INSPIRATION

Today it’s a very short route, not even a kilometer straight from Muros, practically a road that changes its name. I arrive in the village where councilors Giannella, Pietro and Marta are waiting for me, together with Giuseppe (author of the blog sinnoscargeghe.blogspot.com). With them I will go around the village, but the first stop is in the hall of the parish church of San Quirico and Giulitta, from the 16th century, in a beautiful square where there are sculptures by Pinuccio Sciola, to meet a group of young people. We are welcomed by Don Felix, a nice African priest who vividly animates the meeting, singing and saying a few words also in Sardinian, in which I introduce myself, play and tell a little about my journey.

Once I finish, we leave Don Felix to his happy vocation and head to visit the former cemetery, from 1852, now an amphitheater accessible through the beautiful stone portal, the only original element left. From here, we move on foot to take a walk along a path full of centenary oaks, just below the limestone ridge. We are under the Giorrè plateau, on the border with the municipalities of Ossi and Florinas, where there is a climbing way and a craft brewery, and right here the initial scene of the film Proibito by Monicelli was shot, of which I spoke in Tissi’s article.

Below us, the plain of Campomela extends, down to the 131 highway, where there is a train station of the same name, on the Ozieri Chilivani-Porto Torres railway line (now closed to the public.) We continue until we see Sa Rocca ‘e Mesu Die, a very isolated limestone spike. From here, we arrive at the rural church of Santa Maria de Contra, another place of some importance from a cinematographic point of view because here an important scene of the film Padre Padrone by the Taviani brothers was shot, based on the novel by Gavino Ledda.

For lunch, the Mayor Franco joins us and tells me about the drama of the scarce or even totally absent phone reception in this village, a plague that afflicts many villages and areas of Sardinia and which I consider among the main causes of the depopulation of which we speak so much: how can a young person think of setting up any business (which in 2019 certainly needs to be connected with the world) in this situation?

In the afternoon they take me to the Community Aggregation Center, where I work on the blog, at the weekly episode of Radio Francigena, and I record a small video to celebrate today’s day, June 21, the music day! Then I meet everyone for an aperitif in the center and a tour of the village to admire the square with the beautiful war memorial, the very white church of Santa Croce which contains a beautiful wooden altar and a Christ with articulated arms (for “s’iscravamentu”, the Christ deposition from the cross on Good Friday before Easter). Around the village I can admire some beautiful buildings, before going to dinner and sleeping at Franco and Sara’s home, a nice couple who contacted me on Facebook long ago to offer me hospitality, and with whom we spend the evening chatting about life.

SOUND FRAGMENTS

Cinematic fragment

SHORT SARDINIAN STORIES

Wikipedia states: “The film Padre Padrone was shot in 1977 in Cargeghe and in the surrounding countryside, based on the autobiographical novel by Gavino Ledda, directed by the Taviani brothers, with Saverio Marconi, Omero Antonutti, Marcella Michelangeli, Fabrizio Forte, Nanni Moretti , Stanko Molnar, Marino Cenna, and with the participation of Gavino Ledda who plays himself. The film was awarded the Palme d’Or for Best Film at the 30th Cannes Film Festival, and was selected from among the 100 Italian films to be saved”. But then I do a bit of further research and discover that, if it’s true that the film was a great success, it also aroused much discontent and criticism, especially among the Sardinians, who did not appreciate the fact that many references to culture, music and traditions of Sardinia were missing. Others did not like that such a delicate story had been put before everyone’s eyes. Francesco Cossiga (former Italian President from Sardinia) put it this way: “We Sardinians prefer to wash dirty clothes within the family. And we are also touchy”. While I read the book, which I will perhaps talk about when I am in Siligo, the birthplace of Gavino Ledda, I put the film on my “to watch” list.