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A Sea of Holidays

Sardinia looks like a miniature continent. Since the Phoenicians, it has been considered the ‘heart of the Mediterranean Sea’. It is also the second largest island – after Sicily – of our ‘mare nostrum‘. Sardinia’s insularity has always influenced its history, culture, language and the features of the population (1.066.000 inhabitants). The main cities are Cagliari and Sassari.

The territory consists of mountains and rocky areas for the most part. As a matter of fact, the most ancient finds are made of stone, like the Nuraghe, monuments which are said to have had astronomic-religious purposes (the Nuragic civilization dates back to 7000 BC). Then (2000 BC) other monuments were built in the area, constructions like the Fairy Houses, the Giant’s Tombs, the Dolmins and the Menhir (large upright ‘standing stones’).

Throughout the millenniums the history of Sardinia has been marked by pride and consistency, driven by the necessity of preserving its own independence, sparing the land from any kind of invasion. Sardinians have fought against the Carthaginian and Roman control, the Arabs (in the Middle Ages), the Piedmontese and the Savoy (in the 1800). And yet today in Sardinia – like in Corsica – there is a movement for the autonomy of the island.

The mixture of ethnic groups and civilizations has produced a rather precious archaeological collection made of Phoenician, Carthaginian and Roman finds: cities, amphitheatres, bridges, aqueducts and fortifications, which have all remained well-preserved.

An important legal document dates back to the 1300: it is the so-called Carta dei Logi, an act that regulates many aspects of the social and mercantile life with a set of detailed civil and criminal laws.

But now Sardinia is especially appreciated for its incomparable natural charm. Famous Italian song writer Fabrizio De André, who lived on the island for a long time with his family, stated that such an oasis of beauty ‘is the best way God could have chosen to bless men’. The change of seasons produces some unique colourful sceneries. Tourism is highly developed, and all the sports related to water (swimming, canoeing, sailing, fishing and windsurfing) are obviously very popular.