ABOUT SARDINIA
For us Sardinia is romantic - a combination of sun, turquoise sea, a nice climate, authentic people and beautiful nature - only 2 hours flight away from Western or Central Europe but also accessible by car and ferry if needed. It is safe, unspoilt and rural, yet offering all the conveniences of the European life standard.
It is diverse and offers many more things to do beyond the beautiful beaches such as festivals, the delicious food and wine, the wildlife and the archaeological sites, and opportunities for climbing, hiking, biking, diving, visiting villages and cities.
Sardinia is a very large island but scarcely populated
Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean with only 1.6 millions in a land that is almost as big as Sicily. Sardinia hardly ever gets crowded except for in the summer, but off season you may benefit from driving around without seeing other people- a true bliss!.
Sardinia has its own language
Although many think of it as a simple dialect, Sardinian is officially recognised as a language and is protected as a minority one. Some people speak Catalan or Tabarkine. Alghero is an example where you can still hear Catalan but with Italian or English in bigger cities or Google translate you will find your way around. The capital city is Cagliari in the south. Our house is located in the province Sassari covering the north of the island.
The name of Sardinia and sardines
The Ancient Greeks called it Ichnusa which meant footprint, as the island resembled a foot. Subsequently, the island was called “Sandalia” and the name eventually transposed to Sardinia. Nowadays, Ichnusa remains the name of Sardinia’s (and Italy’s) favorite beer. The name sardines actually comes from Sardinia because in the past sardines were found in abundance on the seas of Sardinia.
Sardinia has the best beaches
Sardinia is called “The Caribbean of the Mediterranean Sea” not by chance. It is an island with one of the world’s most beautiful beaches, fine sand and crystal clean sea. This is a colour that you don’t find anywhere else in Europe. Not only is it incredibly clean, but its temperature is also very pleasant over a long period of the year and very refreshing in the high temperatures of the summer months.
There is a blue zone in Sardinia
Sardinia has a very high life expectancy. Sardinia is home to one of the world’s fine Blue Zones – areas where inhabitants often live to be 100 years old and beyond. Click here to watch video about Sardinia Blue Zone.
Delicious food and excellent wine
Sardinia grows and produces excellent wine, unique cheeses, local salami and sausages and other "antipasta" and offers a variety of fresh fish and sea products. You can buy everything in local shops, visit “agroturismo” for a three- hour dinner. There is a wine tasting factory close to our house and l Ortolano stand 5 mins away that sells great local wine for 3 euros/1,5 l.
Some traditional specialities to consider: Seafood Fregola with saffron, Zuppa gallurese, Suckling pig or “porcheddu”, Spaghetti with sea urchin, Bottarga, Culurgiones, Octopus salad, Lamb with artichokes.
There’s always some festival happening
The word for village party or festival in Sardinia is “sagra” there is something planned pretty much throughout the year including local Halloween or Carnaval in Feb. Close to Valledoria and Castelsardo and nearby villages there are many festivities during the season weekly.
Diversity of landscape, climate, and wildlife
There is an incredible variety of landscapes. Sandy beaches and small rocky coves, vast planes and mountains, gorges, caves, forests and sand dunes.
Sardinia has its specific climate conditions, classified as a micro-continent, with local fauna and flora that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.
Wild boar and its little piglets often found in Costa Paraiso or moufflons, turtles, special small horses, albino donkeys in Assinara park. We even spotted a dolphin few times at our beach.
Sardinia has 3 national parks, one of the few primary forests left in Europe and is known for huge secular olive trees – one of them in Gallura is is said to be 4000 years old!
It’s an ancient land of shepherds ruled by several civilizations
Sardinia has a special geology: it is more ancient than the “mainland” Italy and therefore has a rather stable ground not affected by earthquakes like the rest of the Italian Peninsula. Some scholars think that it could be the lost continent of Atlantis.
The local populations was Nuragic (warrior shepards) influenced by the Phoenician, the Punic and Romans, and later by the Spanish (example of nearby Castersardo). There are more sheep than people in Sardinia -1.6 million people for almost 2.9 million sheep and several foods based on goat and sheep (pecorino cheese).
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Mysterious Nuraghs
These 7000 fascinating circular megalithic structures can only be found in Sardinia built by the civilisation of Nuraghs in 238 ago. These constructions were built only from huge stones, with no binder, yet they have been intact for thousands of years (3.500 years old). So far, it has not been possible to confirm with certainty what these works have served for thousands of years. It remains a secret on how they were built and their purpose.
Driving
Our experience with driving is generally a positive one and we feel safe. Although, you should not rely on local drivers to be very disciplined with using indicators or respecting any limits so stay focused and in your lane! The are no highways, no toll. The main roads are generally good, the minor roads tend to be narrow and bendy, but as a consequence offer some spectacular scenery.
Movies filmed in Sardinia
For example, James Bond movie “The Spy Who Loved Me” was filmed in Sardinia, and more specifically in the glamorous Costa Smeralda.
The Little Mermaid was filmed in several beaches in the area of Golfo Aranci, as well as Santa Teresa di Gallura and Castelsardo.