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Italy: Sardinia (Sardegna)

Overview

Sardinia contains the provinces of Cagliari (the regional capital), Nuoro, Oristano and Sassari. The island’s rich and colourful history dates back to the time of the Phoenicians. It was later a Roman colony, was then invaded in turn by Ostrogoths, Byzantines, Vandals, Saracens and Normans (1061), and was later part of the maritime republics of Pisa, Genoa and the Aragonese. From 1718, Sardinia was ruled by the house of Hohenstaufen, the Piedmontese house of Savoy and it finally became part of a united Italy. Some of the towns reflecting this patchwork history are Iglesias (Pisa republic), Bosa (Spanish), Alghero (Catalan), Castelsardo (Genoa republic) and Carloforte (Piedmontese).

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean (after Sicily), 267km (166mi) long and 120km (75mi) wide, and just 6.5km (4mi) from Corsica (France) across the Strait of Bonifacio. The island is noted for its rugged mountain terrain, which reaches a height of 1,833m (6,017ft) on Monti Gennargentu. Its inhabitants consider it to be a tiny continent rather than island, as it contains a huge variety of geography despite its small area. Within a few hours’ drive of Porto Cervo are landscapes similar to the Seychelles, an ‘African’ desert, ‘Australian’ beaches, prehistoric sites and modern areas reminiscent of North America.

It’s Italy’s most sparsely populated region with (unusually) the largest concentration of people in the interior, where traditional, sheep-rearing communities have largely ignored the 1,287km (800mi) coastline until fairly recently. Sardinians are a proud and traditional people, and there are five different dialects on the island, reflecting its varied history. Sardinia is largely undeveloped with problems similar to those of southern Italy, such as low investment, poor services and communications, high unemployment (around 20 per cent), low incomes and a high crime rate (including frequent incidences of kidnapping). There’s some industry in Cagliari, Nuoro and Porto Torres, but the economy is mainly based on sheep-rearing and tourism – over a million Italians visit the island in the summer months.

Water shortages are commonplace, and the island has high levels of radon gas.

Property: Property on the island is generally considered to be a very good investment and Sardinia is expected to become of the most popular places to purchase property in Italy in the future. Many foreigners purchase homes here for the breathtaking, mountainous landscape, the sea of varying colours, the beaches of fine white sand and rocky coves, and the excellent food. There are charming resorts in the south such as Santa Margherita di Pula, Capo Boi and Villasimius, where property prices start at €1,500 per sq m. At the other end of the scale, the resorts on the Costa Smeralda in the north-east are among the most exclusive in the Mediterranean and a popular playground of Europe’s rich and famous. This exclusive area with its golf courses, marinas and elegant villas was developed by the Aga Khan in the 1970s and boasts prices in Porto Rotondo and Porto Cervo of millions of euros for its elegant villas. Elsewhere the architecture is simple stone houses, and the city and town architecture has little of the flair common on the mainland.

Communications: Sardinia is 200km (124mi) from mainland Italy, with which it has regular air connections, and is served by ferries from Genoa, Civitavecchia (the port of Rome, from where a fast ferry reaches the island in three hours), Naples, Palermo, Tunisia and France. It’s the only region of Italy without any motorways, although most roads are of good quality.

© Survival Books Limited 2003

“Buying a Home in Italy” 3rd Edition, David Hampshire.

Reproduced with the permission of Survival Books Limited.

Further information on this topic can be found in “Buying a Home in Italy” 3rd edition, by David Hampshire.

For extensive information about buying a property in Italy, you can purchase this book at www.survivalbooks.net

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