Pages of Sardinia

Pages of Sardinia

A journey through towns and villages, a stage for stories, evocative sensations, daily life and memories of the past, narrated by some of the Island’s great writers (ph. Libro Cucito, piece of art by Maria Lai)

Island of a thousand faces

In their stories, many make you perceive it as if it goes beyond time and space. Sardinia has given, and continues to give, ideas and settings for engaging events. Myths, legends and traditions cross paths with history and current events. Sometimes in well-defined places, often in imaginary villages, even if easily traceable to real locations. Sergio Atzeni, Giuseppe Dessì, Michela Murgia, Salvatore Satta, Grazia Deledda and Enrico Costa act as guides on this itinerary, with their words immortalised in the Sardinian literary classics.

Cagliari

Urban scenarios, districts filled with contradictions, vitality and original characters. Sergio Atzeni observes the capital with the disenchanted eyes of two teenage girls and the restless eyes of a young adult. In the pages of ‘Bellas Mariposas’ (Beautiful Butterflies) and ‘The Fifth Step is a Farewell’, the streets of the capital are stages on which the actors act, crossing the boundary between reality and fantasy.

Cagliari

The capital of Sardinia is steeped in Mediterranean atmosphere and offers everything you could want from a vacation: history and art, seashores and...

Villacidro

An epic by means of contrasts: between old and new, island and ‘continent’, public demands and private dramas. An imaginary community - which actually lies at the foot of Mount Linas and boasts some of the most beautiful natural attractions on the Island -, is the setting of Giuseppe Dessì’s ‘The Forests of Norbio’, an emotional story of growth and awareness. While reading it and walking around the town, some views or buildings might look familiar to you...

Villacidro

An important town in the Medio Campidano province, 45 kilometres from Cagliari, in southwestern Sardinia, famous for its natural beauty and high...

Cabras

A short novel by Michela Murgia, ‘L’Incontro’ (The Encounter), in which children are the protagonists, is based in a ‘holiday’ village, where time seems to stand still and the world never changes, except when an external element arrives to break the armour that seemed indestructible. In Crabas, meaning Cabras - where Michela Murgia was born, a stone’s throw from splendid beaches and famous archaeological sites - balances that have been broken can be mended, albeit with difficulty - sometimes thanks to the innocence of the little ones.

Cabras

On the central-western coast of Sardinia you will find an area that has been inhabited for thousands of years, the heart of the splendid Sinis...

Nuoro

The capital of Barbagia has always been the ‘sum’ of multiple souls added together, which its picturesque districts possess, each with its own identity. ‘Il Giorno del Giudizio’ (Judgment Day) by Salvatore Satta is an extraordinary cross-section of city life in Nuoro between the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, where streets and places can still be identified today. After reading it, you will imagine its characters walking up and down the main street or looking towards Mount Ortobene.

Nuoro

The Barbagia region’s most populous town is steeped in tradition and culture, home to museums and art set in charming and beautifully preserved...

Galtellì

Only a few echoes of the world narrated by Grazia Deledda in ‘Reeds in the Wind’ still remain... perhaps the ghosts that, according to legend, are said to inhabit the castle of Pontes. You will, however, be able to perceive the atmosphere along the silent country paths in the vicinity, in the churches, during the heartfelt religious festivals and by delving into the traditions of a village that maintains a strong link between the past and the future.

Galtellì

A medieval village in Baronìa, in the central part of eastern Sardinia, built of stone, authentic, fascinating and extraordinarily religious

Aggius

Several protagonists of ‘crime news’ in the 19th and early 20th centuries have become ‘legendary’ figures. Aggius has even dedicated a museum to banditry. In ‘Il Muto di Gallura’ (The Mute Man of Gallura), Enrico Costa tells the story of a character who really existed, outlining thoughts, customs and codes crystallised in the society of the time. In the background, there are granites, Mediterranean scrub, stazzi (rural settlements) and the silence of the Gallura valleys.

Aggius

Hidden away in the depths of the Gallura area is a small picturesque village that by preserving and enhancing their ancestral traditions has become...