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| On these pages are some pictures I made
when we traveled to the island of Sardinia in 1991 and again in
1999. The shortest way to Sardinia from Italy is
a 170 mile flight from Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome into Olbia on
the northeast coast of the island. The flight is all spent in
climbing and descending, leaving no time for even a drink to be
served. The
picture above shows a view of the outskirts of Olbia as we approach from
Rome. The portion of the coast to the right going north
is the Costa Smeralda (the Emerald Coast), an exclusive (expensive)
playground for the jet-set crowd. Not having membership in
that group, our destination was the small village of Posada in the other
direction, south down the coast from Olbia. Giovanni, a friend of Christa's family from way back, and his wife Lina
reside there and were our hosts on both trips. A few general notes about Sardinia: this small island (130 miles north-south and 90 miles east-west ) has a most complex and ancient history. The first traces of human habitation date back to 500,000 BC. At varying times, the island has been independent and has been under the rule of Phoenicia, Carthage, Rome, the Vandals, Pisa, Genoa, and Spain. Today it is an autonomous region in the Republic of Italy. It has a culture, customs, and language quite distinct from the rest of Italy. The capital of Sardinia is Cagliari at the southern tip of the island. Regrettably we've not yet had the opportunity to visit there. On both our trips we stayed in Posada on the east coast. Posada lies in the province of Nuoro, which encompasses a portion of the coast and an extensive mountainous inland area. Nuoro province is the legendary redoubt of the fabled Sardinian bandits. Nothing could be more incongruous than that image compared to the people I met, who were paragons of friendliness and hospitality. |
PHOTO PAGES
