Out and about in Italy

Gallura is the northernmost tip of Sardinia and in the middle ages was one of the four ‘giudicati’ which formed the governance and administration of the island. A largely historic term now, with the area forming part of the modern province of Olbia-Tempio (Tempio and Olbia being the two main administrative centres) but it’s an historically interesting (as well as remarkably beautiful) part of the island. It has its own dialect too, tricky for visitors already struggling to reconcile their text book Italian with the rather harsher sound of Sards speaking their own language (Sardinian has ‘praza’ rather than the Italian ‘piazza’, ‘abbas’ rathern than ‘ague’ for waters for starters). The northern diasystem of Gallurese muddies the phonetic waters further, though you’ll get by in either Italian or indeed English.

The coast here is lovely, incredibly windy, with countless little bays and inlets, beautiful islands offshore (including the Parco Nazionale dell’Archipelago di La Maddalena) and the stunning Costa Smeralda unwinding down the north-east flank of the island, with good beaches at Cappricccioli, Rena Bianca and Liscia Ruia, and the main coast town at Porto Cervo.

Check out too the Golfo di Arzachena and the lovely wooded parkland of Caprera (with the house once inhabited by Giuseppe Garibaldi. There’s a museum here dedicated to the hero of Italian independence and the Risorgimento. You have the airport and port at Olbia, and main towns are Olbia , Tempio Pausania , La Maddalena , Arzachena and Calangianus. The area’s economy is largely agricultural and fishing, with granite and cork traditional mainstays.

The second largest of the seven islands that make up the Aeolian group (Lipari is the largest), Salina is, nonetheless, no giant. A mere 27 square kilometres in size, the island is formed of six extinct volcanoes, with the vast bulk of the the island comprising the two largest peaks of Monte dei Porri and its big sister Fossa delle Felci. Around the two cones lies a fertile land (all that rich volcanic matter) on which are grown capers and the grapes for white Malvasia wine. Visitors should pack their walking shoes as this is superb hiking country, with great views down over the volcanoes and onto the ocean. There are good trails, one linking the main town of Santa Marina di Salina with the peak of Monta Fossa delle Felci (962 metres asl), the Madonna del Terzito sanctuary and on to the port at Rinella.

The modern name of the island comes from the salting works that were the main employer on the island until quite recently. This ’salina’ (salt lagoon) is at Lingua on the east coast. Dominated by the lighthouse, the salt flats are an important habitat for birds migrating to and from AFrica.

The other main towns are Malfa and Leni, with smaller settlements (all coastal of course) being Lingua, Capo Faro, Pollara, Valdichiesa and Leni though the island has a scant population of 2300 people. The little port of Rinella is the arrival point for most visitors, with ferries and hydrofoils being met by buses on the quayside. The island is, like so much of the Italian Mediterranean, much invaded. Inhabited since the Bronze Age, the island population fled or was killed during the 1544 war of Spain on France, when Barbarossa laid waste to Naples. The island was repopulated by immigrants from Spain, Sicily and Italy over the years. After the two World Wars, the island’s depopulated once more, as many thousands left for the dreams of an easier life in Australia and America, though the descendants of many are now returning to the island, which is slowly repopulating.

Large parts of Salina have been a nature reserve since 1981. The thick vegetation is a habitat for hawks, falcons and barn owls. Vegetation includes the vineyards and caper bushes of course, peaches, plums, apricots, almonds, and orange and lemon groves. The weather is very singular. Reliably sunny and calm during the day, the island has dramatic night storms. Check out the traditional buildings during your time on the island: painted in pink, ochre, turquoise and white, they have flat roofs to catch the sparse rain. Cuisine herer is fish of course, salcicciate (hand made sausage flavoured with wild fennel seeds). There is the Festa di San Giuseppe, with pasta and chickpea dishes, and a number of other festivals or ’sagre’.

Excellent website about Salina [http://www.estateolie.it/salina.htm] and the other Aeolian Islands, though it is in Italian.