discover sardinia
For a taste of the exotic with guaranteed sunshine, just a short hop away from home…
Bang in the middle of the Med, Sardinia has all the glamour of the Caribbean – alabaster sands, aquamarine waters, colourful and characterful towns and 300 days of glorious sunshine a year. It’s a gem of an island and a favourite haunt of the beautiful people, who grace its exclusive Costa Smeralda resorts from May-September. Yet it’s so accessible, a mere two-hour hop from home with plenty of friendly hotels catering for every budget.
While the coves and beaches of the coast have their own appeal, journey inland and there’s a wild beauty about Sardinia that gives the island a certain magic. Most surprising is the rugged tangle of its countryside – for example the eerily alien Moon Valley with its granite boulders weathered into fantastical formations over the centuries, or cork-producing oaks stripped to their bloody cores and groves of twisted, ancient olive trees. Add to that the mysterious monuments left by the Nuraghi, Sardinia’s prehistoric indigenous tribe, and you’ll appreciate the island’s engaging uniqueness.
Not surprisingly Sardinia has its own language, based on Latin, Spanish and Greek, and even the locals scarcely understand the origins of their unusual flag – four Moorish kings against a red cross – that flutters all over the island.
It’s not just its language and landscape that sets Sardinia apart; as a “blue zone” it joins an elite group of locations with an unusually high percentage of centenarians. It’s certainly true that Cannonau, the local wine, is exceptionally high in health-boosting antioxidants and the delicious stews are laced with the wholesome herbs which perfume the air.
Nowhere is tradition more
evident than in the island’s finely-crafted baskets and rugs, the warp and weft of their patterns handed down through generations. Stop at Castelsardo, steeply perched on the north-west coast and visit the basket museum, Museo dell’Intreccio mediterraneo. Inland, the museum at Aggius proudly exhibits the town’s rugmaking heritage.
Does Sardinia hold the secret to longevity? Who knows. But do try a glass of Mirto, a liqueur made from the ubiquitous myrtle plant. It might just be the elixir of youth.