Sardinia

Sardinia - Sardegna

Geography and climate

Sardinia is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, located south of the island of Corsica, west of Italy and north of Tunisia. It is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily. There are about 1,65 million inhabitants and the capital is Cagliari. Sardinia is an autonomous region of Italy and the island consists of 5 provinces: Cagliari (CA), Nuoro (NU), Oristano (OR), Sassari (SS) and Southern Sardinia (SU).

La Maddalena

The island is mostly mountainous with a very long coastline of more than 1,800 km. During summer it is the favorite destination of many Italians, because of the beautiful beaches and the fashionable seaside resorts such as La Maddelena, Porto Cervo, and Villasimius. Cala Mariolu, in the Gulf of Orosei, is one of the most famous and beautiful beaches. In most of these seaside resorts there is an active nightlife. In Porto Cervo you will find its world-famous Club Billionaire. 

The main ports of the island are Porto Torres, Olbia, Golfo Aranci, Arbatax, Porto Foxi and Cagliari. 

Airports: Cagliari, Olbia and Alghero.

The island has a subtropical Mediterranean climate with very warm summers and generally mild winters. 

Sardinia is not prone to earthquakes.

Food and drink

Sardinian cuisine is based on simple, but fresh ingredients with delicious, distinct flavours. The most famous dishes are Porceddu, roasted pig and Cassula, a soup with 12 different types of fish, crustaceans and shellfish.

pane Carasau

Well known is the tasty Pane Carasau, dry, thin, flat bread. Typical for the island are the culigones, a kind of pasta filled with pecorino cheese, potatoes and minced lamb. During Public holidays, they mainly serve malloreddus (Sardinian gnocchi) with tomato sauce or a lamb ragout. There is also fregola, a kind of couscous, but with much coarser balls, and bottarga, salted and dried fish eggs, a delicious specialty that is usually grated over a plate of pasta.

pecorino sardo

The region is also known for its delicious sheep cheeses, the most famous of which is the pecorino sardo. This cheese has a slightly spicy taste because the sheep roam freely in the mountains with its grass and many different types of herbs.

In Sardinia, they mainly produce white wine  with the Vermentino grape variety. A typical Sardinian liqueur is Mirto di Sardegna, a dark, sweet liqueur based on elderberries.

Economy and healthcare

The economy has been based solely on sheep farming for a very long time. This activity has in recent decades also been spread in other regions of Italy by the shepherds from Sardinia. But even today, it  still is one of the most important economic activities. Agriculture is mainly focused on the production of oats, barley and durum, but also meat, dairy products, wine, artichokes and tomatoes. The main industries are chemicals, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, shipbuilding and drilling rig construction. Almost 70% of the Sardinian economy is based on trade, services, information technology and tourism.

The island ranks 16th in the crime index, with 2,758 reported crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, while the national average is 3,816. In terms of thefts and robberies in homes, the number of reports reported in the region last year was 1,018 per 100,000 inhabitants, about half the Italian average of 2,051 reports.

Health care on the island of Sardinia is divided into 8 areas, with two university hospitals, one in Sassari and one in Cagliari. This is the link to the website of ARES Sardegna Salute, the regional health service of Sardinia.

Holiday homes

The seaside resorts attract many tourists and are popular second homes for both Italians and foreigners. Real estate prices near the seaside resorts are high.

Most beautiful towns and villages 

You can find the most beautiful towns and villages in Italy on the website "I Borghi più belli d'Italia". This organization was founded to protect these villages and to preserve the traditions.

Castelsardo

On the island of Sardinia there are 9 most beautiful villages, Carloforte and Sadali in the province of South Sardinia, Atzara, Lollove and Posada in Nuoro, Bosa in the province of Oristano, La Maddalena, Tempio Pausania and Castelsardo in Sassari.

In the guide “Bandieri Arancioni” of Touring Club Italiano other villages are mentioned, het villages have been awarded the "orange flag" which is aimed at small village, who are awarded for excellency in hospitality, environment and tourism. Aggius (SS), Galtelli (NU), Gavoi (NU), Laconi (OR), Oliena (NU) and Sardara (VS).