Sardinia: Cagliari

On Holy Saturday we arrived in Cagliari, the capital city of Sardinia, a dramatic setting, lively streets. The weather was excellent, making Cagliari even more likeable.

On Holy Saturday afternoon we caught two processions. On Easter, there were three Mother Son meetings, known as the S'Incontru. On Easter Monday, there was the procession of Sant'Efisio, the town's patron saint, a prelude to the saint's day celebration around May 1st. In total we caught 14 Easter processions in Sardinia, a personal record, those not in terms of size. All the processions in Sardinia are small by Spanish standards, under a hundred people, carrying rather unimpressive icons, nevertheless they are very much of the tradition.

However, the highlight of our visit was taking the city bus to Molentargius-Saline Regional Park to spot the greater flamingos. The young women at the tourist office confidently assured us that we'd be able to see them - some of them live in Cagliari year round. We were skeptical - wild animals are fickle, have wily ways to elude us. We got up extra early for the excursion. We had great success with flamingos. There were thousands of them hanging out right next to the city. The townspeople must be familiar with them as we are with Canada geese.

John says: I've wanted to visit Cagliari for over 20 years since reading the 1921 travel book Sea and Sardinia by D.H. Lawrence. I was not disappointed.

There was polyphonic singing with men, women and children in the Procession of the Holy Mysteries. Check out the short video below.


Later, in the same procession, the statue of the body of Christ was carried out of a church and a few people threw flowers onto the casket. Another short video.


A few more photos of the very sombre procession from the small neighborhood church up to the Cathedral and back.














We got up early and rode a local bus to Molentargius-Saline Natural Park in hopes of spotting the resident Greater Flamingos. Success!










The Striking Town Hall of Cagliari is the first thing one sees after emerging from the train station.




One day our lunch was pizza slices "to go" from La Piccola Pizzetta, a local institution.


Street Views.






One day we walked to the Archaeological Museum (See the 3000-year-old Bronze Deer Figurine 1st below), passing the imposing ElephantTower (with an open back, and deadly gates), and the remnants of the Roman Amphitheater carved directly into the limestone hill.








Views from the Belvedere. Note that the white dots on the water are flamingos in the salt flats.










On Easter Sunday, there are the S'Incontru processions that represent the Meeting of the Risen Christ and the Virgin Mary. See the one video and several photos below.








And on Easter Monday, the procession of Sant'Efisio, the patron saint of Cagliari.




And finally, the Costa Toscana Cruise Ship in the harbour.

Sardinia: Iglesias

On Holy Thursday we went from the north to the south of Sardinia, to Iglesias. Many people were traveling home for the holiday weekend. There were processions on Thursday evening, Friday morning, and Friday evening. While they were mostly the same, Friday saw a lot of spectators. We have grown to be used to not seeing crowds in the last couple of weeks in Corsica and Sardinia.

Iglesias (Spanish for "churches") derived its wealth from mining, as far back as Roman time. We took the bus to the coast at Nebida, walked to Masua, then returned by bus. The walk turned out to be a stage of the 500km Cammino Minerario di Santa Barbara. We realized the hills around Iglesias must be rich in minerals. From the bus and along the walk, we saw a number of abandoned mining sites.

The transportation from Sassari to Iglesias: bus -> train -> train ->bus.






For Holy Week in Sardinia, church altars and chapels are decorated with flowers and su nenniri (sprouted grains).








And there are special Easter pastries, pardulas or casadinas, in shop windows. Not sure which is shown below as the difference is in the cheese fillings; both have the "small sun" shape.


In addition, these large, gift wrapped, chocolate Easter eggs with a surprise inside, were very popular. Sometimes it seemed that everyone walking on the streets was carrying one.


Most processions, including this one, Procession of Our Lady of Sorrows, were led/announced by 2 or 3 pairs of young men swinging noise-making "ratchets", followed by a solitary, solemn drummer. Check out the videos below








The narrow streets were crowded with onlookers so we circled around to the Duomo to rejoin the procession.














We were not sure at first, but there were both men and women under these enormous white hoods and "puffy shirts" outfits with black gloves.


One day we rode the bus to Nebida, walked to Masua, the site of a huge mine, and returned to Iglesia by bus. Below is the view from the Nebida Belvedere.


On the very, very scenic walk to Mausa we ran into folks walking the blue-signed CMSB (Cammino di Santa Barbara)










The mine.


Another evening, we followed the Procession of the Descent from the Cross. The narrow streets were packed with people. Check out the men with fake beards and turban-like headgear. Notice the soldiers. And look for the photos where women in street clothes are carrying the large cross.


















City Hall lit in the Italian colors; and we walk around the narrow streets of city center. Look for the blue moon rising just over the buildings at upper left.