INSPIRATION

I leave Cargeghe with a very warm and sticky air. I skirt the limestone walls on the right, slightly uphill, and pass a nice panoramic point from where you can see the whole valley on which the 131 highway passes. Then I pass some water sources where some people fill bins and load them onto their cars. The gentle ascent continues and shortly afterwards I pass a beautiful golf course before entering Florinas.

I cycle up the main street and arrive at a bar, Shabbycafe. I stop to have a coffee and stay to do some work since nobody is waiting for me here. Mario, the bartender, asks me if I’m Gian Piero’s friend, “the one who is traveling around Sardinia by bike” and so we talk a little.

Once I finished my work, I get back in the saddle to visit the village. I pass by the central church of Santa Maria dell’Assunta and continue until the end of the village, arriving at the church of San Francesco, right next to the cemetery, where you can admire a large part of Florinas. On one side of the hills the wind turbines stand out, which contribute to the economy of this territory, as well as the siliceous sand quarries not far from the village, which I have already seen in the car ride done with Gian Piero when I was in Muros.

Back to the centre village, I notice the signs indicating archaeological sites. A nuraghe, a village. It is very hot. Where will they be? Far away? 10 kilometers? In the indecision and uncertainty of distances, I decide not to follow the signs but I continue through the historic center, narrow streets, some green squares, balconies in bloom, and I arrive at the exit of the village, facing the road I will have to take tomorrow to go to Codrongianos. A beautiful view of the hills behind the plain.

The morning is over and having found no contacts or accommodation I decide to return to Muros where Gian Piero is available to welcome me back. The other day, during the car ride with Gian Piero we stopped at the beautiful country church of Sant’Antonio of Ossi and very close to the border with Florinas. So, I conclude this day in Muros, watching the Italian basketball championship final, all cheering for Dinamo Sassari … but they didn’t make it!

SOUND FRAGMENTS

SHORT SARDINIAN STORIES

Two important festivals are held here in Florinas: the Figulinas Festival and Florinas in Yellow.

The first takes its name from the old Latin name of the mountain behind the village, perhaps due to the fact that here there was a large production of ceramics. The aim of the festival is to “enhance the ancient singing and dance traditions of Sardinian culture by promoting relations with other realities in Europe, the Mediterranean but also all over the world”. The festival, active since 1989, hosts artists from all over the world and is part of the C.I.O.F.F. (Conseil International des Organizations de Festivals de Folklore et d’Arts Traditionells).

Florinas in Yellow – The island of mysteries, on the other hand, is one of the longest-lasting literary festivals in Sardinia, dedicated to the “noir” genre, or thriller. Here, meetings are held with authors, round tables, readings, animated readings and concerts. The artistic direction is of the Cyrano bookshop in Alghero (where only a week ago I played in company of friends musicians from Alghero!) and of the Azuni bookshop in Sassari. Many authors transited here, from Massimo Carlotto to Andrea Camilleri, including the great jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava who presented his Rava Noir, a disc inspired by a noir comic whose story was written by Altan, set in New York and of which Rava is the protagonist.