Oristano: Its Musuem & Festivals

My main purpose of visiting Oristano was to see the artifacts that were taken from the Phoenician colony of Tharros, which are housed in the local museum called the Museo Comunale Antiquarium Arborense di Oristano.

Oristano, or Aristanis in Sardinian, is a small town of about 33,000 inhabitants whose livelihood is based on fishing, farming, and tourists.

The city rose to power in the first centuries of the Saracen attacks, going on to wage war against other Sardinians as it vied for insular power.

One of the most famous events held in Oristano is the 500-year-old equestrian tournament called Sa Sartiglia, which is performed on Carnival Sunday and Fat Tuesday. The event concludes with la Pariglia, a time of equestrian acrobatics.

Notice that in both pictures the men are wearing masks, a ritualistic custom that dates back thousands of years to Sardinia’s ancient past. For more information, check out Sardinia’s museum of masks: Museo delle Maschere Mediterranee.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the festivities since it is now September, but I did enjoy walking about this Medieval town.

Photos of Sa Sartiglia & la Pariglia Copyright by Igor Bellini reproduced with permission.

Slideshow Copyright Men's Fashion by Francesco.

Bauladu—Country Living in Sardinia

On my way from Cagliari to Alghero, I stopped to see the Nuraghe Su Nuraxi near Barùmini and the Phoenician colony of Tharros, just outside Oristano, so I decided to lodge in the countryside.

I choose a bed & breakfast run by a sheepherder and his wife who live in a small town called Bauladu, which lies in an area that is filled with ancient historical sites.

As I was driving about the town, I ran into some young teenagers who were dressed in the traditional local dress!

After I asked them permission to take their picture, they explained to me that they are part of a folkloristic dance group called “Gruppo Folk Bauladu,” which performs at special events and festivals.

The boys and girl were dressed in the typical dress of their village, which differs in many ways from other cities and towns throughout the island.

Notice the spacious white shirt, normally made of linen or cotton and called ghentone, which often has an embroidered collar and buttonholes for gold jewels.

Over the shirt is a vrassette, a type of vest, which can also be a double breasted jacket of corduroy with red borders and a red inner lining.

Pants, called cartzones, are made of white linen or cotton and, while wide at the top, are tucked into boots. Around the waste, they sport a leather belt—chintorja—whose embroideries used to display social class.

Over the pants, they boys are wearing a short kilt-like black skirt known as the cartzones de vresi, which, gathered at the waste, is usually made of the coarse Sardinian wool called orbace (pronounced orbache in English).

Not seen here is the floppy black cone-shape cap called sa berretta, which tops off the outfit. Sometimes a brown or black long-hair fur coat called sas peddas is worn over the jacket.



Photos & slideshow Copyright Men's Fashion by Francesco.