Vincenzo Sulis’ picaresque journey
Alghero - Sulis Tower, La Maddalena - Guardia Vecchia
Vincenzo Sulis, a Notary from Cagliari who lived between the 18th and 19th centuries, wrote a memoir describing his imprisonment in the Sperone tower in Alghero and in the San Vittorio Fort at La Maddalena.
Journey length: 157 km
Road travel time: 2 h 34 min
Read the book
Volume di Antonio Baccaredda, “Vincenzo Sulis. Bozzetto storico” [file. PDF]
Sassari’s ornate wooden altars
Sassari Church of the Rosario, Cathedral of San Nicola, Church of Sant'Antonio Abate, San Pietro di Silki
Baroque art in Sassari is mainly embodied in the lavishly carved monumental wooden altars gracing churches and chapels. Other Baroque elements are found in architectural decorations, such as on the exquisitely decorated facade of the Cathedral of San Nicola. In addition to Sassari’s cathedral, Baroque elements are found in the churches of the Rosario, Sant'Antonio Abate and San Pietro di Silki.
Journey length: 3 km
Road travel time: 9 min
Gramsci’s Sardinia: the places of his youth
It’s an itinerary that pays homage to one of the of the 20thcentury’s protagonists of Sardinian and Italian literary history, a scholar and a big political personality. It makes stops in the villages he frequented during his childhood and adolescence. From Ales to Ghilarza, passing through Santu Lussurgiu, you’ll be visiting places surrounded by breathtaking scenery and rich in historical and cultural references.
Itinerary: 102 kilometres
Road journey time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
In the footsteps of Grazia Deledda in Nuoro
A pleasant leisurely stroll through Nuoro to the settings of Grazia Deledda’s novels, through the historic districts of Santu Pedru and Seuna, stopping in at the little church of Solitudine at the feet of Mt. Ortobene to pay homage at the author’s grave. From her house, described in Cosima and now a museum, to the charming Seuna district, an area that is home to the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora delle Grazie, the XVIII church of the Madonna delle Grazie and the monastery of the Order of the Friars Minor, a place the author wrote about.
Nuoro: Santu Pedru Quarter, Monte Ortobene, Séuna Quarter
Journey length: 2.5 km
Driving time: 29 min
Memories of ancient merchants
From the 9th century BC, Sardinia was also involved in the commercial expansion of the peoples commonly referred to, in the western Mediterranean, as Phoenicians. Born as trading emporiums, the settlements that arose on the coasts of the Island - or not far from them - evolved into thriving towns that, starting in the 6th century BC, fell under Carthaginian rule and then under that of Rome. Some, which developed into modern residential areas, still exist today. Between the Phoenicians and the Nuragic communities - whose civilisation was coming to an end - there were apparently no clashes: the towns in the itinerary were examples of multiculturalism, mutual exchange, knowledge and peaceful coexistence.
The journey going almost three thousand years back in time starts on the central-western coast, alternating between the sea and the inland area in Sulcis and ends on the marvellous coasts of Chia and Nora.
Itinerary: 250 kilometres
Road travel time: four hours
Abandoned mines and ghost towns
From the Malfidano mine of Buggerru to the ones at Masua and Nebida, in the Iglesias district. A long hike along the old miner trails of the Sulcis-Iglesiente in the company of former miners who today work as tourist guides and will render your day a fascinating adventure of intense emotions.
Driving time: 1 h
Route: 56 km
Lakes and nuraghes
The still pristine landscape surrounding the lakes of Flumendosa, Mulargia and San Sabastiano is home to the remains of ancient civilizations, both pre-Nuragic and Nuragic. A journey into the heart of Sardinia, an area of gorgeous scenery to be enjoyed on a Mississippi-style river boat or in one of the old carriages of the green Trenino Verde train, an experience that is as memorable as it is exciting and relaxing.
Route: 80 Km
Driving time: 2 h
Sassari, the capital of northern Sardinia
Historic centre, Porcellana Quarter, Monte Rosello
Journey length: 5 km
Road travel time: 12 min
Domus de Janas, dwellings for eternity
A circular itinerary, with departure and arrival in the Meilogu region and ‘crossing the border’ into the Logudoro Porto Torres area, allowing you to admire the extraordinary legacies left by the late Neolithic peoples. True ‘cities of the dead’, decorated to welcome and, somehow, ‘facilitate’ the passage of the deceased into the afterlife. Inside them, symbols and architectural elements seem to lead back to the desire to create domestic environments and invoke the protection of the gods.
Itinerary: 140 km
Road journey time: 2 hours and 45 minutes for the various journeys
Following in the footsteps of D.H. Lawrence
Cagliari, Mandas
In January 1921, the novelist D.H. Lawrence, together with his wife, made a journey through the island, taking the Cagliari-Sorgono railway (today a tourist line, the Little Green Train) and scheduled coach services. He described his journey through Sardinia in a book that is also a fascinating ethnographic document. Today, the same journey can be repeated using the same means of transport (the train journey remains a fascinating experience) or by car.
Journey length: 64 km
Road travel time: 1h 9’
Read the book
D. H. Lawrence, Sea and Sardinia
Visit the website