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 GENERAL INFO (Jump to Diary)
The Italian Republic is an unitary parliamentary republic
which covers 301.338 square kilometres. It is home to around 60.674.000
citizens, of which 83% are Christians, 12% have no religion and 4% are
Muslims.
The currency is Euro, worth 7,46 Danish Krone. The GDP is US$1.850 trillion.
This time, I only explore a single island; Sardinia .
Sardinia is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, It is one of the five
Italian regions with some degree of domestic autonomy being granted by a
special statute. Its official name, Autonomous Region of Sardinia or
Regione Autonoma della Sardegna and Regione Autònoma de Sardigna.
It is home to around 1.500.000 citizens, and covers 23.949 square
kilometres.
 Sardinia's
history is long, and
it has been inhabited by
humans since the end of the Paleolithic era, around 20-10,000 years ago. The
island's most notable civilization is the indigenous Nuragic, which
flourished from the 18th century BC to either 238 BC or the 2nd century AD
in some parts of the island, and to the 6th century AD in that part of the
island known as Barbagia.
Sardinia's ecosystems
is a variety, which include mountains,
woods, plains, stretches of largely uninhabited territory, streams, rocky
coasts, and long sandy beaches, Sardinia has been metaphorically described
as a micro-continent.
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily
and before Cyprus), with an area of 24,100 km2, measuring 265
times 134 kilometres with a coastline of 1849 kilometres. It is made-up by
granite, schist, trachyte, basalt, sandstone and dolomite limestone. The
highest peak is Punta La Marmora with1,834 meters.
Following an enormous
reforestation plan Sardinia has become the Italian region with the largest
forest extension. 12,132 km2 or 50% of the island is covered by
forested areas. Over 600,000 hectares of Sardinian territory is
environmentally preserved; about 25% of the island's territory. However,
Sardinia is home to nearly four million sheep, almost half of the entire
Italian assets.
Sardinia has a high level of endemism,
 with regards to both flora and fauna,
including insects and arachnids, as well as terrestrial vertebrates, with
endemic amphibians (including those also found on Corsica) including the
Sardinian brook salamander; Euproctus platycephalus, brown cave salamander;
Speleomantes genei, imperial cave salamander; Speleomantes imperiali,
Monte Albo cave salamander; Speleomantes flavus, Supramonte cave salamander;
Speleomantes supramontis, Sarrabus cave
salamander; Speleomantes sarrabusensis and
 Sardinian tree frog;
Hyla sarda (also found
in Corsica), with lizards endemic to the archipelago including Bedriaga's
rock lizard; Archaeolacerta bedriagae, Tyrrhenian wall lizard;
Podarcis tiliguerta and Fitzinger's algyroides; Algyroides fitzingeri.
The island
is inhabited by several terrestrial tortoises like Hermann's tortoise;
Testudo hermanni, the spur-thighed
tortoise; Testudo graeca, the subspecies Nabeul/Tunesian
tortoise; Testudo graeca nabeulensis and the subspecies of marginated tortoise; Testudo marginata sarda.
I would like to see some of these amphibians and reptilians.
Almost all terrestrial mammals found on the island today have been
introduced by humans, replacing a highly endemic fauna present on the island
during the Late Pleistocene. Here are some rodents, hedgehogs, bats,
weasels, foxes, Corsican red deer and two hares. And introduced ponies, mouflon and boars.
The flora
 counts 341 taxa, 195 of these are exclusive to Sardinia. I will
not be looking for any in particular, except the caudiciform
Urginea undulata and
Pancratium maritimum. Endemic species include Abies nebrodensis,
Allium agrigentinum, Anthemis cupaniana, Calendula maritima, Erysimum
etnense, Galium litorale, Petagnaea, Silene hicesiae, Viola ucriana, Zelkova
sicula, Aquilegia barbaricina, Aquilegia nuragica, Centaurea gymnocarpa,
Centranthus amazonum, Cerastium utriense, Dianthus rupicola, Gagea
chrysantha, Galium baldense, Galium glaucophyllum, Genista aetnensis,
Hieracium lucidum, Iris benacensis, Iris bicapitata, Iris marsica, Iris
pseudopumila, Ophrys calliantha,
Orchis brancifortii, Polygala sinisica,
Ribes sardoum and Santolina pinnata.
DIARY 10/9 2024.
10/9. After the non-Algeria trip, I have chosen something easier: the
beautiful Italian island of Sardinia, in the middle of the Mediterranean
Sea.
One week's planning, and then I have a flight, car and 4-5 apartments (at
twice the price, compared to long planning). But I also have a map,
packed
with nature, culture, history, beautiful and interesting things in
general. However, not museums, wineries, bars and not that many beaches.
I spend the entire flight to Milan, talking to the interesting Tunisian-Italian girl, who is studying to be a teacher at Absalon in Roskilde.
In Milan,
I have about three hours, and that's enough to find some real nice nature, a huge
circus,
a really good 50 cm stone-oven pizza and – OK; see a mall. I
don't make it into Milan itself
 or out into the mountains, but it's a fine
afternoon. Stock some dinner, just to be safe, and try a Tiramisu lemon,
which works fine.
I'm just get time for a Penne Alfredo at the airport.
I hit
Sardinia at dusk. I had booked the car for another flight, at 5pm and now
they have rented it out. So instead of paying €317; DKK 2,400, I have
to find another company that willingly rents me a Lamborghini Panda for
€2000; DKK
15,000. In fact, the price has gone up from €1300 and then €1700 while
I have been discussing with my agent in Spain.
I am late for all three hotels booked and paid for, and drive in the
dark to SanAntonio. (I also have an apartment in Sassari, but don't want to
drive two hours in the dark, but I will use it, the rest of the week. And
an apartment in Furtei that won't let me in after 20, but won't
refund the rent either, after the five minutes it took him to tell me that
little detail).
The
GPS estimates that I will hit the horse farm at 22:45, but I do a Tom
Kristensen, and I am way outside SanAntonio, on a farm at 21:50 – all alone. But I have the room number and
the key is under the mat. The last bit was of a lousy road, and then a very
long dirt road. Here is a comfortable 20-25C in the evening, 30-35C during
the day: Perfect for me.
Day's
photo highlights. (Opens in a new window)
 11/9. I don't really get to
sleep, but I'm up early and go for a walk, while the sun rises over the
fields. There are an incredible number of birds here, and a strange
combination of green bushes and dried out soil. Back at the farm, they offer
breakfast. It delays me a bit, but is worth it; so much delicious food,
albeit on the cake side.
I drive up north, first through small cosy villages, then along the deep
fjord and over a long dyke. I have 170 kilometres; three hours to the first
sight, and find the highway. It's actually a pretty ride too, except where
two cops are standing with a radar. Stopping only to refuel, then reach
Monte d'Accoddi, built by the Ozieri around 4,000–3,650 BC. It really has
something of a "sun temple" about it, and the surrounding nature is
fantastic. I see a lot of lizards and a large gecko; Moorish Wall Gecko;
Tarentola mauritanica, as well as some
flowering herbs.
Out on the coast, I find the port town of Porto Torres with the old
Basillica di San Gavino, built from 1030 to 1080. I trudge down through the
town to the port, which is overflowing with fibreglass boats. As consolation, I
grab a panini vegetariano in one of the squares.
I don't think it will be a
favourite city, and I only hear Italian.
I have time for a trip to the beach, and choose the reasonably undisturbed Bao
Bao Beach, somewhat further east. On the way, I visit a cliff-beach with a
tower; Torre di Abbacurrente and some nice looking Pancratium maritimum.
Bao
Bao Beach is a nice place, but just perfect sand.
There is also be time for Roccia dell'Elfante, which actually looks like
an elephant quite well, even though it is a odd natural
 lava formation.
I find a detour up through olive trees and vineyards to the surprisingly
sparsely populated but fertile highlands. Here are green grasslands, crooked
cork oaks and scattered fig trees. A simple smaller town occupies an entire
mountaintop. The views down through the green valleys are fantastic – and
probably too big for my camera.
Then it's down to Sassari, which will be my home this week, and
actually a beautiful old
town. I drop the car right at Sassari Piazza Italia, which is an impressive
square. Or more specifically; the building to the east of the square is.
Just around the corner is Corso Vittorio Emanuela II, which is the fancy
shopping street. Or rather; is thé shopping street, just not between 13 and
17. I make several loops in the narrow side streets, but the charming old
 houses are difficult to photograph. I take a break with a latte macchiato,
but I can't sit in the sun - maybe I've had enough anyway?
I find my room in a large apartment at 6pm. It is in a new but cosy smaller
block on the edge of the centre. Private parking and reasonably quick out of
town every morning.
I drop by the local supermarket, but bought most of it in Porto Torres.
Back home, I sew a cap into a sun shade. Then I cook-up some dinner at the
same time, as I don't want to eat at a restaurant three times a day. I
apparently have the whole apartment to myself, and sit in the kitchen and
work, until I crawl into bed.
The
day's highlights.
Time to head on in Diary 2. |