Celebrating Sardinia
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2020: April 24–May 3
2021: April 16–25 How does it feel to be part of a six-centuries old celebration? Come to Sardinia for the feast of their patron Saint Antioco and find out. You’ll be immersed in the living history of Sardinian food and culture as folk dancers, musicians and horsemen in traditional dress converge on the town of Sant’Antioco for two days of street parties. After the party, you’ll discover the simplicity of pecorino cheese, gleaming salt pans, locally caught fish and knee-high grapevines coexisting with the intricate mysteries of layers of civilisation from the Bronze Age nuraghi to colonisers from Phoenicia, Carthage, Rome, Spain and Genoa, all of whom left their mark on the island’s cuisine. A relaxing exploration of a little-known corner of Sardinia and its warm, open-hearted people. Really small group: 8 people. To request a booking form email info@sapori-e-saperi.com |
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Itinerary at a glance Cagliari to Sant'Antioco Day 1 — Arrival at Cagliari and transfer to Hotel del Corso at Sant’Antioco (southwest Sardinia), introduction to tour and welcome dinner Day 2 — Traditional music workshop, lunch at organic café, visit cathedral and catacombs, grand opening of 661st Festa of Sant’Antioco with the decorated bread offering Day 3 — Grand procession of folk groups from all Sardinia, tour of ethnographic museum and subterranean village, stunt horse riding tournament, theatre in the piazza, pizza dinner at brewery Day 4 — Visit shepherd to make pecorino and lunch cooked by him and his son; visit archaeological museum and tofet (infant burial ground) Day 5 — Excursion to Tratalias pottery lesson; visit weaver, knife maker, oil of lentisco (type of pistacchio); lunch and guided wine tasting; visit nuragic tower Day 6 — Guided tour of salt pans; tour and tasting at winery; pasta lesson at biodynamic farm Day 7 — Bread lesson and banquet at private home; tour around the island including tour of bronze age nuragic complex and giants’ tomb, dinner at fish shack on the sea Day 8 — A day on the lagoon in a fishing boat, fishing, lunch on boat Sant'Antioco to Cagliari Day 9 — Transfer to Cagliari, visit central market San Benedetto, free time to explore Cagliari and for shopping, farewell dinner Day 10 — Departure For more details, please click Itinerary tab above Highlights of tour Gastronomic experiences
For more details, please click Itinerary tab above To request a booking form email info@sapori-e-saperi.com |
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Cagliari to Sant'Antioco Day 1: Friday Pick up at meeting point (Cagliari Elmas airport). One pick up only to coincide as nearly as possible with everyone’s arrival time, aiming at around 2.30 or 3 pm. Transfer to Hotel del Corso at Sant’Antioco, at the southwest corner of Sardinia. Introduction to tour and welcome dinner at a seafood restaurant perched above the town with a view across the lagoon. Accommodation: Hotel del Corso, Sant’Antioco | Meals: dinner Day 2: Saturday Stefano introduces you to the launeddas, a set of pipes originating at least 3500 years ago and resembling Northumbrian pipes without the bag. See what you think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc6j2bAq8sU. Lunch at our favourite café, after which we're ready for the grand opening of the 661st Festa of Sant’Antioco, the patron saint of Sardinia. We walk to the cathedral to see the preparations and have a guided tour of the catacombs, where the saint is buried. Now the first of many processions, the pilgrimage and offering of ‘Is coccois’, the elaborately decorated sacred bread. We sample the street food before the evening’s entertainment in the piazzas of the town. Accommodation: Hotel del Corso, Sant’Antioco | Meals: breakfast, lunch Day 3: Sunday This morning we visit the ethnographic museum and underground village, originally Carthaginian tombs, then homes for the poor. Next is the grand procession of men, women and children from towns and villages throughout Sardinia riding in beautifully decorated ox carts. We witness an event that is part solemn religious festival, part social gathering, part fashion show of regional costumes, part bravura performance on the launeddas and concertina. After lunch in a trendy cafe, we gather for a tournament of skilled cavalieri performing bravura feats on horseback. and theatrical performances in the piazzas of the town. Dinner at a craft brewery: beer tasting and pizza. Accommodation: Hotel del Corso, Sant’Antioco | Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner Day 4: Monday It takes stamina to celebrate. We still have one more evening to go. But this morning we take a break to visit shepherd Giulio, who makes the famed pecorino sardo. You watch the whole process and by the end you'll have a new appreciation of how liquid milk turns into solid cheese, and how ricotta emerges from the whey. Now it's time to relax around the family table and enjoy the lunch Giulio and his son have prepared for you. In the afternoon we visit the tofet, a graveyard where Phoenicians and Carthaginians buried cremated infants in pots. Child sacrifice or high infant mortality? The history of Sant’Antioco and much of Sardinia is revealed in the excellent museum next door. The culmination of the festival starts in the early evening with another solemn procession, again of proud villagers in regional costumes. A spectacular fireworks display brings the festival to a close. Accommodation: Hotel del Corso, Sant’Antioco | Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner Day 5: Tuesday After all that riotous celebrating we’ll be craving some peace and quiet. The old mediaeval town of Tratalias was abandoned due to unforeseen water seepage after a dam was built on the Rio Palmas in 1954. The new town, built on a slight rise, is perhaps the ugliest I’ve ever seen in Italy. Fortunately, the old town has been restored and an enterprising group of craftspeople have ingeniously inserted their workshops into the former houses. With the potter you'll learn three simple techniques of fashioning clay objects, and will make something to take home with you. We'll also visit a weaver of linen and wool, a knife maker, a woman who makes the traditional painted shawls of Tratalias and two people who use wild aromatic plants to produce natural cosmetics and paintings. Among the extracts is oil of lentisco, a close relative of the pistacchio. The romanesque church is also worth a look-in. Lunch and guided wine tasting with a sommelier at a nearby agriturismo, after which we return to town for a restful late afternoon and dinner. Accommodation: Hotel del Corso, Sant’Antioco | Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner Day 6: Wednesday Salt is fundamental to our cooking and yet we hardly ever think about where it comes from and how it gets to our table. During our guided tour of the salt pans of Sant’Antioco all will be explained. The salt pans are also home to many birds including the stately flamingo. Then we're off to the cooperative winery for a tour where you learn how the French wine market impacted winemaking in Sant'Antioco and get to taste wine made from the Carignano grape. After our tasting lunch, we're off to a cave, Grotte Is Zuddas. Caves aren't my thing, but this one is spectacular. What's for dinner? We have to help make it. We have a pasta lesson at a biodynamic farm. The cook supplies the rest of the meal from produce of the farm. Accommodation: Hotel del Corso, Sant’Antioco | Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner Day 7: Thursday Anna Marras has invited us to join her club, a group of mainly retirees dedicated to preserving their local way of life. In fact, their honoured guests (us) are really an excuse for a banquet. We help make bread with the women and bake it in the wood-fired oven. People in traditional costumes keep arriving with pasta, ragù and other goodies. We're taken to see the pig roasting in another wood-fired oven (men's work). Finally the feast is ready and we take our seats at the long table on the verandah for a very special meal. After a much needed siesta, our driver Massimo, who is also a forest ranger, takes us for a tour to show us some of his favourite spots on the island including the nuragic complex Grutti Acqua and the Giants' Tomb. We end at his idyllic place for watching the sunset and dine in a seaside fish shack. Bliss! Accommodation: Hotel del Corso, Sant’Antioco | Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner Day 8: Friday We've saved the best for last. Today we have the unique experience of living the life of a professional fisherman. Aboard the Pintus family boat, you follow the course of the dolphins along the coastline of Sulcis and the islands of Sant’Antioco and San Pietro. From fisherman Mauro you’ll learn about the fish and the coast you’re passing and can participate in drawing up the nets. You’ll feel the excitement and trepidation of discovering what emerges from the sea. Mauro's wife Roberta offers you a fabulous lunch cooked on board from the day’s catch. After lunch Mauro reaches for his guitar and he and Roberta serenade us with Sardinian songs. Back in at the port, we visit the cooperative fish canning plant that the fishermen's wives run. Last dinner at Sant'Antioco. Accommodation: Hotel del Corso, Sant’Antioco | Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner Sant'Antioco to Cagliari Day 9: Saturday We pack our bags and bid farewell to Sant'Antioco, and Massimo takes us to Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia. We visit the central market, San Benedetto, overflowing with meat, fish, cheese, bread, fruit and vegetables. Free time to explore Cagliari. Our farewell dinner takes place at Sa Domu Sarda restaurant recognised by Slow Food for presenting typical Sardinian dishes based on local seasonal ingredients. Accommodation: Il Gallo Bianco, Cagliari | Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner Day 10: Sunday Departure. To request a booking form email info@sapori-e-saperi.com |
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Erica Jarman Following Heather’s careers as archaeologist, orchestra and artist manager and chef, she Italianised her name to Erica and came to Lucca to pursue her passion for traditional artisan food. Her tours, inspired by her infectious curiosity, open captivating new worlds to her guests. Her archaeological research into the early history of agriculture and the function of neolithic megaliths make her the perfect guide for this tour. |
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Antonio Arca Hi, I’m Antonio. I’m from Alghero in northern Sardinia, and I have been living in London 13 years. Since I have moved here, I have been working in the food business. I am a food importer, promoting and supporting Sardinian small family business in UK. I sell via influential London food markets and I am creating a wholesale network in order to sell to local delis, restaurants and food enterprises sharing the same food ethos and also integrating a new concept concerning gastronomic cultural travels with the help of Sardinian enterprises devoted to hospitality and food. |
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Hotel del Corso, Sant'Antioco Family hotel right in the centre of town where the festival takes place. All the rooms have recently been modernised, while retaining old-world charm in the public rooms.
Wifi, on-site café. Website |
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Price Per person: 2590 Euros Single supplement: none (single room included in fee) Claim your 5% loyalty discount if you've booked a small group tour with us before. Includes Friendly knowledgeable English-speaking guide throughout your stay 9 nights welcoming, relaxing accommodation, en suite bathrooms Local ground transportation for 10 days (includes one group transfer between meeting point and accommodation and one return after the tour). Please check with us before you book your travel to make sure it fits the tour schedule. Transfers at times other than those provided for the group will be at your own expense. Daily continental breakfast, 8 lunches, 8 dinners Guided visits and workshops with artisans, entrance fees Does not include Airfares Travel and cancellation insurance (compulsory) Wine and drinks other than those served with meals, additional meals Personal expenses Meeting point Cagliari Elmas airport, Sardinia (there are low-cost flights to Cagliari airport from international hubs outside Italy and from Rome and Milan among others) If you are flying from outside Europe, we suggest you arrive a couple of days early to recover from jet lag so you can fully enjoy your time with us. We are happy to advise about where to stay and eat and what to do before and after your tour. Departure point Hotel Gallo Bianco. Easy access to airport by taxi (about €25) or train (the station is 4 minutes' walk from the hotel and costs €1.30). Diet Most dietary requirements can be accommodated as long as you tell us in advance. There is a space on the Booking Form for this information. Since menus are heavily fish-based, if you don’t eat fish, you may not get full enjoyment from the tour. Physical fitness You must be fit enough to walk on level ground and stand during guided tours. We can drive you fairly close to most activities. Dress Informal. Jeans or smart trousers are acceptable everywhere. Windbreaker / raincoat advisable. Comfortable walking shoes. Weather in April / May 11–24°C/51–75˚F, precipitation 25 mm/1 in, can be windy The itinerary is subject to change if necessary due to weather or agricultural conditions or other events outside our control. To request a booking form email info@sapori-e-saperi.com |
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Thank you again for the wonderful trip to Sant’Antioco! It was great from so many perspectives. The people we spent time with—making cheese, going fishing, baking bread, doing ceramics—made it much more engaging. Culture, history, food, landscape, laughter and song—all beautiful.
Claudia Conlon, USA, Celebrating Sardinia, April 2017
