Sardinia
Italian: Sardegna
Sardinia became known for the rich and beautiful in the 70s, who discovered the north of the island and especially the beautiful beaches and the pristine crystal clear water. Meanwhile, the most beautiful are protected and besieged by expensive hotels and private villas. The area is called Costa Smeralda. The whole island offers a very charming nature in the hinterland and very interesting archaeological sites from pre-Christian times.
If you need more than beach and water sports, you will find very interesting excursion destinations here. It’s nice from April to December.
To see and experience Sardinia
Cagliari
The capital of the autonomous region of Sardinia is Cagliari, to the very south of the huge island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the cultural center of the island. Visit the cathedral, the old town and the Archaeological Museum in a 3 hour walk through the city. When you visit the Mercato Civico di San Benedetto in the morning you will see beautiful what this island has to offer in culinary specialties. One floor for seafood only and one floor for vegetables, fruit, meat and cheese. A real beautiful experience.
Nora
Nora was founded in the ninth century B.C. by the Phoenicians on a headland. The Romans took over and continued to expand the city. Today you can only find the ruins, which are now finally well guarded and protected. But much was lost in this sparsely populated area by thieves from the sea. The situation is impressive. One can well imagine how beautiful this city must have been once. You can reach Nora via Pula in less than an hour from Cagliari. If it fits, then visit Baija Chia for a lunch or a swim. That’s another 20 minutes further south along the coast.
The Nuraghi
The natives of Sardinia built very peculiar buildings, the ruins of which can still be visited today. About 7000 such Nuraghi settlements were found throughout the island, with a cone-shaped tower at the centre of them. This was surrounded by a castle wall often with smaller integrated towers. At least one of these excavations should be visited when you come to Sardinia. They are mostly found inside the island.
The culinary specialties of Sardinia
Where do we start? Up north in the fine hotels of the Costa Smeralda you serve fine fish and lobster. However, this is not traditional cuisine. It’s delicious, of course.
It’s more the poor people food that excites us. After all, it is not that poor at all. Suckling pig, wild boar ham, goat cheese and seafood. Everything is very nicely flavored with local herbs.
- Swordfish with local saffron, tomatoes, mint and pepperoni
- Lamb with garlic and saffron on pasta that looks like rice
- Gnocchi Sardo noodles with a sauce of bratwurst and tomatoes
Delicious, right?
Cannanau is a typical local red wine. White you take Vermentino.
Also recommended is the beer brand Ichnusa with the 4 moors heads from the flag of Sardinia on the label. This moor head can also be found in the flag of Corsica, the island north of Sardinia, which belongs to France. You might have seen this iconic image on bumper stickers in France. No, the beer is delicious. In particular, the unfiltered version. It comes from Cagliari. The brewery was bought by INBEV, which thankfully didn’t harm the taste.
Fauna
Even in winter, the visitor comes to great experiences here. There are the flamingos hibernating in the lagoons along the coasts.
On the plateau in the hinterland live wild horses, which you can see with a bit of luck on a hike.