Travel guide

only place in the western world where the first Roman emperor’s
conversion to Christianity is celebrated. Its cult, which is conversely quite
widespread in the Orient, is tied to the ancient presence of Byzantine
troops. The horse race takes place around the rural sanctuary erected, in
Mannerist style, in the middle of a large and picturesque natural
amphitheatre. The knights gallop frantically around the church riding their
superb horses of Anglo-Arabic-Sardinian breed. By completing several
loops and acting a battle, they recklessly cross the arch of San Costantino.
Aim of the race is to ensure that sa pandela madore (the knights’ leader)
and two further minor pandelas (the bishops), who conduct the race
carrying the flags, are not passed by the other knights. In this effort they
are assisted by sas iscortas (the guards). The latter, together with the
bishops, can, if necessary, use the flags as clubs to avoid being passed. The
roar of the crowd at the start of the pandela madzore, which marks the
beginning of the race, the sun of July, the dust raised by the galloping
horses, the (blank) shots of the fusiliers standing alongside the track, the
sweat and, occasionally, the blood of horses and knights, give to the show
an arcane and wild pathos. From the 1 th to 4 th May, between Cagliari and
Nora, the Sagra of Sant’Efisio, a Roman warrior martyrised (according to
tradition) in the ancient Roman town of Nora during the age of Diocletian,
takes place. When in 1656 the plague broke out in Cagliari, the town
appealed to the Saint, solemnly vowing to lead him in procession up to
the site of his martyrdom. The religious aspect of the celebration is taken
care of by the Arciconfraternita di Sant’Efisio, with their headquarters in
the church of Sant’Efisio right in the heart of Stampace, one of the
historical areas of Cagliari. Already a few days before the celebration,
preparations are in full swing: the brothers and sisters bedeck the
simulacrum, and the inhabitants of the streets all around the church, take
care of tidying the streets and adorning the balconies with banners and
flowers. In the morning of the First of May,
before the coach of the Saint can start parading down the streets of the
centre to eventually head towards Nora, the is traccas, ancient ox-driven
carts all decked out, go out on parade. Following behind,
within a kaleidoscope of colours, are hundreds of men, women and
children from many areas across Sardinia, wearing their traditional local
costumes and adorned in stunning ancient jewels. Next are the
Campidanese knights and the soldiers on horse, wearing a jacket and a
68