 A
little under 200km from the Italian mainland, slightly
more than that from the North African coast at Tunisia,
Sardinia is way off most tourist itineraries of Italy:
D.H. Lawrence found it exotically different when he
passed through here in 1921 - "lost", as he put it,
"between Europe and Africa and belonging to nowhere."
Your reasons for coming will probably be a combination
of plain curiosity and a yearning for clean beaches. The
island is relatively free of large cities or heavy
industry, and its beaches are indeed some of the
cleanest in Italy and are on the whole uncrowded, except
perhaps for peak season, when ferries bring in a steady
stream of sun-worshippers from what the islanders call
il continente, or mainland Italy.
But Sardinia offers plenty besides sun and sea - the
more so if you are prepared to penetrate into its
lesser-known interior. Although not known for its
cultural riches, the island does hold some surprises,
not least the remains of the various civilizations that
passed through here. Its central Mediterranean position
ensured that it was never left alone for long, and from
the Carthaginians onwards the island was ravaged by a
succession of invaders, each of them leaving some
imprint behind: Roman and Carthaginian ruins, Genoan
fortresses, a string of elegant Pisan churches, not to
mention some impressive Gothic and Spanish Baroque
architecture.
Perhaps most striking of all, however, are the remnants
of Sardinia's only significant native culture, known as
the nuraghic civilization after the 7000-odd nuraghi
that litter the landscape. These mysterious, stone-built
constructions, unique to Sardinia, are often in splendid
isolation, which means they're fairly difficult to get
to without your own transport, but make the effort to
see at least one during your stay - or failing that,
drop in on the museums of Cagliari or Sassari to view
the lovely statuettes and domestic objects left by this
culture.
On the whole, Sardinia's smaller centres are the most
attractive, but the capital, Cagliari - for many the
arrival point - shouldn't be written off. With good
accommodation and restaurants, it makes a useful base
for exploring the southern third of the island. The
other main ferry port is Olbia in the north, little more
than a transit town but well geared for accommodation
and conveniently close to the jagged northern coast. The
Costa Smeralda , a few kilometres distant, is Sardinia's
best-known resort area and lives up to its reputation
for opulence. The prices may preclude anything more than
a brief visit, although there are campsites for those
outside the ranks of the super-rich.
Both Olbia and Cagliari have airports, as does
Sardinia's main package destination of Alghero - a
fishing port in the northwest of the island that has
been known to British holiday-makers for years, yet
retains a friendly, unspoiled air. But Alghero's main
attraction is its Spanish ambience, a legacy of long
years in which the town was a Catalan colony, giving it
a wholly different feel from the rest of the island.
Inland, Nuoro has impressive literary credentials and a
good ethnographical museum. As the biggest town in
Sardinia's interior, it also makes a useful stopover for
visiting some of the remoter mountain areas, in
particular the Gennargentu range, covering the heart of
the island. This is where you can find what remains of
the island's traditional culture, best embodied in the
numerous village festivals.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT
www.italiamia.com
Back to Regions |
|
