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The mountains, the plains, the Rivers, the Coast Sardinia is an island of the Western Mediterranean Basin, larger than Corsica and second in size only to Sicily, and surrounded by the Tyrrhenian and Sardinian Seas. Inland its territory is predominantly hilly and mountainous, with a group of massifs amongst which is the Gennargentu, peaking at Punta La Marmora. However, the average altitude of the Island is overall low. In the western part, the wide plains of the Campidani divide the inland massifs from the mountainous group of the Iglesiente and Sulcis. There are no major earthquake events with only seven in recorded history, the oldest of which was documented in Cagliari in 1616, whereas the most recent in 1948. The geological history of Sardinia began in the Cambrian. Indeed, Cambrian sandstones form the backbone of the Sulcis- Iglesiente, together with its mining fields. These sedimentary rocks are followed in the Carboniferous by volcanic ones, an indication of the mighty eruptions of those times. Later, as a result of orogenesis the Island emerged in all of its extension, was then flooded again by the sea in the Eocene, and eventually achieved its current morphology starting from the Lower Pliocene. The lithologic structure consists mainly of metamorphic rocks (gneiss, schist), which form the foundation over which rest all the other formations of the Island: volcanic rocks, both intrusive (granite) and effusive (andesite, basalt), and sedimentary rocks (limestone, sandstone), which originated as a result of flooding events. The morphology is far from being monotonous, as each geologic epoch has modelled quite different landscapes. Thus, the granitic mountains of Gallura have craggy contours and are on average low, except for Mount Limbara (reaching 1362 metres), with its typical pinnacles and spikes so evocative in the Aggius chain overlooking the valley of Tempio. South of the Gallura region, the granite becomes more predominantly mountainous, with wide ridges increasing in altitude towards the peaks of Barbagia, with the tacchi and 7
tonneri (sandstone-limestone formations) that extend into the granitic group of the Sette Fratelli (Seven Brothers), and eventually plunge into the sea with their blade-like edges. Around the Gulf of Orosei, limestonedolomite formations dominate in the Mount of Oliena (1463 m) and the Montalbo (1127 m), with steep ravines, bare and whitish, that confer to the countryside a moon-like aspect. Also, karstic action has carved a number of shafts, large grottos (e.g. that of Tiscali) and caves, even underwater ones, like the Bue Marino (Monk Seal) cave at Cala Gonone Rocky precipices in the Nuoro area (Dorgali). Between the mountain ranges and the plains of the Campidani lies a hilly region divided into Trexenta and Marmilla, featuring gently undulating landscapes that rise, with steep volcanic cliffs, into the typical giare, amongst which is the prototypical one of Gesturi (between 500 and 600 m altitude). Other volcanic formations occupy most of the northwestern part of the Sardinian region. Thus, overlooking the plain of Oristano are Mount Arci (812 m) and Mount Ferru (1050 m), which, connected to the central massifs through minor mountains, can be easily crossed only at the saddle of Macomer (530 m), thus dividing geographically the Island into Capo di Sopra (or Sassari’s) and Capo di Sotto (or Cagliari’s), with important consequences even for human settlement. North of Macomer, the Logudoro region bears clear traces of its past volcanic activity, as in the eruption cones found especially between Romana and Cheremule. The volcanic landscape extends up to the Anglona region, making room, towards Sassari, for a vast plain nestled amidst round-shaped hills and reaching the sea with evocative promontories (e.g. Capo Caccia).Isolated from the other formations, the 8
Page 1: Travel guide General information
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Page 7: Cala Goloritzè, Baunei
Page 11: improvement of the island through a
Page 14 and 15: Cala Gonone, and those of Nettuno (
Page 17 and 18: to join guided tours into the aband
Page 19 and 20: The new provinces Communalities Sur
Page 22: (included by the European Community
Page 25 and 26: Nuoro Nuoro (36,478 inhabitants), n
Page 27 and 28: Cathedral of Santa Maria, Oristano
Page 29: Olbia Olbia (45,366 inhabitants) is
Page 33: Sanluri Sanluri (8,519 inhabitants)
Page 37: Forest Sas Baddes
Page 40 and 41: The prehistoric age from 100,000 ye
Page 43 and 44: The nuragic age from 1800 to 500 B.
Page 46 and 47: The phoenician-punic, roman and van
Page 48 and 49: centuries, will proceed unremitting
Page 50 and 51: San Giovanni of Sinis, whose curren
Page 52 and 53: The byzantine and judical age from
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housed paintings are mostly retable
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the Island. In Oristano, the Monume
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The Language, the costume, and the
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are the references to the building
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among the most famous on the Island
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procession then follows, reaching t
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The fiesta of “Sagra” Sant’Ef
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tiaggias (‘tablecloths’), nents
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was tied to the rites on the occasi
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aromatic wood, to the meat, which m
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and the Ogliastra regions. Other go
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