The Sardinian Way of Life
When DH Lawrence described Sardinia as ‘lost between Europe and Africa, and belonging to nowhere’ in his 1921 travelogue Sea and Sardinia, he kind of missed the point. Sardinia belongs to the Sardinians. History might suggest otherwise, but centuries of colonial oppression have done little to dent the islanders’ fierce local pride and their patient, melancholic resolve. A strong sense of fraternity, respect for tradition and passion for a good festa – these are what unite Sardinians. But to speak of a regional identity is to overlook the island’s geography.
Isolation & Introspection
By modern roads, Bitti Bitti, a dusty inland town north of Nuoro, is only about 50km from the sea, but until relatively recently it was a world unto itself, cut off from the rest of the island by inhospitable mountains and a lack of infrastructure.
The same could be said of any one of hundreds of inland communities, left to fend for themselves by island authorities unable or unwilling to reach them. Such isolation nurtured introspection and a diffidence towards outsiders, while also preserving local traditions – many towns speak their own dialects, cook their own recipes and celebrate their own festivals that have been developed without any outside interference. It also exacerbated the ever-increasing divide between coast and interior. The advent of tourism and industrial development has had a far greater impact on coastal towns than on the island’s hinterland, and there’s still a world of difference between the modern-minded cities of Alghero, Sassari, Olbia and Cagliari and the traditional lifestyles of inland villages.
Yet for all the hardship isolation has inflicted on the islanders, it has left Sardinia with some unique qualities. In recent years, researchers have been falling over themselves to study the island’s uncontaminated gene pool, and musicologists have long appreciated the island’s strange and unique musical traditions.
On the surface, Sardinians display none of the exuberance usually associated with mainland Italians, nor their malleability or lightness of heart. They come across as friendly and hospitable, but modest and quietly reserved. Unlike other islanders, they don’t look outwards, longing for escape and opportunity; instead they appear becalmed in the past, gripped by an inward-looking intensity.
GENE GENIES
A kent’annos, may you live to be 100. This traditional greeting may sound like wishful thinking but, then again, maybe not – the odds are good in Sardinia. Forget super-foods, macrobiotic diets and 10-years-younger supplements, this island holds the secret to longevity, apparently, with almost 500 centenarians out of a population of 1.67 million, more than twice the normal level. Ask Sardinians why and you’ll get a different answer every time – the air, the outdoor living, eating and drinking well, God.
Previous studies have highlighted environmental and lifestyle factors (local Cannonau wines are rich in procyanidins, chemicals that contribute to red wine’s heart-protecting qualities) as the main reasons for this longevity, but researchers from the University of Sassari remain convinced that there’s a fundamental genetic element. The inhabitants of the mountainous province of Ogliastra have long been undisturbed by the outside world. As a result intermarriage has produced a remarkably pure gene pool, a veritable goldmine of genetic raw material – and of great interest to scientists.
Life in the Slow Lane
Perhaps a reason for the Sardinians’ celebrated longevity is the island’s laid-back, unhurried approach to life. After all, who cares if you are a little late in the grand scheme of things? There are far more important matters in life, such as friends and family, enjoying your free time, and stopping to chat with the baker, the newsagent, the neighbour and his dog, and just about anyone else who crosses your path. Friendliness is paramount.
This go-slow approach comes naturally to Sardinians. Never mind if Massimo is waffling on about the economy for the umpteenth time that day, while the queue snakes to the back of his grocery store – you know he always has a big smile for you. Or that Silvia is deeply embroiled in conversation at the post office counter – everyone knows that she could talk the hind leg off a donkey.
A major mental shift, however, happens when Sardinians slip behind the wheel of their cars – then patience goes straight out the window. A tourist on the SS125 is driving at only 30km/h, braking on every bend and has now – incredibile! – stopped to take photos of a passing shepherd and his flock. The frustration mounts in such cases as Sardinians don't like to dawdle on the road and will sometimes drive 2cm behind your rear bumper, just to give you a little nudge on. So in the driving seat, they reveal their Italian side.
La Famiglia
‘My 32-year-old son is too fat. Should I put him on a diet?’ It’s the typical agony-aunt conundrum in the problem pages of Sardinia’s magazines and newspapers. Paolo may be 32, but he will always be a boy in the eyes of his doting mamma. Like Italy, Sardinia can come across as something of a matriarchal society at times, with around 25% of men staying at home well into their 30s, and a smaller percentage of women following suit. While their decision to fly the nest late, typically not until they marry, is the subject of much ridicule, it is often an economic decision – many young people, particularly with unemployment at around 15.9%, simply can’t afford to leave home.
Whichever way you look at it, the family is central to life in Sardinia, and so it comes as something of a surprise that the average rate of fertility is an incredibly low 1.1% (the EU average is 1.6%). The latest figures show that Sardinians are also waiting longer to have a family, with 32.5 being the average age for a woman to have her first baby.
MOTHER TONGUE
Sardo (or Sardu), Sardinia’s first language, is the largest minority language in Italy. Originally derived from the Latin brought over by the Romans in the 3rd century BC, it has four main dialects: Logudorese (from the northwest), Campidanese (from the south), Gallurese (from the northeast) and Sassarese (from the Sassari area). These dialects are further complicated by the incorporation of distinct local influences, so in Alghero residents speak a variation of Catalan, and on the Isola di San Pietro locals converse in a 16th-century version of Genoese. The Gallura and Sassari dialects also reflect the proximity of Corsica.
Recent studies on the usage of Sardo brought to light some humorous facts: apparently 60.2% use the mother tongue when they’re angry and 64% when they want to be funny, but only 26.5% to discuss politics and a mere 16.5% to speak about the kids.
La Donna
Attitudes are changing, but many families still live according to the classic model, with women staying at home and men going out to earn. These gender roles were originally dictated by the practical division of labour – with the men away from home pasturing their flocks, women were left running the house and raising the children – although nowadays they’re as much about tradition and convention as practical necessity.
Girls might have once been under the watchful eye of their elders until they reached marriage age, but today men and women are in many respects equal, as Sardinia opens up to tourism and new media.
Faith & La Festa
Conservative and for much of the year politely reserved, Sardinians let go with a bang during their great festivals. These boisterous and spectacular occasions reveal much about the islanders’ long-held beliefs, mixing myth with faith and folklore.
Religious belief has deep roots in Sardinia. The presence of sacri pozzi (well temples) in nuraghic settlements attests to naturalistic religious practices dating to the 2nd millennium BC. Christianity arrived in the 6th century and quickly established itself. Today Sardinian faith finds form in street parties as much as church services, and many of the island’s biggest festivities are dedicated to much-loved saints. The greatest of them all, St Ephisius, an early Christian martyr and Sardinia’s patron saint, is the star of Cagliari’s huge May Day carnival.
Elsewhere on the island, you’ll find a number of chiese novenari – small countryside chapels that are only opened for several days of the year to host saints’ day celebrations. These churches are often surrounded by cumbessias (also known as muristenes), simple lodgings to house the pilgrims who come to venerate the saint honoured in the church.
Easter is an important event in Sardinia, marked by island-wide celebrations, many of which reflect Spanish influence. Castelsardo, Iglesias and Tempio Pausania all put on night processions featuring hooded members of religious brotherhoods more readily associated with Spain.
