
the Aragonese and Spanish rule, the island was divided into various
fiefdoms with marquisates, baronies and counties, which left profound
traces as in the case of the historical region of the Baronies. In the
19th century the Region was already organized with prefectures,
provinces, courts, districts and municipalities.
Sardinia is
divided into historical regions which derive directly, both in name and
in extension, from the administrative, judicial and electoral districts
of the judicial kingdoms, the curarie (in Sardinian curadorias or
partes) which probably followed a much older territorial subdivision
carried out by the Nuragic tribes.
In 1848, during the Savoy period, the island was divided into 3
divisions (Cagliari, Nuoro and Sassari), 11 provinces (Alghero,
Cagliari, Cuglieri, Iglesias, Isili, Lanusei, Nuoro, Oristano, Ozieri,
Sassari and Tempio Pausania) , 84 districts and 363 municipalities. In
1859 Sardinia was divided into 2 provinces (Cagliari and Sassari), 9
districts (corresponding to the 11 previous former provinces, minus
Cuglieri and Isili), 91 districts and 371 municipalities: this structure
persisted even after the unification of Italy and persisted intact for
almost seventy years. In January 1927 the province of Nuoro was added to
the provinces of Cagliari and Sassari, while in July 1974 the province
of Oristano was established. This structure continued until the
beginning of the 21st century.
In 2001, in fact, the Regional
Council of Sardinia decided on the establishment of four new provinces,
which became operational in 2005: Carbonia-Iglesias, Medio Campidano,
Ogliastra and Olbia-Tempio, simultaneously redefining the boundaries of
the existing provinces; for the first time in Italy the creation of new
provinces was implemented by regional law and not by the Italian
Parliament, giving rise to difficult coordination with national
legislation, which did not recognize them. However, the new provinces
did not have a long life: following the favorable outcome of the 2012
regional referendums, a process of administrative reorganization was
started, which was concluded in February 2016: with Regional Law 2 of
that year the 4 most recently established provinces were repealed. Also
in 2016, the metropolitan city of Cagliari became operational, composed
of the capital and other sixteen municipalities, for a population of
over 432,000 inhabitants and a surface area of 1,248 km²: consequently
the remaining territory of the province of Cagliari and the entire
territory of Medio Campidano and Carbonia-Iglesias were merged into the
new province of Southern Sardinia, which was added to those of Oristano,
Nuoro and Sassari.
In 2021, a new regional law, n. 7 of 12 April
2021, launched a further administrative reorganization: the absorption
of the province of Southern Sardinia into the metropolitan city of
Cagliari, the transformation of the province of Sassari into a
metropolitan city, and the re-establishment of the four abolished
provinces were envisaged in 2016 following the 2012 referendum (with
Carbonia-Iglesias renamed Sulcis Iglesiente and Olbia-Tempio Gallura
North-East Sardinia), thus returning to a situation similar to that of
the 2005-2016 period and de facto canceling the result of the 2012
referendums However, this regional law was challenged by the Italian
government but on 24 February 2022 the Constitutional Court, with
sentence no. 68, declared the questions of constitutional illegitimacy
raised by the Government inadmissible and therefore the territorial
reorganization is soon to be implemented.
The entire regional territory of Sardinia constitutes the district of the Court of Appeal of Cagliari (with a detached section of Sassari), within which the six Courts are located (Cagliari, Lanusei, Nuoro, Oristano, Sassari and Tempio Pausania), whose territorial circumscription of each is defined as district.
In Sardinia there are various military installations (bases, ranges, airports, depots). In total they occupy over 350 km², corresponding to approximately 1.5% of the island's surface area and approximately 61% of the total Italian military servitudes, making Sardinia the most militarized area in Italy and among the most militarized of Europe. The military areas on land are flanked by areas at sea for a total surface area of 20,000 km² (slightly less than the regional surface area), which are closed to civilian activities during exercise operations. Particularly significant are the Quirra, Capo Teulada and Capo Frasca ranges, where not only Italian troops but also troops from other NATO countries take part in the exercises. A US naval base operated near La Maddalena from 1972 to 2008, where atomic-powered submarines operated.