Sardinia is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and lies west of mainland Italy.  It is one of the 20 regions of Italy and holds as well the title of the 2nd largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It covers the surface of 24,090 km²  (9,300 square miles). Also, Sicily is the largest one. 

As mentioned the island belongs to one of the 20 regions of Italy, to be more precise it is the 3rd largest region and what is worthy to mention is that out of all the regions it is one of the 5 autonomous regions, meaning it has more administrative power and some still argue that Sardinia should actually be an independent country. 

Tourist website for more information:  Sardegna Turismo

A little bit of history

All you need to know about Sardinia’s history in a nutshell. 

• Sardinia has been inhabited since the Paleolithic.
• Over time it really saw many cultures and civilizations – Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Romans are just a few to mention. 
• A very important part of Sardinia’s history has the Nuragic civilization. From this culture, we can still find traces in the shape of constructions of roughly 7000 nuraghi – truncated conic structures of basalt blocks coming from extinct volcanoes and put together without any mortar (between 1500 and 400 BCE).
• Another important stage in history were the Phoenicians (shippers and traders) and Carthaginians (arrived on the island around 500 BCE, led by generals Amilcare and Asdrubale). 
• Then the Romans conquered the island in 238 BCE, taking advantage of a revolt by Carthaginian mercenaries. The native tribes tried to resist the conquest but were decimated and eventually Sardinia became a Roman province. During this period Sardinia underwent many administrative changes. 
• This is not the end to the rich history as later Sardinia was invaded by the Vandals and the Moors, this was also a period or relative stability in the 11th century.
• Unfortunately, they didn’t last long  and Sardinia was soon conquered by the Pisans (who settled in the south and east of Sardinia) and the Genoese (settled in the north and west). 
• After this Sardinia came under the Aragonese domination and in 1297 James II of Aragon became king of Sardinia and Corsica. Under the Aragonese, Sardinia was given a viceroy who resided in Cagliari.  Under this rule the progress of the island was minimal as locals were vexed by taxes and oppressed. The Aragonese remained the ruling power until the early eighteenth century, establishing strong links with Alghero in particular and a version of Catalan is still spoken in the town today.
• Later Sardinia became part of the unified kingdom of Spain. 
• Attempts by the French were made as well to invade, but all were unsuccessful. 
• Finally, in 1861 when Italy was unified  and Victor Emanuel II of Savoy became the first king of Italy, Sardinia became part of Italy, but since 1948 Sardinia has been an Autonomous Region of Italy.

There was indeed a Kingdom of Sardinia from the late middle ages up to italian unification in 1861, but it was never ruled from Sardinia itself. It was rather a title in the long list of “kingdoms” that made up the Crown of Aragon.

---

Sardinia is one of the very few blue zones 

A “Blue Zone” is a geographical area of variable extension, inside of which the population lives a considerably longer, healthier, and happier life.

Sardinia is one of the five Blue Zones recognized around the globe and is the one with the largest male population exceeding 100 years of life. That’s right,  the life expectancy in Sardinia is generally higher than in the rest of the world. 

There is a large number of men and woman who are older than 100 years old.

The secret or rather the reason for this longevity is said  to be due to a combination of factors including the food, the wine, regular exercise, the weather and the social structure, by which the  Sardinians remain very attached to family and circle of friends and thus live a healthy, happy life.

---