INSPIRATION

In the morning, before leaving Morgongiori, my host Alfredo decides to come with me to visit the Nuraghe Inus, on a slope of Monte Arci already in the territory of Siris. We get in the car and arrive at a hill covered with a beautiful forest of holm oaks and Mediterranean scrub.

It is right on the edge of this hill that the nuraghe is located, a tower on which we can climb. Around the nuraghe you can see the remains of huts and a well-kept path leads to a panoramic point from which we can admire the whole panorama of the Marmilla.

Back in the car we enter a small road that descends into the narrow valley of the Riu Bingias. A rocky ridge is rich in tafoni, natural cavities dug by atmospheric and chemical agents, and not far from here there is a source.

Back in Morgongiori I take the bicycle and leave for the village of Siris. I go down the provincial road 51 which is without turmac for s bit and therefore prevents me from gaining speed with my road tires. Slowness allows me to appreciate the hills all around, and the asphalt then makes me slide quickly towards the entrance to the village.

I head to the Town Hall, a modern building inside a green park, and I meet the Mayor Marco, the deputy Eliseo and the surveyor Mauro whom I previously met by chance at the source of Riu Bingias and who, not knowing of my arrival, has informed all the administration!

Parked the bike we can walk around this small village. The houses are made of stone, in the prevailing lithologies of the area, light limestone, the fossil limestone of the hills around here, and basalt, the dark one coming from Monte Arci. We arrive at a new square built by recovering a large loggia of an old house, and the Mayor tells me about the idea of ​​recovering the old stone columns as well.

We pass the modern parish church of San Sebastiano and arrive at the end of the village, from where I arrived, at the church of San Vincenzo, recently rebuilt on the ruins of the old 16th century church, but in a style probably not too dissimilar to the original. In the square dedicated to the saint, where the saint celebrations take place, there is a millenary olive tree whose gnarled branches branch off from the central trunk with an impressive diameter.

We slowly return to the Town Hall, while the Mayor tells me about the quince festival that will take place shortly. A small refreshment was set up in the council chamber for my short visit. Here is a beautiful collection of gems, donated by Isa Carta and Agostino Pilloni. They tell me that an overturned bicycle was used to polish them all, with the wheel acting as a sander operated by hand-moved pedals!

SOUND FRAGMENTS

 

SARDINIAN SHORT STORIES

During the walk in this small village of just over two hundred inhabitants, two artists are mentioned to me: Bianca Atzei and Andrea Casciu.

The first is a famous singer born in Milan but whose father is originally from Siris. Obviously, everyone here is proud of the career of this artist who arrived in Sanremo in 2015. Every time she returns to Sardinia she manages to visit the place of her origins.

The second is a street artist born here. The most recurring subject of his murals is a bearded man with a neutral, relaxed expression that instills a certain tranquility. Unfortunately, I can’t see his works here in Siris but I’m sure I’ll meet some in the next few days in Mogoro and Masullas.