The Beautiful Island of Sardinia

Sardinia is a splendid island in the center of the Mediterranean, and a preferred tourist destination. Fantastic landscapes frame this enchanting place characterized by a sea of countless shades of blue, gilded beaches, and the beautiful plants of the Mediterranean. It is situated near the Italian Peninsula and is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.

The island is surely one of the best destinations that you can find in the tourist sector, thanks to a mild climate all year round, the hospitality of the people, and the prelibatezzes of the Sardinian cuisine will make your stay special. The greatest cities and countries of the island can be toured by railway or bus (ARST).

Sardinia is well connected thanks to the three international airports on the island: Elmas-Cagliari, Fertilia-Alghero, and Olbia. Each welcoming numerous tourists throughout the year as they come to visit this beautiful place on earth. From here residents and tourists alike can connect with the greatest European capitals including Dublin, Edinburgh, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Berlin and many others.

It is difficult to describe what it means to come to Sardinia for anyone who is not originally from these parts. Difficult because every feeling you have right from the landing is unique and amazing. The smells and aromas are unforgettable, unique, and change with each season. But they are always strong and determined, reflecting a wild and not yet tamed island. Myrtle, laurel and many other plants, mix with the aroma of the sea giving a unique experience to the senses and emotions. Sunrises and sunsets accompanied by successive natural perfumes make the cycle of the day almost tangible.

A lot of reasons make Sardinia unforgettable. So rich and diverse, despite its typical Mediterranean nature, make it ideal for the tourism adventurer or traveler, who is not satisfied with just the beautiful beaches and crystal clear sea, but goes in search of other treasures.

Millennial erosion has shaped the profile of Sardinia’s high mountains making the environment suitable for unusual experiences such as cycling, trekking, caving, and horseback-riding.

The Sardinian territory has the greatest extension of forests between the Italian regions, which are inhabited by a rich and often rare wildlife. Barbagia the Gennargentu Supramonte, and the nature tour of the Giara of Gesturi, whose woods and underbrush are home to wild horses, can be discovered on foot or horseback, by following mule tracks and paths of pastors, making the experience magical. Particularly exciting is to take a step back in time and climb the wooden seats of the Green Train, whose path reveals a world where nature has not yet given way to the most disruptive technology.

The almost two thousand kilometers of coast are a paradise for sailors, divers, and surfers. The sea and the beaches of Sardinia characterize the island to meet the criterion of multiple varieties of people. But one should always respect an environment that is jealously protected, as in the Marine Park of La Maddalena, where an entire beach has become inaccessible to preserve the precious nature of “pink beach”.

And then you pass with ease from the original wild environment to the Asinara centers modadioli of Porto Cervo and Porto Rotondo, the sand dunes of Piscinas, the red rocks of Arbatax, the caves of the Bue Marino Gulf of Orosei to the bustling marina Villasimius.

Sardinian cuisine is deeply inspired by natural products from the land and sea, uniting the dishes of the traditional pastoral and farming to those of marine origin, whose flavor is enhanced by the aromas and scents of the Mediterranean spices of the island.

Still moving according to the rhythms of the seasons and inspired by a concept of authenticity and sobriety, the Sardinian gastronomy can create a triumph of unique flavors. A variety of dishes is the daughter of customs so different that it can never speak of a typical menu.

The land and the sea find their greatest expression in main dishes. Among the best known meat dishes are certainly the suckling pig, suckling pig cooked on a spit or “carraxiu” cooked in a hole in the ground using the aromatic wood of the Mediterranean. But just as tasty are the rabbits on succhittu, seasoned with a mixture of animal livers, wine, capers and tomatoes, wild boar with Cannonau, the Grive with thrushes and quails cooked in salt and wrapped in myrtle leaves. Sardinia offers countless variations of fish. Lobster is prepared with citrus in Alghero, Bosa with tomatoes, roasted Sant’Antioco with Vernaccia in Santa Teresa di Gallura.

In Cagliari, however, along the beach Poetto, you can taste the eggs of sea urchins spread on toasted bread, and the “burrida” dogfish with walnuts and vinegar. Oristano the traditional recipe is “merchandise”, mullet marinated in herbs and salt. Common throughout the southwest coast of the island is the roe, the caviar of our nation, from the eggs of mullet or tuna, salted and dried.

Sardinia also excels in the production of wine (cannonau, Vermentino), cheese (Pecorino Romano, Fiore Sardo) and extra virgin olive oil which has allowed it to spread its products beyond the island. The Sardinian cuisine is also intimately linked to grain (imported by the Romans who ruled the island as the granary of Rome) and the manufacture of flour and is expressed in bread, pasta and desserts.

Our current dry pasta originated from its pulp and air-dried sardines in the sun. The best examples are the “fregula” in Cagliari we eat along with clams and a paste of flour worked into small balls; “culurgiones” from the various stuffed ravioli (ricotta cheese, saffron, mint, meat, shrimp); “malloreddus” typical Sardinian dumplings, with sauce seasoned with pork. But it is the making of traditional Sardinian bread that better protects and enhances the quality of its flour and forms its specificity in each zone of expression in the techniques Sanluri so enjoying the “civraxiu” Ozieri to the “plateau” in the Ogliastra “pistoccu”. But over all it is worth mentioning the bread carasau, which occurs in thin layers of biscuit dough and this is also called “paper music”. Typical of Barbagia is the meal of transhumance along with its variant known as the “bread frattau”, a sort of cake carasau bread baked with tomato sauce, pecorino cheese and poached eggs.

Finally the desserts: The “sebadas” are round ravioli filled with cheese, fried and covered with honey. The Ozieri eat the “breath”, while Tonara nougat is a tradition in the homes of Sardinia. There is also the “gueffus” and “candelau” in Campidanese, the “piricchittus” and “pabassinas” in Barbagia, and macaroons and cheese throughout the island.

article and photos by World Barrios Contributor: Amelia Pibi