Tour of Sardinia

At the age of 19 I made a long tour of the region in the company of a friend of Sardinian origin, riding his motorbike. He was a great motorbike enthusiast and for some time we had been planning a trip together; since he had relatives in Sardinia, we opted for this destination. We set off in the depths of winter and boarded in Livorno, ferrying all night to Cagliari. In the capital we stayed at an aunt of his for a few days, which allowed us to visit the city and the hill on which the oldest part stands, where among other things some of his cousins owned a bar and a fruit-and-vegetable shop. Every evening we were invited to dinner by some relative of his, and for me it was a pleasure to discover the peculiar features of Sardinian cuisine, such as carta musica, an unleavened bread so thin that it crackles in your mouth, and numerous pork specialities.

Sometimes we went into people's homes and saw the pig cooking in a fireplace while its fat dripped onto bread placed on a grill. In those days we also visited the Poetto beach and the archaeological excavations of Pula. Then we set off for Barbagia, where his grandmother and other cousins awaited us in the village of Seulo. In Sardinia, between one place and another you can travel several kilometres without meeting anything but grazing meadows, and the natural environment is very wild. At Seulo we settled into his grandmother's house, an old Barbagian house with large rooms bounded by thick stone walls; in the main room a large fireplace was almost always lit. For some days we lived the village life, in the evening dining with his many relatives or his father's friends, in the daytime now at the barber's, now in the wild surroundings.

It was a very beautiful, unspoilt environment, pleasant to ride through on a motorbike. Sometimes it rained, so we were forced to stay indoors all day; in that case I tried to learn a few words of the Sardinian language with the help of a big dictionary the grandmother had. One day we also moved to the eastern coast, passing through the mountains, Lanusei, Tortolì and Arbatax; there too we were guests of his father's friends. As you approach the sea the island becomes more modern but less exquisitely original. In the evening we returned to Seulo, where we stayed a few days before going back to Cagliari for the weekend. On Saturday evening we were guests of his cousin in a pizzeria in Dolianova, while on Sunday we went to the Sant'Elia stadium to see the Serie B match between Cagliari and Triestina.

On Monday morning we set off again for Barbagia and stopped for lunch at Isili as guests of a family my mother knew; after eating we made a detour to see the nuragic village of Barumini, and in the evening we were again at the grandmother's house in Seulo. We spent the whole week in the village and its surroundings. The following weekend some cousins and uncles of my friend, whom I had already met in Cagliari, also came to the village to take part, along with others, in a boar hunt. We set off on Saturday evening in their cars for the hunting place, far from the village, where we slept in an isolated farmhouse. To warm us they had lit a fire inside the dwelling, and soon the room filled with so much smoke that my eyes watered. In any case we managed to fall asleep for a few hours. At dawn we were woken; the uncles were already preparing coffee outdoors with a pot hanging over a fire.

After breakfast the hunt began; everyone had their role, and we young ones were given rudimentary instruments that made a noise meant to attract the boar. We walked a lot, guided by a boy clearly already experienced, while we heard the hunters' shots echoing among the mountains. At lunchtime the animal had been hunted and we returned to the farmhouse for a meal of cured meats. I am not a hunter, but that day I had a pleasant experience. Shortly afterwards our long stay at Seulo ended, but Sardinia still had much to offer us. We left the village early in the morning and, crossing the deepest Barbagia, we touched the towns of Aritzo, Fonni, Orgosolo and Oliena. Here the ancient traditions are still very much alive; the women dress in black and wear a scarf on their heads. From Oliena we turned off for Dorgali and Cala Gonone, facing the sea.

We slept near Orosei and then continued along the coast to Siniscola and Olbia, on the road from which you clearly see the outline of the island of Tavolara. We then reached the famous Porto Cervo, a mooring place for many VIPs with their luxurious boats but which, seen in winter, looked like a place in hibernation; then, passing through Arzachena, we arrived at Palau. Here we observed the jagged, rocky coast that has given rise to strange formations such as the so-called "Bear", and then found accommodation. The following morning, after a brief view of the sea that separates Sardinia from the Maddalena archipelago, we continued to the seaside resort of Porto Pozzo, whose little beach we liked so much that it deserved a stop. We continued to Santa Teresa di Gallura and Aggius, where we were hosted by relatives of my friend, who took us in his car as far as nearby Tempio Pausania.

The following day we moved to Golfo Aranci, where we boarded the State Railways ferry bound for Civitavecchia. From here, after a mechanic had fixed a problem with the motorbike, we headed back home along the state road. My friend's motorbike had behaved very well and, despite it being winter, we did not feel very cold. We resorted to the mechanic a couple of times, on the road to Lanusei and at Civitavecchia, but they were trifles.