Sardinia
Sardinia (/sɑːrˈdɪniə/ sar-DIN-ee-ə; Italian: Sardegna [sarˈdeɲɲa]; Sardinian: Sardigna [saɾˈdiɲːa])[a][b] is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia and immediately south of the French island of Corsica.
This article is about the region of Italy. For other uses, see Sardinia (disambiguation).
Sardinia
24,090 km2 (9,300 sq mi)
1,628,384
68/km2 (180/sq mi)
97%
€35.032 billion (2021)
IT-88
0.871[4]
very high · 16th of 21
ITG
It is one of the five Italian regions with some degree of domestic autonomy being granted by a special statute.[5] Its official name, Autonomous Region of Sardinia, is bilingual in Italian and Sardinian: Regione Autonoma della Sardegna / Regione Autònoma de Sardigna.[6] It is divided into four provinces and a metropolitan city. The capital of the region of Sardinia — and its largest city — is Cagliari.
Sardinia's indigenous language and Algherese Catalan are referred to by both the regional and national law as two of Italy's twelve officially recognized linguistic minorities,[7] albeit gravely endangered, while the regional law provides some measures to recognize and protect the aforementioned as well as the island's other minority languages (the Corsican-influenced Sassarese and Gallurese, and finally Tabarchino Ligurian).[8][9]
Owing to the variety of Sardinia's ecosystems, which include mountains,[10] woods, plains, stretches of largely uninhabited territory, streams, rocky coasts, and long sandy beaches, Sardinia has been metaphorically described as a micro-continent.[11] In the modern era, many travelers and writers have extolled the beauty of its long-untouched landscapes, which retain vestiges of the Nuragic civilization.[12]
Etymology[edit]
The name Sardinia has pre-Latin roots. It comes from the pre-Roman ethnonym *s(a)rd-, later romanised as sardus (feminine sarda). It makes its first appearance on the Nora Stone, where the word ŠRDN, or *Šardana, testifies to the name's existence when the Phoenician merchants first arrived.[13]
According to Timaeus, one of Plato's dialogues, Sardinia (referred to by most ancient Greek authors as Sardṓ, Σαρδώ) and its people as well might have been named after a legendary woman called Sardṓ (Σαρδώ), born in Sardis (Σάρδεις), capital of the ancient Kingdom of Lydia.[14][15] There has also been speculation that identifies the ancient Nuragic Sards with the Sherden, one of the Sea Peoples.[16][17][18][19][20] It is suggested that the name had a religious connotation from its use also as the adjective for the ancient Sardinian mythological hero-god Sardus Pater[21] ("Sardinian Father"; a common explanation that the term means "Father of the Sardinians" is incorrect, as that would be "Sardorum Pater"), as well as being the stem of the adjective "sardonic".
In classical antiquity, Sardinia was called a number of names besides Sardṓ (Σαρδώ) or Sardinia, like Ichnusa (the Latinised form of the Greek Ἰχνοῦσσα),[22] Sandaliotis (Σανδαλιῶτις[23]) and Argyrophleps (Αργυρόφλεψ).[24]
Transport[edit]
Airports[edit]
Sardinia has three international airports (Alghero-Fertilia/Riviera del Corallo Airport, Olbia-Costa Smeralda Airport and Cagliari-Elmas Airport) connected with the principal Italian cities and many European destinations, mainly in the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Germany, and two regional airports (Oristano-Fenosu Airport and Tortolì-Arbatax Airport). Internal air connections between Sardinian airports are limited to a daily Cagliari-Olbia flight. Sardinian citizens benefit from special sales on plane tickets for Rome and Milan (continuità territoriale),[194] and several low-cost air companies operate on the island.
Air Italy (formerly known as Meridiana) was an airline headquartered in the airport of Olbia; it was founded as Alisarda in 1963 by the Aga Khan IV. The development of Alisarda followed the development of Costa Smeralda in the northeast part of the island, a well known vacation spot among billionaires and film actors worldwide.