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Silk from the Sea in Sardinia

Posted August 6, 2019 by Sharon Leave a Comment

Sant’Antioco beach.
The port in the town of Sant’Antioco.

Saturday morning on the island of Sant’Antioco, off the southwest coast of the island of Sardinia. Walter and I are in the breakfast room at Bed and Breakfast Le Terrazze in the main port town of Sant’Antioco. The group of taciturn Italian surfers have cleared out to hit their boards.

What shall we do today?

We scan a tourist brochure in Italian and find a listing for the Museo del Bisso (Bisso Museum). “What’s bisso?” we ask simultaneously.

Our host, the mellow Nello, clearing plates and cappuccino cups, offers an explanation in Italian. We don’t quite grasp what bisso (byssus) is even though we’ve had no problem understanding Nello up until now. (Our here-to-fore comprehension is almost entirely due to Nello’s patient and measured delivery.)

He says the proprietor of the museum, Chiara Vigo, is an old friend and that she’s famous for her work. He thinks we’ll find it interesting and offers to phone Vigo to check if the museum is open. He reaches Chiara and she gives us the green light.

The “Museo” is not even a five-minute walk and turns out to be a storefront workshop just a bit down the hill from the Basilica of Sant’Antioco.

A flyer inside the front window announces a crowdsourced fundraiser to finance a new space for the Museo del Bisso. A hand-lettered notice states La Fretta Non Abita Qui (in-a-hurry doesn’t live here); another announces Qui Non Si Vende Niente (here, we don’t sell anything).

We walk past a loom, displays of needlework crafted with golden thread, framed memorabilia, and press clips of Vigo. Seated toward the back of the room at her worktable, Vigo greets us warmly in her husky voice. It’s as if she’s been waiting her entire life for us to show up. Her comfy attire is gray sweats and knit sweater adorned with a jaunty lacquered fruit pin. Her pepper-and-salt hair is pulled back from her striking face.

A Sea Witch’s Tale

Vigo spins the yarn of her life-long vocation to bisso, the brown filament excretions of the Mediterranean bivalve Pinna nobilis — known as noble pen shell or fan mussel — as she holds up a translucent half shell on which her nonno had painted a scene. Accustomed to diminutive bivalves like edible mussels, we gape at the length of the Pinna nobilis shell. It is at least 2-feet tall. Some grow as long as 4 feet.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Art, Artisans, Culture, Italy Artisans, Miscellany, Sardinia, Travel Tagged With: bisso, Italian islands, Mediterranean Sea, Sardegna, Sardinia, sea silk

Driving in Italy

Posted July 2, 2019 by Sharon 5 Comments

Taking the road less traveled–like this country lane in Molise–is a big part of the adventure when you drive yourself in Italy.

By Walter Sanders

Few things are as exciting … and daunting … as getting behind the wheel and driving in Italy.
I’ve been doing it since the early 1970s and have racked up tens of thousands of accident-free kilometers while living in or visiting Italy. The vast majority have been exhilarating and carefree.

I relish driving in Italy. I’m a confident driver. I like the unique opportunities that driving in Italy give me to explore areas that would be otherwise inaccessible given normal public transportation or group travel.

Of course, driving in Italy is different than driving in North America: the language, some streets that you might consider lanes or alleys, a highway system that is both luxurious and rearview-mirror-terrifying at times.

But most of all, the drivers are different. At the risk of generalizing, I have found Italian drivers to be skilled, resourceful, creative and, at times, aggressive. We could all learn from Italian drivers.

My theory is that the vast majority of Italian automobile drivers have graduated from the motor scooter ranks. The two wheel experience makes them situationally aware, clever for opportunities, and gives them the survival skills to stay safe.

So, are you itching to drive in Italy? Read on.

Cost of Driving in Italy

Renting a car in Italy can be expensive. Daily and weekly rates are high, and you would be well advised to work with a reputable provider that clearly presents costs and options and minimizes the risk of unpleasant surprises at return time.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellany, Sardinia, Sicily, Travel Tagged With: car ferries in Italy, car leasing in Italy, car rental in Italy, driving in italy, italian travel, off-the-road-in Italy

Milis in Sardinia

Posted May 3, 2019 by Sharon Leave a Comment

By Walter Sanders

Sardinia tour guide Paola Loi connected us with the mayor of Milis Sergio Vacca.

In 2018, when Sharon was studying Italian in Bergamo, and I caught up with her in Cremona, we met up with old pals James Martin and Martha Bakerjian. 

These renowned Italy bloggers split their time between northern California and a small town in the wild and wooly Lunigiana section of Tuscany near Massa Carrarra.


The pair met in the mid-1980s when they both worked on an archeological dig in Sardinia. They share an avid interest in Italy and blog at Martha’s Italy, Wandering Sardinia, and Wandering Italy

Over lunch we decided to meet again in 2019 to explore Sardinia together. In April, 2019 we boarded a Corsica Ferries boat in Livorno for an overnight crossing to Porto Aranci in Sardinia. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Archeology, Culture, Food, Guides, History, Mediterranean diet, Miscellany, Sardinia, Travel Tagged With: Grazia Deledda, Italian tour guides, Italy travel, Mediterranean islands, nuraghi, Romanesque, Sardegna, Sardinia

Bosa in Sardinia

Posted April 29, 2019 by Sharon Leave a Comment

The banks of the Temo River in Bosa, Sardinia. The Malaspina Castle is on the hill (above left).

Driving south from Alghero on the northwest coast of Sardinia, it’s a scenic hour-long drive south to the ancient town of Bosa. On a fine sunny April morning, with tapestries of wildflowers cascading down the mountains to the Mediterranean Sea, you might think you were in Paradise.

L’Unione Sarda, founded in 1889, is “the” daily newspaper for the island.
Piazza Constituzione
Gallette di Bosa are crisp hollow bread rolls.

Inside the castle walls is the Nostra Signora de sos Regnos Altos Church (14th-15th century), embellished with Spanish frescoes.
A detail from the entrance to the Malaspina Castle.
A pastoral view from Serravalle Hill.

Color splashed are everywhere in Bosa.
This sweet travel agency can probably get you to the wild blue yonder.
The clever sign on this dressmaker’s shop is fashioned from buttons.

Two Waterways

The old town of Bosa has two water outlets: the sea port and the Temo River which is said to be the only navigable river on the island.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Architecture, Culture, History, Sardinia Tagged With: bucket list, castle hikes, Italy culture, Italy history, Italy travel, medieval towns, Mediterranean islands, Sardegna, Sardinia

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