INSPIRATION

Ah, a little bit of climb, I missed it! i arrive in Cheremule welcomed by the Mayor Antonella and her deputy Antonio. It’s a beautiful day and I can’t wait to visit this charming village.

We start visiting Mount Cuccuruddu, an ancient volcano behind the village, in which there is a beautiful pine forest, with the Science Park inside, a recreational space for children.

Once at the top we enjoy the view over the Nuraghi Valley.

This mountain was largely quarried for the extraction of pumice and some cuts highlight a very red stone. And here a unique volcanic stone is extracted, which was named Cheremulite.

In addition to the pine forest, another green area extends on one side of the mountain, the Tippiri wood, a beautiful naturalistic area with important fauna and plants.

When we return to Cheremule, I meet Councilor Davide who takes me to see one of the most important archaeological sites in the area: the Petroglyph Park, which includes various necropolises.

We make our way through the high vegetation and under a scorching sun to visit the Museddu necropolis. A magical place, also chosen for this as a concert venue, for example at the Time in Jazz Festival. Here there are a whole series of tombs carved out of white limestone.

We walk from one grave to another, now very sweaty, and we continue towards the next necropolis to admire one of the most important tombs, called Branca, where there are a large number of petroglyphs of anthropomorphic figures.

In the afternoon I rest at the Binzighedda b&b where I am a guest, and as soon as the temperature drops I go out to tour this village.

The center of Cheremule is full of historic buildings, some with beautiful Aragonese decorations. I visit the Archangel San Gabriele church, right next to the Town Hall, where there is a beautiful wooden altar and a wooden Christ that impresses me with its modernity and lightness of forms.

I meet the Mayor Antonella who takes me to see a couple of important works made for the community, the swimming pool, the soccer field, and a nice public park.

We walk through the streets of the center admiring some beautiful murals, and we head towards the Oratory of Santa Croce, where the Su Cuncordu choir is waiting for us. Here, in a cozy atmosphere, I listen to their songs and play my ukulele, in front of a beautiful bas-relief by the sculptor ‘Cicieddu’.

 

SOUND FRAGMENTS

 

SHORT SARDINIAN STORIES

Patrizio Cuccureddu, or ‘Cicieddu’ as everyone knew him here in Cheremule, was a wood carver. This morning we visited his daughter Giovanna, who welcomes us to her father’s house with great generosity, to show us some works and tell us some anecdotes from the life of his father, who died in 2010.

We hear from the voice that Giovanna is excited, showing us some beautiful wooden works, and she tells us about the life of Cicieddu, returned from the war with 10 children, he starts to work as a bricklayer, and in his spare time he produces bas-reliefs. Then, always self-taught, he moved on to wooden sculptures. He likes hardwoods, the olive, the pear tree, and begins to create sculptures that depict his strong religious faith.

Among his works there are many statues of Christ (I discover that his is the one I saw today in the parish church, as well as some sculptures in the church of San Pietro di Sorres that I saw yesterday in Borutta), statues of female figures, statues with African influences.

Then one of the works that strikes me most, a plastic composition that represents Christ who saves from some tragedies of modern life, the street life of the homeless, drugs, money, violence against women, abandoned fetuses.

This house was Cicieddu’s laboratory. Giovanna tells us that her father’s legs were devastated by cuts that he got by working the wood with a sickle and without protection, and only towards the end of his life, when he could no longer sculpt, did he dedicate himself to creating some drawings, which I admire on some walls of the house.