Product Description

A comprehensive, up-to-date and informative guide to one of the most intriguing islands. Discover Sardinia’s highlights by flicking through the full-colour introduction, from the lively capital of Cágliari and the beaches of the southern coast to the evocative prehistoric ruins of the Nuraghi. You will find incisive reviews of all the best places to eat, drink and sleep in every region and plenty of practical advice for exploring the island – whether by bicycle, car, boat or on foot. The guide also takes a comprehensive look at Sardinia's history, culture, art and many festivals and includes maps and plans for every area. The Rough Guide to Sardinia is like having a local friend plan your trip.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #97173 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

About the Author
Rob Andrews lived in Italy for six years and is co-author of The Rough Guide to Sicily.

Excerpted from Sardinia: the Rough Guide by Robert Andrews. Copyright © 2000. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
Introduction

All islands have a peculiar fascination, and Sardinia is no exception. Lying a little less than 200km from the Italian mainland and the same distance from the Tunisian coast, it is, in the words of D.H. Lawrence, "lost between Europe and Africa and belonging to nowhere." With its own language and distinct customs, the island boasts a fiercely independent character while remaining unmistakably and exuberantly Italian. There is nothing particularly homogenous about the island, however. As the Mediterranean's second biggest island after Sicily - though, with 1.6 million people, less than a third of Sicily's population - Sardinia encompasses a range of diverse faces, from the stereotyped yachting elite of the fabled Costa Smeralda to the simple shepherd's society of the mountainous interior. The fact that you can pass from one to the other in less than an hour is part of the island's appeal. Neither image of course represents more than a tiny fraction of the true picture. There are glorious beaches and rocky shores on every coast, and also dramatic cliffs and numerous lagoons which account for a rich diversity of wildlife, as do the forested mountains and wild "macchia" that carpets the interior.

Not only the island but each of its four provinces of Cgliari, Oristano, Sssari and Nuoro has this range, while within - or sometimes transcending - these administrative boundaries, there exists a mosaic of smaller entities, historical territories each with its different traditions, dialects and historical roots - for instance Gallura, Logudoro, Sulcis, Campidano, Arborea and Barbagia, to name but a few. At a still more local level, each village celebrates its individuality at the many flamboyant festivals which take place throughout the year. Ranging from rowdy medieval pageants to dignified religious processions, these festivities help to keep tradition alive in an island where the past is inescapable.

Where to go

Sardinia's capital, Cgliari, is the best place to find traces of every phase of the island's past, from the idiosyncratic statuettes of Sardinia's mysterious nuraghic culture to the Roman theatre and Pisan citadel. The best Roman and Carthaginian ruins, however, stand a short journey outside town at Nora, evidence of the importance with which the island was regarded. Many of the Mediterranean powers that occupied the island were drawn to its mines, still visible throughout the regions of Sulcis and Iglesiente, which make up Sardinia's southwestern corner. Off the Sulcis coast, the islands of Sant'Ant'oco and San Pietro provide more archeological remains as well as some prime beaches, while the southern littoral and the Iglesiente's Costa Verde are among Sardinia's most scenic coasts.

The island's only extensive plain, the Campidano, separates Iglesiente from La Marmilla, a hilly country holding some spectacular nuraghic sites, including Sardinia's biggest, Su Nuraxi. East of Cgliari, the rugged Sarrabus area is fringed by more acres of clean sandy beaches, with resort facilities concentrated in the towns of Villasimius and Muravera. On the western coast, the province of Oristano holds an abundance of nuraghic, Carthaginian and Roman remains, the most important of which - the ruins of Tharros - lie on the Sinis peninsula, whose lagoons and beaches form a protected habitat for aquatic birds. North of here, Bosa is a low-key but attractive fishing port on a river, and Alghero attracts much of the island's tourist trade while retaining its distinctive Catalan character, the result of intense settlement 500 years ago. Stintino, on the island's northwestern tip, lies near some beaches of jaw-dropping beauty.

Inland, Sssari is Sardinia's second city, making a good base to tour some of the Pisan churches which are scattered throughout the Logudoro area south and east of here. On the north coast, picturesque Castelsardo is the chief town of Anglona, a territory indelibly associated with the Doria family of Genoa. Bordering it, Gallura is a dramatically craggy zone whose interior is swathed in cork forests and whose indented coast includes the Costa Smeralda. A host of less celebrated but equally enticing stretches of rocky or sandy shore lie nearby, clustered around such centres as Santa Teresa di Gallura - the chief port for connections with Corsica - on Sardinia's northern tip, and Palau, embarcation point for trips to the Maddalena archipelago, whose crystalline waters are also a magnet for boatloads of visitors in summer. Further down the coast, Olbia is the main entry point for most of the seasonal swarms from the mainland, though it lacks much charm.

Apart from this top section, Sardinia's eastern coast is largely inaccessible, the sheer cliff walls punctuated by a few developed spots such as Cala Gonone and by the small-scale ferry port of Arbatax. The huge central province of Nuoro occupies most of the mountainous interior, and is the best place to encounter the last remnants of the island's rural culture, particularly its costumes and village festivals. If your image of Sardinia is all shaggy sheep and offbeat folklore - the kind of place depicted in films like Padre Padrone - then these bleak slopes and isolated villages probably fit the bill. This is especially true in the central area known as Barbagia, where the sparse population is concentrated in small, insulated villages, few of which warrant spending much time in, though they provide an excellent opportunity to view the quiet life of the interior at first hand, and make useful bases for mountain rambles. Although Sardinia's peaks are not particularly high by European standards (no mountain exceeds 2000m), the terrain can be both awesome and forbidding, particularly in the central ring of the Gennargentu mountains, which are often blanketed in snow between November and March.

Customer Reviews

Fine if you like camping and churches
I bought this book with the hope that it would provide an overview of the islands attractions and facilities, and to assist with booking accommodation for a weekend break. The details seem rather bald; a lot of very dry, dusty text, rather small maps, and seemingly endless descriptions of churches and camping possibilities. It seemed to be full of negative information, what not to do and where not to go. The items which seemed as if they would be of interest, e.g. Neptune's Cave, were skimmed over with basic facts of location and access. I wanted information about local markets and facilities for buying food, (other than in a restuarant), and local specialities but have not found them in this book.

There were no real descriptions of an area, or a restaurant or an hotel's atmosphere, useful facts such as addresses and phone numbers and general costs were provided.

I have resorted to contacting the Italian Tourist board for details. I am sure that there are more details in the guide than I am giving credit for, but it feels like a laborious process to discover them.

I had been looking forward to my visit, but now feel rather disappointed with my choice of destination, I hope I will be pleasantly surprised.

helpful, interesting and easy to use
Contrary to some other reviewers I found this guide extremely helpful and easy to use when travelling through North West Sardinia for 10 days. It gives a general overview of the landscape and feel of locations, with more detail of towns, activities and places of specific interest. We took it with us most places, found it pretty much an accurate and interesting guide for our holiday and would've been lost without it!

It is not the most exciting book to read but I found it an excellent 'handbook' to Sardinia and its town centre maps an essential accompaniment to the more local not-so-helpful general tourist information. I felt it gave a varied and honest review of the different aspects to the country, its landscape, culture, food, facilities and people. Without being boring, it covers the practicalities and necessities of travelling, emphasising what is particularly relevant for Sardinia. There is also a handy language section at the back with some basic phrases, signs and lists of food for those who don't speak a word of Italian!

Some of the information about restaurants, camping facilities, tourist centre opening times and prices were slightly out of date or inaccurate but this is to be expected and was nothing to cause great distress or ruin its usefulness.
I would certainly suggest reading the introduction to and basics about Sardinia before going and then using the 'area guides' whilst out there. I recommend taking a detailed and comprehensive Map of Sardinia to accompany the guide book and a phrase book/dictionary if you want to make a proper go at communicating (my main mistake this time).

My only real criticism of the book is it suggests that going in August is a big no-no due to prices, temperature and extreme crowds. However, we went during the beginning of August, and although accommodation was more expensive, we found it is easy to avoid the crawling busy beaches by making a bit of effort, often were the only people at a tourist location and generally felt much less crowded and the temperature much more wonderful than we ever would in Manchester!

.....On another note, nothing will prepare you for the bad bus information and service, but the prices are cheap and its great fun to hire a moped or car if you really want to get around away from the overly touristy areas.

Stop! Buy the Cadogan guide instead!
Having The Rough Guide to Sardinia is better than having no guide at all;it's functional and it will probably suit travellers on a minuscule budgetgrimly trying to get around this tremendous place on infrequent publictransport and staying in campsites (the original 'rough guide' scenario).But really, it is a joyless read. The author, Robert Andrews, has managedto reduce a fascinating place to a series of sighs and grumbles. "Not muchto see here," he sniffs, when confronted with a small towns in theinterior, minor nuraghe (the amazing stone age buildings that dot theSardinian landscape), great stretches of coastline.
The RG makesSardinia sound like a drab, dispiriting place. We were there in mid-April2004 during unseasonably bad weather, and even the most Godforsaken townsin the interior in rainstorms were not as bleak as the RG makes Sardiniasound.
That said, the RG's basic information is sound, even if the prices in lireare very outdated. The cultural contexts are as valuable as you'd expectfrom the RG series (which I've been a devotee of for a decade) and it'sobviously well-researched. So it's not totally dreadful - just notanywhere near as good as the Cadogan guide. The Cadogan's writers are somuch more enthusiastic - not in a cheesy, 'everything is wonderful' way,but they are a breath of fresh air compared to the RG, their style islighter, their excitement at the mysteries and wonders of Sardiniapalpable.
Buy the RG as a second guide, an extra voice, and it's fine.But if you only buy one guide to Sardinia, we found the Cadogan so muchmore rewarding, even for travellers on a budget (we rented a cheap car andstayed in agriturismi and small hotels, so it's not like we're luxurytravellers turning our noses up at the Rough Guide).