"Heart of Independant Sardinia" Orgosolo by giampiero6

Orgosolo Travel Guide: 7 reviews and 37 photos

The Ruffled Collar Says It All - Orgosolo

In Sardinian: 'It's time to eradicate these people from the Earth; their abuse of the land, their misuse of the land, their despotism."

Orgosolo is the heart land of a fiercely independant Sardinia. This is the Sardinia of Padre Padrone of a harsh, insular, past always struglling against the oppression of outside forces. The flag you see in the back is the flag of Sardinia; I Quattro Mori (the 4 moors) The symbol is unclear, but in some accounts it's origin is Catalan and symbolizes 4 Moorish invaders blind folded for execution.

Traditional Sardinian Costume

This sprit lives on in the heart of Sardinia. Not the execution of course, but the sense of always having to repel attack. Sardinia has an amazing coastline all around, but traditional Sardinian culture lives primarily in land and especially in the mountains where Sardinians have always retreated from invaders to fight guerilla wars. In many ways, Sardinia has never been really controlled and occupied. It is now in theory a semi-self governing autonomous region of Italy. And even as late as the 70's and 80's this part of Sardinia harbored outlaws and bandits. A famous film Banditi di Orgosolo was made here in which the pastori (shepherds) of Orgosolo were the actors.

Mural With African Inspiration

Connecting their struggle to another:
When the first missionaries arrived, we had the land and they had the bible. So we closed out eyes and prayed with them. When we open them, we had the bible in our hands and they had the land. --Desmond Tutu Archbishop of South Africa

If you go to Orgosolo, you definitely have the feeling that you are an outsider..even though on the surface..you might not notice it you are light years away from the jet set playgrouonds of the Costa Smeralda.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Real pastoral and independant tradition of the Sardinian Mountains
Cons:Inward looking, clanish.
In a nutshell:Outlaw, Down Home Sardinia..for good and for bad.

Last visit to Orgosolo: Oct 2002
Intro Updated Jul 30, 2011
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Reviews (1)

Ruffled Collars Won't Get You Love in Orgosolo - Orgosolo

Orgosolo's Murales Local Customs (1)

Orgosolo is famous for its accomplished tradition of Murales. Large creative murals that you'll find all over town.... more travel advice

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Comments (10)

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JennysTravels Jan 1, 2009 at 2:29 PM

I was doing a wikpedia search of the four moors and there as a link here ... to your page! Great thanks.!! Happy New Year.
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craic Dec 16, 2007 at 4:48 AM

interesting.
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mircaskirca Apr 26, 2007 at 11:56 AM

I loved walking around Orgosolo!! And murales... I could not stop taking photos! Well, at the end I decided to buy a book too :)
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rozehill Dec 4, 2004 at 8:26 PM

Looks like these murals could tell a few stories
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vaticanus Sep 15, 2003 at 1:54 PM

Extirpate the B-------ds: True in 1792 and true in 2003. Great eye opener photo!
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TravelCool Apr 11, 2003 at 5:16 PM

If I ever get political on VT again, I'll make sure it's in a mural.
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CliffClaven Mar 19, 2003 at 3:39 AM

"One of the most neglected spots in Europe" - written in 1792 and still true!
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kiwi Mar 19, 2003 at 3:28 AM

Yes I think i would feel an outsider, but in a nice way, and i'd be privileged to visit. - Pam.
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titti Mar 15, 2003 at 6:43 AM

Nice page. When I was there, I couldn't feel an outsider, since complete strangers invited me to drink beer early in the morning. :-)
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croisbeauty Nov 22, 2002 at 10:40 AM

non mi sembra come un paese tipo "Lasciate ogni speranza voi che entrate", anzi