Stage 2: Olbia and north-central Sardinia

The city of Olbia has existed since Ancient Greek times and passed through the hands of Romans, Byzantines, Pisan merchant princes and every other competing faction that ever fought for control of the Mediterranean. In the medieval period, then called Cività, Olbia was the capital of one of the four giudicati or independent nation-states of Sardinia, which were eventually incorporated by the Savoys of Piedmont into the Kingdom of Sardinia - which was, oddly, the direct predecessor state to the unified Kingdom of Italy.

Nowadays, the most well-known site in the region is the Costa Smeralda, or "emerald coast," a twenty-kilometer stretch of beach beloved by the rich and famous, notorious as the most expensive location in all of Europe. In stark contrast to the rural poverty of much of the island, on the Costa Smeralda real estate prices top out at three hundred thousand euros per square meter - ten times worse than New York, San Francisco, Milan, and anywhere else I might want to live.

This stage of the Giro is a mountainous one, though, so the route leaves Olbia and curves west towards the inland.

The route passes near Bitti, a tiny town known in musical circles for the traditional polyphonic folk singing style called cantu a tenore. Recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO, the songs are performed by groups of four men (some evidence suggests that women's groups also sang tenore in the past) each singing one line of the four-part harmony. The three lower voices sing simple drone-like harmonies on nonsense syllables while the soloist sings a secular poetic text, sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, sometimes satirical or rude.  The two lower voices use a technique known as overtone singing or throat-singing, best known from its use in shamanic and pastoral songs in Mongolia and Central Asia. In the Sardinian tradition, it's often said that the bass voice (su bassu) imitates the mooing of cattle and the baritone (sa contra) the bleating of sheep, while the melodic solo voice (sa boche) represents humankind and its dominion over nature.

A short ways away from Bitti is the town of Nuoro, which became somewhat famous in recent years after a sudden surge of interest from food bloggers and travel writers in the unique, ancient and extremely difficult to make local pasta called su filindeu ("threads of God.) According to common wisdom, the proper recipe and technique are known by only three women in the entire town, and Nuoro is the only place in the world where su filindeu is made. 

Pasta conglomerate Barilla has tried and failed to invent a machine to replicate the process and mass-produce su filindeu. British TV chef Jamie Oliver went to Sardinia and attempted to learn the handmade technique from one of the three women who make the town's supply, and made a bit of a fool of himself. So far, no one has cracked the code. 

In theory, it's a simple process. The dough is made of semolina flour, water and salt. It's rolled into a log, then stretched long, then folded back on itself in two ropes. Then those ropes are stretched and folded, to make four, and so on. The traditional style requires pulling and folding enough times to create 256 infinitesimally thin threads. These threads are then arranged in a delicate cross-hatch pattern on a wicker frame and left to dry in the sun. The resulting dried lace of pasta is then broken into rough chunks and cooked in a mutton broth with pecorino cheese, in a dish served only twice a year at the May and October feast days of St. Francis. 

Next stop Cagliari, then on to Sicily - assuming I can keep up with these posts and not spend the entire rest of the week trying to make su filindeu. 

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.