Speaker 1: Which Italian island is getting its moment in the sun
Speaker 1: right now. Hint, it starts with s and has a
Speaker 1: unique culture that goes back many thousands of years to
Speaker 1: the Bronze Age. Today, let's take a trip to beautiful
Speaker 1: Sardinia and explore its coast, countryside, mountains and unique culture.
Speaker 2: Sawatuti and Benvenuti Tuan told Italy the Travel podcast to
Speaker 2: where you go to the towns and villages, mountains and lakes,
Speaker 2: hills and coastlines of Bela, Italia. Each week, your host
Speaker 2: Katie Clark takes you on a journey in a search
Speaker 2: of magical landscapes, history, culture, wine, gelato, and of course
Speaker 2: a whole lot of pasta. If you're dreaming of Italy
Speaker 2: and planning future adventures there, you've come to the right place.
Speaker 1: Bonjo no friends, are you ready for a little island adventure?
Speaker 1: Sardinia is fast becoming one of Italy's go to destinations
Speaker 1: for English speaking travelers thanks to its stunning beaches and
Speaker 1: countryside coastal towns, ancient history, and slower pace of life.
Speaker 1: Of course, Europeans have been going there for centuries, mainly
Speaker 1: to the beach resorts. It has to be said but
Speaker 1: the island has some of the ritziest resorts in Europe.
Speaker 1: But it's also known for ancient traditions dating back to
Speaker 1: the Bronze Age, a history dominated by Spanish occupation, and
Speaker 1: a proud local identity and cultural traditions. This is absolutely
Speaker 1: fertile ground for us here at Untold Italy, and we
Speaker 1: recently launched our first small group tour of the island,
Speaker 1: departing in September twenty twenty seven. On this episode, I'm
Speaker 1: joined by my friend and local Sardinian Angela Carrias, who
Speaker 1: helped us design the tour so it includes all those
Speaker 1: Untold Italy touches, beautiful family run accommodation and the very
Speaker 1: best local seasonal dishes and wine, and even a visit
Speaker 1: to a local festival so you truly feel part of Sardinia.
Speaker 1: As always, you'll find the details on Untold Italy tours
Speaker 1: dot com and in the episode show notes andiamo, let's
Speaker 1: go to Sardinia. Then for new to Angela, Welcome to
Speaker 1: the Untold Italy podcast.
Speaker 3: Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1: Oh, you are so welcome. I'm so happy to have
Speaker 1: you here on the podcast. Angela. After bumping into you
Speaker 1: a few times in Italy over the last few weeks.
Speaker 1: That was a lot of fun, wasn't it.
Speaker 3: Yes, very much, and we got to.
Speaker 1: Know each other a bit over a few coffees, some
Speaker 1: snacks and a wander through the Vatican museums. But I
Speaker 1: was hoping you could introduce yourself to our listeners and
Speaker 1: tell them where you are from and what you do
Speaker 1: before we get chatting about beautiful Sardinia.
Speaker 4: I live in Rome, but I actually am from Sardinia.
Speaker 4: I was born in in Karlia, in the capital of Sardinia,
Speaker 4: which is in the south, but I grew up in
Speaker 4: the center of the island in Sardinia, in a very
Speaker 4: small village called Gillarza, which I always recommend also to visit.
Speaker 4: I have lived in Sardinia until I was nineteen because
Speaker 4: nineteen eene years old, I moved to Rome to study
Speaker 4: in university and I graduated in Rome in journalist and
Speaker 4: after that I took off and I traveled around the world.
Speaker 3: I traveled around.
Speaker 4: South America, Asia, Europe for about ten years, and then
Speaker 4: when I moved back to Italy, I settled in Rome
Speaker 4: and now I live in Rome. I am based in Rome,
Speaker 4: but I traveled to Sardinia every year. This year, I
Speaker 4: actually I already booked the tickets because I'm going in
Speaker 4: June and that's when the high season starts, because it's
Speaker 4: the Italian summer and that's when the high season starts.
Speaker 4: And I I'm planning to spend a couple of months
Speaker 4: in in Sardinia this year, and she lucky. Yeah, I
Speaker 4: think so, even though the beaches will be like super
Speaker 4: super crowded, so I think I need to do some
Speaker 4: different planning.
Speaker 3: I will certainly I will.
Speaker 4: Go to the beach also because it will be very hot,
Speaker 4: but I will be also some planning because every time
Speaker 4: I go to Sardinia, even though I am from Sardinia,
Speaker 4: I like to explore areas I still don't know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, Angela, you are the absolute explorer, having been
Speaker 1: all around the world, and I mean, if you ever
Speaker 1: get chances, sit down with Angela and explore. She's got
Speaker 1: several websites, actually, but she's got one blog. She has
Speaker 1: been to the far flong places of the earth and
Speaker 1: it's got many, many titles to tell. So it's a
Speaker 1: delight to actually have you share all about your home
Speaker 1: in Sardinia. And I can't wait to hear more about it.
Speaker 1: But for those of us that, oh no, I obviously
Speaker 1: know quite a little bit about Sardinia, although I haven't
Speaker 1: been there, I have to confess, but some people may
Speaker 1: not know where it is. So can you let everyone
Speaker 1: know where it is and maybe some geography about Sardinia?
Speaker 3: Okay, Sardinia is an island.
Speaker 4: It's not connected to the mainland Italy by any bridge,
Speaker 4: so the only way to reach Sardina is by faerry
Speaker 4: or by plane. It's located off the Rome coast. It's
Speaker 4: on the western side of Rome and the north of Sicily.
Speaker 4: It's the second biggest island in Italy, and so you're
Speaker 4: reached by plane or by fairey and the plane from
Speaker 4: many European cities and many Italian cities. There are also
Speaker 4: loc cost airlines landing in Sardina, like European localst airlines
Speaker 4: like Wheit Air, easy Jet, Ryanair or by faerry. You
Speaker 4: can reach Sardina by ferry from Rome, Chibitavecia or from
Speaker 4: other ports like Genoa, Palermo, or also from other European
Speaker 4: ports like Barcelona Nice I think also Marseille in France.
Speaker 1: Would you recommend going on the ferry or do you
Speaker 1: think it's better to fly.
Speaker 4: Well, we always go by ferry from Rome because we
Speaker 4: go by car. We have a small child, a four
Speaker 4: year old, so we always go by ferry. Before my son,
Speaker 4: I used to go by plane because by plane from
Speaker 4: Roam it's a forty five minutes by fairy. If we
Speaker 4: go from Chivitaveekia to Caliery, it's thirteen hours. In the
Speaker 4: callier in the south thirteen hours.
Speaker 3: Very Yeah.
Speaker 4: If we go from Chivitaveeka to Albia it's eight hours.
Speaker 3: We usually go.
Speaker 4: Now we go to Portatores, which is also in North Sardinia,
Speaker 4: and it's eight hours. Also eight nine.
Speaker 1: Hours, so it's a good trip.
Speaker 4: Many people, especially from Europe, they come with the camper van,
Speaker 4: so they have to go by ferry.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think obviously your choices are going to be determined
Speaker 1: by how much time you have where you want to
Speaker 1: go and see, because it is, as you mentioned, it's
Speaker 1: a big island, and I think people maybe think that
Speaker 1: some of these islands are quite small, maybe like Capri
Speaker 1: or you know, you know, some of the other Mediterranean islands,
Speaker 1: but it's actually really big and you need quite a
Speaker 1: bit of time to explore it.
Speaker 3: Properly right, yes, exactly.
Speaker 4: If your only staying like a week, I suggest that
Speaker 4: you pick an area like, for example, you visit northern
Speaker 4: Sardinia and you explore and you visit the places in
Speaker 4: many places to visit in northern Sardinia. If you want
Speaker 4: to stay like two weeks or a month, then you
Speaker 4: have more time and then you can travel across the island. Yes,
Speaker 4: you can visit more places, but in the north and
Speaker 4: the south east west. Because it's very interesting. I think
Speaker 4: you should spend some time in where you decide to visit,
Speaker 4: not like stay there, you go one hour and then
Speaker 4: you take off. No, take your time to visit the
Speaker 4: place because it's very interesting. It also depends in not
Speaker 4: just how long you stay, but for example, you need
Speaker 4: to concede the flight. Obviously the flight is shorter, but
Speaker 4: the ferry often it's in the night. You can spend
Speaker 4: full night. So in the night, what do you do
Speaker 4: You need to sleep anyway, So just take the ferry,
Speaker 4: you sleep, you save on the hotel, and then the
Speaker 4: morning you wake up and you are in Sardinia.
Speaker 1: Well that sounds pretty magical. Yeah, angel you, I would
Speaker 1: say that you would definitely recommend a slow travel approach,
Speaker 1: Would I be right.
Speaker 4: To be honest, Yes, In Sardinia, I recommend the slow
Speaker 4: traveling because this is the best way to actually enjoy
Speaker 4: the island.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And what are some of the things that you
Speaker 1: love about Sardinia? Why should people go?
Speaker 4: Well, if I have to give you some reasons to
Speaker 4: be the Sardina, and there are many reasons.
Speaker 3: First of all, the landscape. The landscape in Sardina.
Speaker 4: Sardina is famous for its costs, the coastline, obviously, because
Speaker 4: the beaches in Sardinia are beautiful, But Sardinia has an
Speaker 4: extremely diverse landscape and we have the mountains, we have,
Speaker 4: the desert, we have. The beaches are different from each other.
Speaker 4: If you go to the east coast, it's completely different
Speaker 4: from the west coast.
Speaker 3: Some enjoy the landscape.
Speaker 4: If you come in the summer, I am sure you
Speaker 4: are going to go to the coast because it's very hot.
Speaker 4: But if you come, like let's say, in spring, I
Speaker 4: completely suggest to visit the inland, for example, the mountains,
Speaker 4: the small towns. Each town they have a different landscape
Speaker 4: and they are different, different customs, different traditions. That's also
Speaker 4: another reason why I suggest visiting Sardinia because of all
Speaker 4: the traditions each town. It's on language, it's on dialect,
Speaker 4: it's on traditional costumes, it's on food.
Speaker 3: Food.
Speaker 4: It is another big, huge reason to visit Sardinia. We
Speaker 4: have different many many, many different types of bread, many
Speaker 4: different types of pasta. We have obviously different dishes. Where
Speaker 4: I come from, where I usually go close to my
Speaker 4: to the beach, I usually go. There is Cabras, a
Speaker 4: town there. It's very famous for it the seafood. If
Speaker 4: you want to eat seafood in Sardinia, I totally suggest
Speaker 4: Cabras because we have the mulet raw. I don't know
Speaker 4: if you heard. It's called botarga, and it's especially from Cabras.
Speaker 4: It's it's used in many dishes in Cabras because you
Speaker 4: can grate it and season the pasta, or you can
Speaker 4: have like a very fine slices and you can eat
Speaker 4: it on a brosquetta. Let's say a toasted piece of
Speaker 4: bread is salty. It's salty. Yeah, it's slightly salty and fat.
Speaker 4: It's it's nice with some olive oil or some butter
Speaker 4: for the contrast.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's very it's very nice.
Speaker 4: Or you go to a ghetto they have lobster. They
Speaker 4: make lobsters in a very okay. They are influenced by
Speaker 4: the Catalan culture because alghetto, in a ghetto, they speak Catalan.
Speaker 4: And also the lobster they make, they make it in
Speaker 4: a Catalan sort of like cattle influencer reciping.
Speaker 1: So why is influenced by obviously Spanish Catalan traditions. What's
Speaker 1: the history behind that?
Speaker 3: Because they were Sardina was invaded by everyone from invaded
Speaker 3: and also.
Speaker 4: We have really we had like old relationships relations with
Speaker 4: with the Punic, with the Romance, also the Romance Cape Sardinia.
Speaker 4: In fact, we have Roman baths, Roman also cities, ancient
Speaker 4: Punic city, Punic and Roman cities. We have like in
Speaker 4: more south central and south we have Spanish and oragonists
Speaker 4: from Aragon, which was also Spanish population, which is different
Speaker 4: from the Catalan because in the north we have Catalan.
Speaker 4: In the south we have influence from genera like in
Speaker 4: the food and the culture.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's amazing, It's like a little melting pot.
Speaker 4: There also Arabs, we had also an Arab Arabs invasion,
Speaker 4: Arab invasions and for in Caliery. Some some of our
Speaker 4: words remaind of the Arabic.
Speaker 1: Do Sardinians consider themselves to be Italian? Were they more Sardinian?
Speaker 4: That's a little lot tricky and sensitive, because yes, of
Speaker 4: course we consider ourselves Italian. But yeah, sometimes when they
Speaker 4: want to be a little bit like protective of our culture,
Speaker 4: we say we first we are Sardinians, then we are Italians.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I just love that about Italy, so like people
Speaker 1: forget it's such a young country. It's been shoved together
Speaker 1: not so long ago, and what is it now, nearly
Speaker 1: one hundred and fifties almost, I think.
Speaker 4: Yes, eighteen hundred seventy that the fire went wrong or
Speaker 4: war wrong, became Italian otherwise even before.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, it's amazing, Like I just, you know, we
Speaker 1: sort of think Italy Italian cuisine, Italian language, but in
Speaker 1: fact it's really a melting pot of so many different things.
Speaker 1: And I guess you're seeing that in a really concentrate
Speaker 1: form in Sardinia, which must make it very exciting to visit,
Speaker 1: because you wouldn't have the same thing at all from
Speaker 1: town to town.
Speaker 3: As you were saying, yes, Sardinia, it's the culture.
Speaker 4: It's very rich, like each town is different, but also
Speaker 4: from like you if you'll see Sardinia and then other
Speaker 4: parts of Italy.
Speaker 3: It's are very different. Different. Our culture and our language
Speaker 3: is completely different.
Speaker 4: If I speak Sardinia here in Rome, nobody understands anything.
Speaker 1: Do you sometimes forget oops speaking speaking Sardinia and in Rome,
Speaker 1: it will be funny. Time for a quick break shorter
Speaker 1: than your morning espresso. For daily travel tips and behind
Speaker 1: the scenes content from our tours. Make sure to follow
Speaker 1: us on Instagram at untold. It'll lead tours.
Speaker 3: Well.
Speaker 4: Sometimes I some some words, yes, they come out, some
Speaker 4: words in Sardinia and nobody understands. For example, I don't know.
Speaker 4: I give just just a word. In Sardinia window we
Speaker 4: say banana, which is close to Spanish, because in Spanish
Speaker 4: I think it's a banana banana.
Speaker 3: In Italian it's finestro. It's completely different.
Speaker 4: Ah, So if I say bandana in here in Rome,
Speaker 4: either they speak Spanish and they understand because they speak Spanish,
Speaker 4: or otherwise.
Speaker 3: They don't understand it. I'm saying finestro window.
Speaker 1: I was, and I was getting confused with the French
Speaker 1: just now like.
Speaker 3: French is finalto yes, more similar to Italian.
Speaker 1: It's just great. A love this. And in Australia, we
Speaker 1: just have one word. It's called window. So Angela, tell
Speaker 1: me with the beaches. I know Sergini is very very
Speaker 1: famous for its Are they sandy beaches or are they
Speaker 1: storny or are there some on either side that are mixed?
Speaker 1: What's what are the beaches like?
Speaker 4: Well, in Sardinia we have sandy beaches, we have a rocky,
Speaker 4: very rocky beaches. And then we have also in my
Speaker 4: area the beaches where I usually go it's Sunday completely Sunday.
Speaker 4: Other beaches that I have very close they are very sandy,
Speaker 4: like very very fine sound one. It's some very good
Speaker 4: for families because the water it's not deep and.
Speaker 3: It's very very fine white sand. It's very beautiful. But
Speaker 3: then also close to.
Speaker 4: Me we have another beach another like it's a peninsula.
Speaker 4: It's or the sea's peninsula. A few beaches in there
Speaker 4: they have quarts, so it's like the sand it's like rice.
Speaker 1: Wow, it's very beautiful. There's also some pink sand beach
Speaker 1: there too.
Speaker 4: Yes, in the north and one of the La Madelena.
Speaker 4: There are another archipelago, La Mandellena. They have pink quarts
Speaker 4: also that quarts and it's pink.
Speaker 1: It's so beautiful. If seriously everyone look, go and google that,
Speaker 1: or you can go to Angela's website. I'm sure there's
Speaker 1: She's got some beautiful photos of those beaches. But Sardinia
Speaker 1: in Europe is known for having some of the best
Speaker 1: beaches in Europe, and for some reason, it has that
Speaker 1: secret has not yet escaped Europe yet and got to
Speaker 1: the broader English speaking population. But like they're literally compared
Speaker 1: to the Maldives or you know, places like that. It's
Speaker 1: they're really I have not seen them yet, but they
Speaker 1: are supposed to be that beautiful. Have you seen the
Speaker 1: beaches in the Maldives? Can you compare?
Speaker 3: No, I haven't.
Speaker 4: I only saw pictures and many also, many people also
Speaker 4: from Sardina that they have been also to the Caribbean
Speaker 4: and they compare the for example, Lapeloza in Stintino near Algero,
Speaker 4: not far from Algero in the north of Sardinia, they
Speaker 4: compared to the Caribbean.
Speaker 3: I have been to the Caribbean. I've been to Lapelozza
Speaker 3: and it's really really nice.
Speaker 4: The water you can see from Afar, you can see
Speaker 4: the water change in chr It's emerald and then blue
Speaker 4: and then very light blue and then greenish.
Speaker 3: It's very beautiful.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it sounds amazing. When we talked about Sicily on
Speaker 1: this podcast before. It's quite interesting because I identify myself
Speaker 1: as an island person because I love islands and I
Speaker 1: come from the biggest one in the world.
Speaker 3: Yes, exactly, but I do.
Speaker 1: I think. The thing is, I really feel at home
Speaker 1: close to the sea. So when you're describing that water,
Speaker 1: I'm thinking, oh, gosh, I really I would love to
Speaker 1: be close to that water. Are the many villages on
Speaker 1: the coast where people can stay and enjoy both the
Speaker 1: village life and the beaches.
Speaker 4: Yes, there are actually like villages on the coast and
Speaker 4: then smaller villages not too far from the coast. For example,
Speaker 4: where I stay, it's a very tiny village, very small,
Speaker 4: and people live there all year, but there are very
Speaker 4: few families. But in Sardinia you are never more than
Speaker 4: one hour far from the beach. Wherever you are in
Speaker 4: the maximum time is one hour you.
Speaker 3: Reach the coast. It's not a huge island.
Speaker 1: But it's you know, it's a decent size that you
Speaker 1: need to spend some time. So is it like a
Speaker 1: free beach or is it a lot of Is there
Speaker 1: a lot of free beaches there or are there a
Speaker 1: lot of beach clubs and leaders there as well.
Speaker 4: It's a mix, but there are many free beaches. Everywhere
Speaker 4: I go it's free. For example, there are some beach
Speaker 4: some beaches that there are close the meaning like there
Speaker 4: is a limit for the number of people that they
Speaker 4: can enter each day and you need to book. For example,
Speaker 4: the one that I mentioned, La Pelosa. Now they started
Speaker 4: for like it's already it's already been a couple of
Speaker 4: quite a few years. They start in June, from June
Speaker 4: to September, when it's the high season. They have a
Speaker 4: limit in the number. For example, I think it's one
Speaker 4: five hundred each day, and you book you book online
Speaker 4: from the day before high season, I suggest a couple
Speaker 4: of days before, and when you arrive, you show your booking,
Speaker 4: they have your name, they give you a bracelet, and
Speaker 4: then you have the whole day or once the number
Speaker 4: is reached, no you can enter. And other beaches they
Speaker 4: have like they are priv private clubs for hotels.
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, I mean, like quite rightly. Sartinians are very
Speaker 1: protective of their beaches, and I think it's you know,
Speaker 1: this is the way now, spontaneity is probably like not
Speaker 1: if you're traveling in high season, it's very advisable to
Speaker 1: really search out what you need to know about. You know,
Speaker 1: if any want to visit certain beaches, you're probably going
Speaker 1: to need to get a bit organized. Another thing I
Speaker 1: wanted to let people know is that in Sardinia it's
Speaker 1: illegal to take the sand from the beaches, isn't it.
Speaker 4: Yes, of course it's illegal because it's really not sustainable.
Speaker 4: And the beach is beautiful because of the sun. So
Speaker 4: I know, the sun is beautiful, but too many tourists
Speaker 4: and take it away. Every year, they stop many tourists
Speaker 4: in the airport or in the port because they find
Speaker 4: them with full full of sund bugs or big bottles
Speaker 4: full of sund and obviously they take them, they find them,
Speaker 4: but sometimes if they don't find them, if they don't
Speaker 4: catch them, then they take away bags full of sun
Speaker 4: away from Sardinia, and you know, year after year, sometimes
Speaker 4: their room the beach, and then nobody can enjoy it anymore,
Speaker 4: not even tourists.
Speaker 1: And I think, you know, we just all need to
Speaker 1: be a little bit more mindful of things like that.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's a lot more people traveling these days,
Speaker 1: and obviously these people aren't going on Ryan Air because
Speaker 1: there's no way you'd have the luggage allowance to take
Speaker 1: a big bag of sand on Ryan Air but it's
Speaker 1: too heavy. But yeah, everyone needs to just think about
Speaker 1: what they're doing and tread a little lightly.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a nature In the end, it sounds.
Speaker 1: Like to me it's Sardinia is a little bit more
Speaker 1: natural than some of the other beachy places. Initially, am
Speaker 1: I right?
Speaker 3: Or you can say wild?
Speaker 4: While yes, true, Sardinia is much much wilder if you
Speaker 4: see it also from the airplane when you're when you're landing,
Speaker 4: you see completely different landscapes from Sardinia. Sardinia and Sicily
Speaker 4: they are completely different. Sicily is much more well looked after,
Speaker 4: for example, like the agriculture and everything.
Speaker 3: Sardinia is wild. You see more green, you know, the.
Speaker 1: Many agriaturismas on the island.
Speaker 3: They are.
Speaker 4: Starting look already, it started like it's been already a
Speaker 4: couple of years.
Speaker 3: But yeah, there are many. Unfortunately, I think they should
Speaker 3: work a.
Speaker 4: Little bit better on the marketing because sometimes even I
Speaker 4: end up in some agree tourisma that I didn't know
Speaker 4: just because I.
Speaker 3: Saw very close tourism.
Speaker 4: I saw I see like some signs pointing, and then
Speaker 4: we decide, okay, let's go there, but not because I
Speaker 4: had heard before. But sometimes they're very nice. For example,
Speaker 4: once we went to Touraga, which is an archaeological site,
Speaker 4: and we have many uragu in Sardinia, and we visited one,
Speaker 4: and then we have we ended.
Speaker 3: Up in close to Bonorva.
Speaker 4: We ended up in a small agree toisma which was
Speaker 4: actually very nice, but we it was no advertised and
Speaker 4: so we we just happened by chance. Otherwise, there is
Speaker 4: one I know there is one I have a visited,
Speaker 4: but I know it's very famous. One close to do Galli.
Speaker 4: Dor Galli is in the Dastra area, close to I
Speaker 4: don't know if you heard the Sugarpu Goropu canyon.
Speaker 3: We have a cane and close to dorgal gos Or.
Speaker 4: It's very nice and there is a very beautiful agriturisma
Speaker 4: there too.
Speaker 1: I just see it sounds like the type of place
Speaker 1: that would really an agriturismo would be the perfect place
Speaker 1: to stay, you know. I mean, I guess there's b
Speaker 1: and bs and hotels, but for me, when the scenery
Speaker 1: is a little bit wild and rustic. I think, you know,
Speaker 1: I think I'd like to stay in an agriturismo And
Speaker 1: for those of you who haven't listened to Agriturismo episode,
Speaker 1: that is a farm s day where they offer like
Speaker 1: accommodation and meals and things like that, and you can
Speaker 1: really get to know the countryside and the people a
Speaker 1: little bit better when you stay in a place like that. Now, Angela,
Speaker 1: you mentioned archaeological sites, and there's something really incredible about
Speaker 1: Sardinia that you won't find on the mainland, isn't there
Speaker 1: that's historic and very very ancient.
Speaker 3: Yes, we have a long history.
Speaker 4: But while in Sicily, for example, you can go for
Speaker 4: medieval history and this type of more modern history, Sardina
Speaker 4: it's solid archaeology, very ancient relics and sites to visit,
Speaker 4: the Nuragi. And then there is also the it's called
Speaker 4: the ossiery culture, which is even before the Nuragai era.
Speaker 4: And then we have the Punic. For example, you have Noura,
Speaker 4: which is an ancient city a Crossocalieri. Then we have Taros,
Speaker 4: which is also an ancient Punic city, and the west coast.
Speaker 4: Then we have Roman baths, and then we have this nuragi,
Speaker 4: which are Bronze age towers. Now in many you see
Speaker 4: only the tower, but in many other areas you see
Speaker 4: the whole village.
Speaker 3: Has been very long excavations they.
Speaker 4: Manage to to find all these villages and you can visit.
Speaker 3: There are many in Barumini sou Nuraji. There are also.
Speaker 4: Close in the in central central Sardinia. It's also very
Speaker 4: interesting to visit because you can visit both the tower
Speaker 4: and the village.
Speaker 3: Then there are also always local guides.
Speaker 4: Usually when you buy the ticket, there is also included
Speaker 4: a local guide like the stuff of the place in
Speaker 4: every language. They have in English and Spanish and French,
Speaker 4: obviously in Italian, and they explained the whole village connected
Speaker 4: to the territory. Because even if they are urgi, all
Speaker 4: over Sardinia they found I think, like some ten thousand,
Speaker 4: even if they are similar, they are in different areas,
Speaker 4: so they all have a different type of purpose function
Speaker 4: and why they were there, why they built them there,
Speaker 4: why they build them in the coast, there are some
Speaker 4: that they were fine also in the coast.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's incredible. Some of the oldest inhabited places in
Speaker 1: Europe right, so people have been living in these spots
Speaker 1: for thousands and thousands of years, and.
Speaker 3: I visited a museum in Cabras.
Speaker 4: Because we have also like apart from the nuragi, are
Speaker 4: the very extremely interesting archeological sites. They are the it's
Speaker 4: called in Italian, it's called tomba de gigante, which means
Speaker 4: the giants toms. It's not because they were giants, they
Speaker 4: were necropolis. They are like graveyards. Then we have the
Speaker 4: Domus Dayanas.
Speaker 3: It's collin Sardina, which.
Speaker 4: Is the fairies houses like the houses of the fairies.
Speaker 4: And also those they are tombs and they are more
Speaker 4: they're older than the Nuragi.
Speaker 3: They belonged to.
Speaker 4: This culture of Osier culture, which is older than the
Speaker 4: Murgi era. Then we have sacred wells, for example, in
Speaker 4: across where I live, it's the very famous one. It's
Speaker 4: called the Santa Christina Saint Christine Sacred well. Dar one
Speaker 4: is from the Nuragic period. It's like it's a it's
Speaker 4: a well like in the bottom you can see there
Speaker 4: is still water.
Speaker 3: But it was not for the water. It's like a temple.
Speaker 3: It was for.
Speaker 4: Religious purpose and it would been like thousands and thousands
Speaker 4: of years ago and there every eighteen years, the moon
Speaker 4: goes like straight to the bottom.
Speaker 3: It's like perfectly calculated.
Speaker 1: Every eighteen years.
Speaker 4: Yes, and it's not only now we can't reproduce something
Speaker 4: like this.
Speaker 3: We are still trying to understand how they made it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, have you seen it when it goes exactly in No?
Speaker 4: No, And I think the sun there is calculation also
Speaker 4: of the sun.
Speaker 3: And they're well, it's very fascinating, amazing.
Speaker 1: We think we're so clever. We're not that clever. These
Speaker 1: people have been doing the same things for thousands of years.
Speaker 1: Maybe we have electricity now, I mean, who knows what
Speaker 1: they had. We don't know.
Speaker 4: Do we also the reality for example, they are thousands
Speaker 4: of years old.
Speaker 3: But if you see they were not built like the stones.
Speaker 3: They're huge stones. They were put on top of each other,
Speaker 3: they were not glued and they are still stunding.
Speaker 1: Amazing, So you've got I mean, this is an amazing
Speaker 1: island with thousands of years of history, beautiful beaches and
Speaker 1: also beautiful mountains too, right and hills.
Speaker 3: Yes you have. The mountains are in the Numara province, well,
Speaker 3: not Ja.
Speaker 4: There is also Monte Archie, which is an actual Aristano
Speaker 4: and probably they.
Speaker 3: Are the tallest mountains. But Yastra, let's.
Speaker 1: Take a quick moment. We'll be right back planning your
Speaker 1: own easily trip, but feeling overwhelmed. Our consulting services give
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Speaker 1: local relationships. Learn more in the show notes.
Speaker 4: And you can visit. You can go hiking. And in
Speaker 4: Adastra there is the Sugar it's called it's very famous.
Speaker 4: It's a canyon. It's like Kenya. You can go down
Speaker 4: the Kenyon.
Speaker 3: They do tours. Because I wouldn't go by myself. I went.
Speaker 4: I visited once, but I went with a tour because
Speaker 4: I think I would get lost. Maybe some people with
Speaker 4: that they are more confident hiking, they can go. Also,
Speaker 4: there are like there are actually roots and paths that
Speaker 4: you can follow. I don't have any orientation sensors, so
Speaker 4: I would I would get lost, So I go with someone.
Speaker 4: But if someone is confident they can they can go
Speaker 4: for themselves. There are the roots that they can follow.
Speaker 1: I mean some of these experiences you just if you're
Speaker 1: king to hiking or in any type of nature, it
Speaker 1: sounds like it's a great place to visit. I think
Speaker 1: just the contrast of all these different landscapes. The picture
Speaker 1: you're painting angelarious that there's just so many different things
Speaker 1: to do, and it's the culture on the mountain very
Speaker 1: different to the culture on the plains and by the water.
Speaker 3: Yes, very different.
Speaker 4: They are more you know, I think in Barbaja or yeah,
Speaker 4: those areas they are more authentic Sardinians Ah, because they
Speaker 4: were not invaded as much as we were in the coasts.
Speaker 1: People ran to the mountains to protect themselves and their
Speaker 1: culture exactly.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so. Yes, they have in they are famed.
Speaker 4: For example Mamo YadA, which is in Barbadia also neural
Speaker 4: province very close is the capital of the province.
Speaker 3: They have a very ancient festival.
Speaker 4: It's called the Mammotonas they wear wooden masks very ugly,
Speaker 4: the uglier the better, and the dance around the fire
Speaker 4: in for centenary in January. They start they were sheep
Speaker 4: skin and then thirty kilos of bells, you know, the
Speaker 4: bells of the sheep. They wear them so and the
Speaker 4: end the mask their wooden mask. Then now when they
Speaker 4: they wear them and they dance around the fire. They
Speaker 4: have a specific dance, the rhythmical dance.
Speaker 3: And you hear.
Speaker 4: Obviously they make the noise with the bells for Cententially
Speaker 4: they do it around the fire because in centenary in
Speaker 4: some villages they lit up the bonfires in every square
Speaker 4: of the village.
Speaker 3: So they go and they dance around the fire.
Speaker 4: They come out also for carnival, but they don't do
Speaker 4: the fire for carnival. They just parade along the streets
Speaker 4: with the other mask more modern masks.
Speaker 1: I love that type of stuff. I just think it's
Speaker 1: so interesting.
Speaker 4: But that's yes, this is in winter also because okay,
Speaker 4: the Mamotona's actually they come out also once in summer,
Speaker 4: but they suffer a lot because of what they wear.
Speaker 4: It's very warm, they sweat and summer it's too hot.
Speaker 4: Even if they are in the mountain, it's less hot
Speaker 4: than were ice stay, it's still very hot.
Speaker 3: Refer coming out in the winter.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I can imagine.
Speaker 4: It's obviously this is a pagan ritual. Yeah, from pagan
Speaker 4: times before Christianity. Because also when they come, it's like
Speaker 4: to welcome the new the new harvest.
Speaker 1: So interesting. But then Christianity to borrow a lot from
Speaker 1: many things.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Christianity, let's say nowday, when Christianity arrived, they let
Speaker 4: them continue this ritual, but they say, you know, you
Speaker 4: keep it for Carnival and then after that there is
Speaker 4: like ash Wednesday and then Lent.
Speaker 3: And that's it. Yep, stop now exactly you have fun,
Speaker 3: that's it.
Speaker 1: Stop now. There is one thing I do know everywhere
Speaker 1: in Italy is when you do have celebrations, there is
Speaker 1: always food. So we talked about the lobster, which I'm
Speaker 1: all about the lobster. We talked about the potaga and
Speaker 1: the bread. Is there any other amazing special dishes everyone
Speaker 1: should try when they go to Sardinia?
Speaker 4: Okay, Sardinia is famous for the pit roasted piglet the
Speaker 4: cycling pig, and that's it everywhere. But then every place
Speaker 4: has its own dishes and also yes, depending on the season.
Speaker 3: For example, if you come for beginner of November.
Speaker 4: We have we celebrate the day of the Dead. There
Speaker 4: is a particular cake Pavaccini, which is famous. You can
Speaker 4: find it throughout the year, but it's traditional for that period.
Speaker 4: If you come for Easter, you have a specific, very
Speaker 4: particular bread.
Speaker 3: In some places they do it with an egg, the
Speaker 3: whole egg, not the.
Speaker 4: Egg in the recipe. The egg and then the bread
Speaker 4: all around. We have a specific cake for Easter, Pardulas,
Speaker 4: which is made with the ricotta.
Speaker 3: It's delicious, very nice. For Carnival.
Speaker 4: We have other cakes, different areas, different dishes. For example,
Speaker 4: some particular dish in the Panada Panada is you can
Speaker 4: find it very nice in the north, Santa Terreza, which
Speaker 4: is it's like a stew.
Speaker 3: In the bread.
Speaker 4: Like let's say, the dish is the bread like the
Speaker 4: actual plate. The plate is made of bread and inside
Speaker 4: it's a stew. And you can find also meat based
Speaker 4: or fish based. And you can find it in the
Speaker 4: north and also in a small village in Cooliery, which
Speaker 4: is a small village in the central western Sardinia.
Speaker 3: That's very nice. Panada, it's very nice. It's more a.
Speaker 4: Winter dish because it takes time to make. Can find
Speaker 4: it also in summer. I'm sure if they ask some
Speaker 4: restaurants or if they look, they can find them.
Speaker 1: I mean, Sardinian food is very well known throughout the
Speaker 1: world for being very very very healthy, right, and a
Speaker 1: lot of people are studying this cuisine because there are
Speaker 1: a lot of people over one hundred in Sardinia.
Speaker 4: Yes, that's in Barbadja, it's in the blue zone, oh
Speaker 4: yah yah Barbajia, even though that's the official blue zone
Speaker 4: in Sardinia. But also close to where we live, there
Speaker 4: are many one hundred year old people. Also my village
Speaker 4: now now that I think of there is a a
Speaker 4: gentleman there is one hundred, either getting close or he's
Speaker 4: already turned one hundred. And then my dad's village there
Speaker 4: was up a point where they were like a five
Speaker 4: more older.
Speaker 3: Than one hundred.
Speaker 1: Amazing, amazing, and they're healthy. I mean they're still getting
Speaker 1: around now, they can walking and yeah, you know, having
Speaker 1: good conversations. These are very active such Geneerian. So one
Speaker 1: hundred year olds.
Speaker 3: Yeah, apart from conversations. Here there was.
Speaker 4: A man he died the last year he was one hundred,
Speaker 4: but when he was ninety years old, he was still
Speaker 4: climbing the tree, not just having conversation, he was actually
Speaker 4: climbing the trees. But because Sardinia, I think, well, I
Speaker 4: live in Rome, but when I go to Sardinia, I
Speaker 4: find the difference in the actual ingredients and not just
Speaker 4: the dishes. The ingredients you can find still more genuine,
Speaker 4: I think, genuine ingredients.
Speaker 1: Do you think they import much from the mainland or
Speaker 1: do you think a lot of it is grown in Sardinia?
Speaker 4: A lot has grown Like in Sardinia, it's more common
Speaker 4: than when I live in Rome to find for example,
Speaker 4: if you find a veggie shop in Sardinia, very often
Speaker 4: it's like the cellar is actually the farmer amazing.
Speaker 3: It's more common to find than in Rome.
Speaker 1: So on the average average street you're probably not going
Speaker 1: to find too many bananas. I'm suggesting.
Speaker 4: No, if you see banana, obviously you know it comes
Speaker 4: it's not from Sardinia.
Speaker 1: Yeah. It's just an interesting thing though, because you know,
Speaker 1: in this Anglo Saxon culture we have, we're kind of
Speaker 1: expecting everything to be there. You know, I'll kind of
Speaker 1: get a little bit upset if my avocados aren't around.
Speaker 1: But there's really in certain times a year there are
Speaker 1: no avocados in Melbourne being grown. And so it's a
Speaker 1: different way of life and I think it's slower and
Speaker 1: more considered, and that's why they probably live to be
Speaker 1: a hundred because they're just eating good food, walking a lot,
Speaker 1: and probably not thinking too hard about world events.
Speaker 3: Yes, they are very relaxed.
Speaker 4: In fact, those that they actually live on on they
Speaker 4: are usually the farmers. Yeah, maybe because they live in
Speaker 4: a more relaxed and cleaner lifestyle.
Speaker 3: I don't know, but usually they are farmers.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's really interesting because those people also work really,
Speaker 1: really hard. You know, I think farming is not an
Speaker 1: easy job choice.
Speaker 3: No, but they say in nature.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's something to be said for that, right is
Speaker 1: being connected to the nature and just soaking up the
Speaker 1: sun and the fresh air. Oh, it makes me want
Speaker 1: to go for a walkout. Oh, Angela, it's been fantastic.
Speaker 1: Before we wrap this up, I really love you to
Speaker 1: tell me. What if there's one place you wish people
Speaker 1: could see in Sardinia that will make them fall in
Speaker 1: love with your special island. What would that be.
Speaker 4: That's a very hard question because because of the variety.
Speaker 4: But one of my very favorite places is really this
Speaker 4: Barbagian or yah where I told you there is the
Speaker 4: authentic Sardine, more authentic Sardinia, Sardinian spirits, Sardinian style. The
Speaker 4: people of Sardinia, they are very friendly and warm all
Speaker 4: over the island everywhere you go, but in this Barbadja
Speaker 4: o Yasra they are warm, hospitable, still the old style,
Speaker 4: like they actually open the door.
Speaker 3: They even if they don't know you.
Speaker 4: They actually opened the door of their home and tell
Speaker 4: you to enter, please come in. When there is no
Speaker 4: like let's say, for a festival, there is no there
Speaker 4: is no bn B, there is no more space in
Speaker 4: hotels and stuff private locals, they actually say, okay, come
Speaker 4: come stay in my house.
Speaker 1: Amazing.
Speaker 3: In Sardinia you can steal experience wilderness.
Speaker 4: Real wilderness, real warm real hospitality.
Speaker 3: It's a little continent on its own.
Speaker 1: And it's your home. Yes, so amazing. It's been so
Speaker 1: lovely hearing all about your beautiful home and it's just
Speaker 1: a place that's a little bit off the radar for
Speaker 1: most of us who don't live in Europe. And I
Speaker 1: just loved hearing about all the contrasts and the interesting
Speaker 1: things you can do there, the festivals and the food
Speaker 1: and all the archaeological sites. Angeline found listeners would like
Speaker 1: to know more about Sardinia and stay in touch with you.
Speaker 1: How can they do that.
Speaker 4: I have a website Sardinia Revealed dot com. There are
Speaker 4: update and I give plenty of.
Speaker 3: Tips on how to visit.
Speaker 4: And then I also have a Facebook group for this,
Speaker 4: Sardina Reveal. It's a public group, so anyone can join,
Speaker 4: they can ask any questions they need to know, and
Speaker 4: we are there to answer and to hunt travelers traveling
Speaker 4: to Sardinia. It's still requires planning because sometimes the rules
Speaker 4: are not marked properly.
Speaker 1: Google Maps may not work people, so.
Speaker 3: Not everywhere.
Speaker 1: You need to be friendly to get some help. Oh goodness,
Speaker 1: oh listeners, I really love Angela's thorough and detailed content.
Speaker 1: She's a really great writer and she's got a lot
Speaker 1: of experience over many websites, and so definitely seek her
Speaker 1: websites out when you're planning your trip to Sardinia and Italy,
Speaker 1: and we'll put all of those details into our podcast
Speaker 1: show notes. Gradsia, Angela, thank you for joining us on
Speaker 1: jo Joo. I have to admit that Pink Beach is
Speaker 1: so so tempting, and not to mention the ancient civilizations
Speaker 1: and the pagan festival, which kind of reminds me a
Speaker 1: little of the Crampus celebrations in the Dolomites. Sardinia seems
Speaker 1: like one of those places that is just begging to
Speaker 1: be ex and it is definitely one for those of
Speaker 1: you who have an adventurous spirit and love to be
Speaker 1: spontaneous as the wilds of this island outside of the
Speaker 1: main resort area known as the Emerald Coast near Oldvia,
Speaker 1: are largely untouched. Do note that you will need a
Speaker 1: car to get around, and not to expect smooth and
Speaker 1: well maintained highways. There's not a lot of tourist infrastructure
Speaker 1: in Sardinia except at the resorts, but I know that
Speaker 1: will be a big attraction for many of you. If
Speaker 1: you'd like to learn more about Sardinia, head on over
Speaker 1: to our website show Notes, where we've put links to
Speaker 1: Angela's site Sardinia Revealed. The link to our website show
Speaker 1: Notes is Untold Italy dot com. Forward slash two one
Speaker 1: nine for episode two hundred and nineteen, and as always,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of detailed information about the places visited
Speaker 1: and mentioned on the show, so if you were struggling
Speaker 1: to write those down and sort of catch up with
Speaker 1: the Italian accent, then that's all there for you. Groud Semile.
Speaker 1: Thank you to all our wonderful listeners for your support
Speaker 1: of Untold Italy. I really hope you enjoyed today's show,
Speaker 1: and if you did, then it would be incredible if
Speaker 1: you gave us a rating or review in your favorite
Speaker 1: podcast app, and that way we can reach more spontaneous,
Speaker 1: adventurous Italy travel lovers just like you. Next week on
Speaker 1: Untold Italy, we're going to have a little discussion about
Speaker 1: what exactly is Italian hospitality, and I think it's a
Speaker 1: really important one to have because I think that's a
Speaker 1: big reason why a lot of people want to visit Italy.
Speaker 1: So I've got a really good expert coming along to
Speaker 1: tell you all about what it means to experience Italian hospitality.
Speaker 1: But until then, it's chow for now. The Untold Italy
Speaker 1: podcast is an independent production podcast editing, audio production and
Speaker 1: website development by Mark Hatter, Production assistance and content writing
Speaker 1: by the are they KG Clark, Yes, there are two
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