Stage 1: Alghero, Sardinia

The Giro d'Italia, one of the most iconically Italian events of the sporting world, begins in Catalonia.

In Alghero, in Sardinia, nearly a quarter of the population speaks a variant of Catalan, called algueres, as a first and primary language. The city is located on the northwestern tip of the island, just across a narrow bit of ocean from Catalonia, under whose crown the people lived for many generations. Thanks to its strategic location in the Mediterranean, Sardinia has seen kingdoms and merchant republics all lay claim to its territory, and has flown many flags. In Alghero, the official flag of the city today bears the red and yellow stripes of Catalonia.

I found a short video that is both a nice example of the sound of spoken algueres, but also a reminder that the regional languages in modern Italy are both endangered and the subject of fiercely proud revival movements. Here, a handful of twenty- and thirty-something Algheresi exhort their fellow youths to take on the responsibility of protecting and propagating their unique language:

The history of the Algherese language goes back centuries, being mentioned specifically in Spanish and Catalan documents as a distinct variant of Sardinian. As early as 1573, with the publication of the pastoral romance Los diez libros de Fortuna de Amor, the Algherese poet Antonio Lo Frasso apologizes in his author's preface for choosing to write in Castillian Spanish instead of his "native Sardinian", though throughout the book lines of dialogue and miscellaneous poems appear in Catalan.
The book tells the story, partially autobiographical, of a shepherd named Frexano and his doomed love for the Algherese girl Fortuna. Like Lo Frasso, Frexano becomes embroiled in a political conflict dividing Sardinia, is falsely accused of murder and exiled to the mainland, where he takes refuge in Barcelona. Fortuna marries another shepherd, and while becoming involved in the life of aristocratic high society, Frexano seeks justice and hopes vainly that one day he will return to Alghero and be reunited with Fortuna.
The book is almost unknown today but was very popular in its time - to the extent that one Miguel de Cervantes gave it the honor of being saved from the bonfire in Don Quixote's library. In Book One of Don Quixote, as the Man of La Mancha is recovering bedridden from injuries sustained while trying to be heroic, his niece and housekeeper decide to burn all the chivalric romances he keeps in his study and which are clearly the inspiration for his absurd behavior. They enlist the counsel of a priest and ransack the library - but the priest singles out "the ten books of the Fortune of Love, by a Sardinian poet, Antonio de Lofraso" to be saved from the bonfire, as "in its way it is the best and the most singular of all of this species that have as yet appeared, and he who has not read it may be sure he has never read what is delightful."

One last stop in Alghero before we head on to the next stage. (I'm writing this several days late, hoping to catch up to the Giro before they reach Calabria.) Leaving behind Lo Frasso and chivalric romances, one of the most notable exponents of the Algherese language today is the singer/songwriter Franca Masu.

In 1996, at the age of 34, Masu was working as a professor of Italian literature when she happened to meet a group of Sardinian jazz musicians and began singing with them. She quickly developed an interest in the Catalan and Algherese languages, which she united with Portuguese and classic jazz musical styles, and made an impressive career change. She currently has five albums out, and performs regularly all over Europe. Enjoy: 

Next stop, Olbia and central Sardinia.