The Supramonte is a mountain range located in central-eastern Sardinia, the most untamed and authentic area of the island. With its Mediterranean scrub and ancient forests, rocky peaks and canyons, rivers and wild animals, it is really one of the most heaven-like places that one can imagine.
In prehistoric times, this landscape was an immense natural fortress for the inhabitants of this island. Any invader has ever managed to overcome this obstacle, from Carthaginians and Romans in ancient times to the armies of the Italian monarchy in late XIX century. Still in the 1980s and 1990s, these mountains were populated by bandits. When they came up here, it was almost impossible to catch them.
A little further in the South, there is a historical region named Ogliastra, famous for its wonderful sea and for its rocky buttes, called tacchi (heels) in Sardinia. They are like isolated hills with steep sides and a small, relatively flat top.
From my village, it takes a couple of hours drive to get to the mountains.
On our way to Supramonte, we stopped to admire the nuraghe of Barumini, so far the most impressive expression of the nuragic civilization, included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.
I say "so far" because many archaeological sites in Sardinia have not yet been excavated, and it is almost certain that, under the ground, there are still ancient cities as big as this one.
Remains of the castle of Las Plassas, very important from XII to XV century CE and later abandoned by the Spanish.
Vineyards are another distinctive feature of Sardinian landscapes: they are simply everywhere!
Finally, we reached a little town named Ulassai. We had lunch, drank something and took a few minutes of rest, before going to search for a good trail to the top of the mountain, a place named Bruncu Matzeu.
Bruncu Matzeu
We had to leave the car a little far, somewhere on a country road. It was a bit lonely place, but Sardinia is absolutely safe from this point of view.
On the other hand, the path is not particularly steep and rugged, it's well signposted and - in my opinion - suitable for everyone.
Valuable life lesson: there are endless ways to get to the result!
Fatigue is easily rewarded by the beauty of the landscape. There is something magical in it. As we got deeper in the vegetation, I felt like the mountain itself was summoning me; my connection with nature and its history increased with each step.
Thousands and thousands of men and women had been there before me, and all of them had enjoyed that same landscape. Cities don’t give you that feeling, because they change too quickly and because, following human nature, they tend to ruin.
The mountain never changes, instead. It remains the same, calm, reassuring, eternal.
It was an almost mystical, pagan feeling, which somehow reminded me of the beliefs of native Americans. They also had a strong bond with hills, which they considered sacred.
Signs of human presence.
Tracks left by a wild boar looking for food.
I don't know how long it took us to reach the top, even because we walked very calmly, trying to savor every possible detail.
But finally, at a certain point, we found ouselves in the highest point of the mountain. The view, there, was simply incredible.
I generally suffer from vertigo, yet I couldn't help taking this picture. I’m also quite proud of it, I have to say, because I overstepped my own bounds!
I want to tell you a last curiosity about these places.
As I mentioned before, these mountains are also famous for the bandits who populated them in relatively recent times. In particular, some of these bandits, gathered in gangs, used to kidnap important people in order to get the payment of a ransom. In the summer of 1979, the Italian songwriter Fabrizio De André was kidnapped by the bandits together with his wife, the singer Dori Ghezzi.
They spent four months of their life as a prisoners on these mountains.
From this dramatic experience, which fortunately ended with their rescue, a masterpiece of Italian music was born: the song Hotel Supramonte, that De André himself dedicated to his wife.
Thank you for your attention, your time and your support. If you have questions or curiosities, you can find me in the comments.
See you on the road,
Alessandro