Tastes & Textiles:
Carpet Weavers of Sardinia
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2026: June 6–16
Availability: 3 places Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates On this tour you meet the few remaining carpet weavers of Sardinia. It's not an enormous island, yet there are several different traditions of weaving carpets. Not just patterns, but types of looms and methods of weaving. Vertical looms in the north and horizontal looms in the centre and south. Carpets woven from the back like tapestry and carpets with bumps called pibiones. Plain carpets and highly decorated carpets. During a natural dyeing workshop and three carpet weaving workshops, you will have quality time with the artisans to exchange views and learn why they proudly cling to their traditional methods. We also visit a woman who rears silkworms and sisters who do traditional embroidery. And of course there is the usual Sapori e Saperi mix of culture, history, food & wine. Really small group (maximum 7 people). You may also be interested in Tastes & Textiles: Woad & Wool and Tastes & Textiles: Wine to Dye For Click on topics below for more information To request a booking form email [email protected] |
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Itinerary at a glance Cagliari to Oliena Day 1 — Meet at Cagliari airport at 1 pm; train to Oristano and transfer to Locanda Tipica Sa Corte, Oliena; aperitivo and welcome dinner at Sa Corte Day 2 — Visit Maria Corda, silkworm breeder and weaver of the traditional headdress of the women of Orgosolo; lunch with a Sardinian shepherd; guided tour of murals of Orgosolo; dinner at Ristorantino Masiloghi Day 3 — All-day carpet workshop with Eugenia Pinna of Nule; dinner at Agriturismo Guthiddai Day 4 — Visit mill that cleans and spins wool of Sardinian sheep; lunch and guided tour of nuragic complex Noddule (Bronze Age); part 2 of carpet workshop with Eugenia Pinna; dinner at Sa Corte Oliena to Atzara Day 5 — Visit bakery that makes pane carasau (crispy flatbread) in wood-fired oven; visit embroiderers of shawls and table linens; lunch and wine tasting at Iolei winery; visit mask maker at Ottana; transfer to Atzara; dinner at Al Vecchio Mulino (pizzeria and restaurant) Day 6 – Part 1 of natural dyeing workshop with Maurizio Savoldi of La Robbia; part 1 of weaving workshop with Isabella Frongia at Samugheo learning pibiones technique; home-cooked dinner and wine tasting at Maurizio's brother's vineyard Day 7 – Part 2 of natural dyeing workshop; Sardinian workers' lunch at Ruota Libera, Samugheo; part 2 of weaving workshop with Isabella weaving a sampler with the wool you dyed; dinner and wine tasting at Agriturismo Su Connottu Atzara to Gergei Day 8 – Visit MURATS, internationally known textile museum at Samugheo; lunch at Il Cardellino, Isili; visit coppersmith at Isili; drop in on carpet weaver Dolores Ghiani; dinner at Is Perdas agriturismo where we stay for the rest of the tour Day 9 — Private guided tour of Muratè: Museum of the Art of Copper and Textiles, Isili; lunch at Osteria La Forchetta, Mandas; guided tour of Nuraghe Arrubiu complex; pasta lesson and dinner at Is Perdas Day 10 — All-day broccato weaving workshop with the women of Su Trobasciu weaving cooperative, Mogoro; dinner at Is Perdas Gergei to Cagliari airport Day 11 – Transfer to Cagliari airport for check-in at 10.30 and flights no earlier than noon For more details, please click itinerary tab above Highlights of tour Fibre & textile experiences
Gastronomic experiences
Crafts
Art, Archaeology & Nature
For more details, please click itinerary tab above To request a booking form email [email protected] |
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Cagliari to Oliena Day 1: Saturday Arrival by 1 pm at Cagliari Elmas ariport. I'll meet you there and we'll take the train to Oristano. From there our driver will take us to Locanda Tipica Sa Corte, Oliena, where we stay for the first four nights of the tour. Introduction to the tour with our aperitivo, and a welcome dinner at La Corte, one of the best restaurants in Oliena. Accommodation: Locanda Tipica Sa Corte | Meals: Dinner Day 2: Sunday We're in Barbagia, a region of rugged mountains (see first photo), and inhabitants still closely connected to their past way of life. One of the most remote villages is Orgosolo where you might see older people wearing their traditional everyday costumes. But the first thing that will strike you are the murales, protest paintings on the outside walls of many buildings. We're going to have a guided tour of them after lunch. Right now we're heading to the workshop of Maria Corda. She rears silkworms that spin golden cocoons, which she processes and uses to weave the traditional headdress of Orgosolo. If we're lucky the moths will be hatching out while we're there. Her loom is always set up, and she'll explain everything. Lunch is a special pranzo del pastore. A shepherd and his son are preparing typical Sardinian roast maialetto (young pig, not suckling) and their pecorino cheese is on the menu too. After our tour of the murales with the shepherd's son (a versatile young man), we head back to Sa Corte for a rest and dinner. Accommodation: Locanda Tipica Sa Corte | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 3: Monday Today we go to Nuoro for our first two carpet workshops with Eugenia Pinna. As a girl Eugenia learned traditional carpet weaving on the vertical loom used in northern Sardinia. Everything changed when she attended a Bauhaus exhibition in Rimini and was swept off her feet by the clean, geometric designs which totally changed her weaving style. In a pharmacy course she studied medicinal and dye plants, which she uses to obtain her exquisitely coloured yarn. I was lucky to arrive just in time to meet her in the closing hour of a retrospective exhibition of her carpets in Nuoro (photo 2 on this page). In three 3-hour workshops, she'll teach you all the traditional carpet stitches which you can use to weave your own designs. More importantly, during the workshops you'll have time to talk to Eugenia about colour, weaving, art and life as a female artist and craftsperson in Sardinia. Accommodation: Locanda Tipica Sa Corte | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 4: Tuesday In the morning we travel to Nule, Eugenia's home village, but also the site of a woollen mill. Tessile Crabolu cleans, cards and spins wool of native Sardinian sheep. Every weaver I visited gets her wool from Crabolu, either directly or dyed by La Robbia where we're going later in the tour. On the way to Nuoro for our third workshop with Eugenia, we drive for kilometre through cork oak plantations and see how cork is harvested. We stop for a picnic lunch at a Bronze Age nuragic complex with remains of a sacred well, giant's tomb, circular and other astonishing megalithic monuments. After our last workshop with Eugenia, we return to Oliena for dinner at Sa Corte. This is our last night at Sa Corte. Accommodation: Locanda Tipica Sa Corte | Meals: Breakfast, Dinner Oliena to Atzara Day 5: Wednesday After two days of concentrating on weaving, today you can relax and watch other people work. First up is a visit to Tundu, a family bakery which makes the crunchy pane carasau typical of all of Sardinia. Apart from a dough mixer and roller, everything is done by hand. We find owner Mario Rubanu seated in front of the wood-fired oven with his parents and other relatives sitting around splitting the puffed up circles of flat bread and stacking them ready for their second baking. Theirs is the best I've tasted. Hands matter! Five minutes up the hill is the workshop of Gianfranca and Tonina who do the traditional embroidery for which Oliena is famed. Much is now done by machine, but these women stitch everything by hand. Five minutes back down the hill and we're at Iolei Winery, another family business. Antonio is the enologist, his sister Chiara looks after admin and events and the youngest sister Sara is just finishing her enology degree at Pisa University. Their tiny production of wine includes vino nepente di Oliena, named after the potion in Homer's Odyssey that brings welcome forgetfulness. I hope you don't forget all those carpet stitches you learned from Eugenia! On our way south to our next base at Atzara, we stop in Ottana to visit Omar Unida's house. He's a policeman by day and makes ceremonial masks in his spare time. He'll fill us in on their history and meaning (many have pagan origins), and show us his workshop. At Atzara we'll be staying at two B&B's just 5-minutes apart. Dinner at pizzeria-restaurant Al Vecchio Mulino. Accommodation: B&B La Robbia and Holiday Mandrolisai DOC | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 6: Thursday This morning we have the first of two workshops with Maurizio Savoldo, botanist and specialist in dye plants. All our weavers get their natural dyed wool from him. He'll take you to collect plants from the area around Atzara. In the lab you'll start eight dye pots and mordant the Sardinian wool samples which you'll dye tomorrow. Back to Al Vecchio Mulino for a quick lunch before heading to Samugheo for a weaving workshop with Isabella Frongia. Samugheo was once a centre of carpet weaving. Now only Isabella, her 90-year-old mother and her assistant Anna Maria are weaving carpets on handlooms in the town. We're in the zone of horizontal looms and a technique called pibiones or coil weave, which results in coils of weft yarn raised above the surface of the carpet. All will become clear when Isabella teaches you how to do it. Tonight we have a special treat. Maurizio's brother is a winemaker. We have a home-cooked dinner at his vineyard Cantina Fradiles along with a tasting of his wines including the unique Mandrolisai DOC wine. Accommodation: B&B La Robbia and Holiday Mandrolisai DOC | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 7: Friday Another day split between Maurizio and Isabella. In the morning you'll dye your wool samples and then head to Samugheo for a worker's lunch at the Ruota Libera ('Free Wheel') and then to Isabella to weave a sample with your own dyed wool. for dinner we go to an agriturismo which also makes the prized Mandrolisai DOC wine. I like comparative tastings because they hone your palate and teach you to pay attention to what you're putting in your body. This is our last night at Atzara. Accommodation: B&B La Robbia and Holiday Mandrolisai DOC | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Atzara to Gergei Day 8: Saturday In addition to Isabella Frongia, there's another textile attraction at Samugheo: MURATS, or to give it its full name in English: Unique Regional Museum of Sardinian Textile Arts. They have a huge collection which they rotate in ever-changing, always interesting displays. From the museum we head to the town of Isili for lunch. Isili is a historic centre of weavers and coppersmiths, both now dying crafts. This afternoon we visit Dolores Ghiani, liberated after retirement to weave the history of her life and island. Then on to the Pitzalis brothers, two coppersmiths who are keeping the Isili traditions alive. Agriturismo Is Perdas, located a short distance outside the town, is where we stay for the rest of the tour. Tonight we'll enjoy a dinner of seasonal dishes at Is Perdas. Accommodation: Agriturismo Is Perdas | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 9: Sunday We'll spend Sunday morning in the Muratè Museum at Isili. It's a brilliantly displayed collection honouring the twin crafts of weaving and copper. You would think they have little in common, but the weavers and coppersmiths have collaborated to produce fabric and garments woven with linen and fine copper wire. Despite being an island, the cuisine of Sardinia is mostly based on meat and vegetables. However, I've found a little restaurant that specialises in seafood, which is where we'll have lunch. After lunch we'll visit the important archaeological site of Nuraghe Arrubiu. Back at Is Perdas, we'll have a pasta lesson learning to make some typical Sardinian pasta, which we'll eat for dinner. Accommodation: Agriturismo Is Perdas | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 10: Monday For our last weaving workshop we go to Su Trobasciu, a women's weaving cooperative at Mogoro. They have a huge workshop full of looms where they weave carpets and tapestries. They want to teach you a technique they call broccato. I'm not sure what it's called in English, but we'll at least find out what it is when we're there. Back at Is Perdas in time to pack and have another delicious dinner in their restaurant. Accommodation: Agriturismo Is Perdas | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Gergei to Cagliari Day 11: Tuesday Departure no earlier than 9 am to check in at Cagliari Airport at 10.30 am and flights no earlier than noon. To request a booking form email [email protected] |
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Erica JarmanFollowing 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.
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Holiday Mandrolisai DOC, Atzara
This B&B takes its name from the denomination of the wine produced at Atzara and the surrounding localities. Five people will be staying in its five little apartments. It's only a 5-minute walk from La Robbia. |
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Is Perdas Agriturismo, Gergei
The Ollanu brothers founded Is Perdas in 2015 after having lived outside Sardinia for several years. They have created a beautiful resort embedded in their native Gergei. Their restaurant and wine cellar celebrate Sardinian produce and wines. The room pictured is called 'La Tessitrice', the weaver. |
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Price Per person: 4500 Euros Single supplement: none (single room included in fee) Deposit: €300 when you book Balance: due 8 weeks before course starts 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 10 nights welcoming, relaxing accommodation, en suite bathrooms (1 shared bathroom in two hotels) Local ground transportation for 11 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 with wine, 10 dinners with wine Guided visits and workshops with artisans, entrance fees (except for optional activities) 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 at 1.00 pm in the arrivals lounge. 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 Cagliari Elmas Airport at 10.30 am for flights departing no earlier than 12 noon. If you need to travel earlier, we can arrange for a driver at your own expense. MORE DETAILED INFO ABOUT PLANNING YOUR TRAVEL 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. Please bear in mind that besides carpets, the tour focuses on the art of choosing, cooking and eating good food. If your diet is very restricted, you may not get full enjoyment from it. Physical fitness You must be fit enough to climb steps, walk up steep but short hills and stand during museum visits. Dress Informal. Jeans or smart trousers are acceptable everywhere. Raincoat/jacket advisable. Good walking shoes are advisable. Weather in June Weather is no longer average, but here’s what the statistics say: 17˚–28˚C / 63˚–82˚F, rainfall 10 mm / 0.4 in 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 [email protected] |
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This was my first time taking a tour and, with only a small group, it was better than I had imagined- thanks to Erica’s unbelievable gift of making connections with the most interesting, gracious and talented artisans, scrumptious food, great accommodations and her knowledge of all things Italian. And we got to learn things hands-on. A once in a lifetime experience to see the culture of Sardinia that has been carried out for generations. Thank you, Erica and I will be going on as many of your tours as I can.
Martha, weaver, Switzerland, Taste & Textiles: Carpet Weavers of Sardinia, June 2025
