To understand the essence of Sardinia, the most distant island in Italy, located in the south of the country, you need to travel inland to escape the mass of tourists in Cagliari.
Without going too far, Allai, an hour and a half from the regional capital, already offers the Sardinian “atmosphere”.
The small town, whose name means “house of God” in the local dialect, has exactly 344 inhabitants – and of course, everyone knows each other! “Imagining Sardinia without [small] communities is like imagining it without sheep,” says the mayor of Allai, Antonio Pili, about the tradition of raising these animals in the region’s mountains.
Among the city's treasures is the CiMA museum, where one of the guides, Mara Cossu, shows finds that were discovered by chance, since the location has never received excavation campaigns, like those carried out in other archaeological sites, such as Selinunte, in Sicily.
Among the findings are “domus de janas”, a type of tomb from prehistoric Sardinia excavated in rocks, as well as “fairy houses” and other places, which according to the guide, “are always good to visit with respect”.
Allai also houses a tree house, the first public one in Italy, with access to Samugheo, the neighboring town. Between them, huge wind turbines stand out like giants from the mountains.
Textile culture is typical of Sardinia and has given the region its name worldwide. To learn more about this aspect, which is still very popular on the island, we recommend visiting the Murats Textile Art Museum, which houses artifacts from a variety of eras, some of which are for sale.
Among the traditional items are carpets, which take weeks to produce, as well as the very rare “tapinos de mortu”, where the deceased rested during the wake. (HANDLE)
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