Escape To Sardinia Mediterranean bliss
This Italian island has a hidden and ancient heart, says Beverley Watts
Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda is the playground of the rich; the north-east corner of the island is adored by yachtloving celebrities. But away from the swanky resort of
Porto Cervo, it’s an affordable destination with white sandy beaches and an untamed, mountainous interior perfect for rambling.
The forests, gorges and wetlands – inhabited by falcons, vultures and herons – are a bird-watcher’s paradise and coastal lagoons are fished by flamingos.
Sardinia is thought to be the mythical home of the Laestrygonians in Homer’s Odyssey. The giant cannibals pelted Odysseus’s ships with massive stones, and boulders still pepper the coastline today. Bear Rock at Capo d’Orso looks like a modern sculpture but it’s a natural formation, carved out by the winds.
Between January and March, foragers can pick wild asparagus. The narrow spikes soar upwards through thorny leaves along country roads and in wooded fields. The custom is to eat it with eggs in a frittata.
Cala Li Cuncheddi is a protected and secluded shallow bay close to Porto Istana with a reef at either end. Out of season there’s still plenty of soft sun and you get the whole place to yourself.
The Sardinian landscape is dotted with thousands of nuraghi, Bronze Age towers domed like beehives. Near Olbia, 13th century Pedres Castle stands minutes from the mysterious 1600 BC Giants’ Grave of Su Mont’e s’Abe. The horn-shaped arc of stones is a spiritual spot but not, as once believed, the tomb of giants!
Further south, Su Nuraxi di Barumini is Sardinia’s bestpreserved megalithic archaeological location and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On the rocky central Giara di Gesturi basalt plateau, herds of mini Giara horses – introduced by the Phoenicians – toss their luxuriant manes and run free on tiny hooves among the Cork Oak forests.
High in the mountains in Ogliastra, the community of Ulassai is within one of the
world’s five Blue Zones where residents are renowned for longevity. It’s the birthplace of artist Maria Lai, whose knotted loom criss-crosses the ceiling of an ancient wash-house above a hypnotic fountain.
Don’t leave Sardinia without exploring Bosa, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Pastel-painted houses with wrought-iron balconies cluster around the mouth of the river Temo and the narrow streets of the old quarter are only accessible on foot.