Sardinia’s Interior: Rugged Country, Rugged People
My wife and I did several trips into the interior of Sardinia. It’s similarities to California’s Central Valley, Utah, Nevada and Eastern Washington are striking. One fascinating component of Sardinian life is it’s almost anarchistic attitude toward the “outside world.” The town that exemplifies this lifestyle is Orgòsolo. During the 1960’s it was know for banditry and violence that, to this day, gives the town a bad reputation with the authorities. A fascinating manifestation of this anarchistic worldview are the murals that cover many of the walls in the city (there are murals painted on the mountains and rock around town, but we didn’t have an opportunity to see them). We Americans consider ourselves a frontier people and I found myself relating quite easily to the town and its people. After all, deep down inside we all want to be renegades, don’t we?
As you can see, Sardinia has the look and feel of the Western US. This beautiful landscape is home to some rugged people:
Many of the murals depict famous historical events or people. Above the artist expresses some unkind words for Salvadore Allende.
The murals are beautiful, stark and quite thought-provoking. As we wandered the streets of Orgòsolo we had the sense that visitors were welcome, but only for a little while! Once again, Sardinia was a complete surprise. Oh, by the way, if you happen to run into the two bandits below, call the authorities…………………..they’re trouble:
