Shopping Tourism in Sardinia

The authenticity of Sardinia is intertwined in the embroidery of a carpet, in the silhouette of traditional garments, it is woven into filigree, a Sardinian jewellery-making technique, it is ‘interlaced’ into a basket of reed or rushes. The island’s light gleams in the blade of knives, or in the deep red of a coral necklace. Its fire burns in the forging of wrought iron furnishings. The Sardinian soul lies in each stone sculpture, an archaic symbol of an ancient land; it transpires through the techniques of adorning ceramic vessels and wood carving, memories of a land at the crossroads of ancient navigators' routes.

Traditional and designer arts and crafts are an essential cultural component of a people that has proudly handed down knowledge and skills for centuries. Ceramics, produced from raw terracotta combined with enamels and glazes, tell of an antiquity and legend with functional forms (jugs, containers, pots, flasks, bowls) used throughout everyday activities. The refined and exclusive production of knives, laden with symbolism, is rooted in the traditional agropastoral knowledge. Able to fascinate, as well as wood, glass, coral and metal works, in which innovation and tradition merge and techniques inherited from the past contrast with new trends. Cork and woven items, such as baskets and sweet boxes, are the keepers of archaic secrets. Stone, the undisputed star of Sardinia, is functional, a resource integrated to architectural contexts. Its material strength is rounded, smoothed, engraved and cut to create features and precious aesthetics.

Original and imbued with meanings, the clothes and jewels are a fusion of signs left by the succession of different cultures in Sardinia: Nuragic, Phoenician, Greek, Byzantine and Spanish. Like the bright, coloured bonnets worn by the women of Desulo on festive days. They decorated them themselves, embroidering miniature details of the flamboyant Desulo dress: yellow, red and blue geometric designs alternated with embellishments based on the fantasy of skilled and sensitive artists. That of the women of Tempio Pausania was a different world, with their austere precious silk damask dress, which was completely black. On their heads, they wore a cascade of white lace, tied with filigree. The women's hands coloured the textured fabrics with Sardinian grasses, saffron for the yellow of the silk handkerchief from Orgosolo, indigo for the blue of the skirt from Bosa. They gave a shape to the fantastic bodices, embroidered shirts and precious shawls like those worn by the women of Oliena.

The fine workmanship in all of the Sardinian jewellery is carried out using a technique passed down over the centuries: from the necklaces and pendants, chains, Sardinian gancera necklaces, earrings and broaches, to buttons, amulets and other sacred objects. They all adorn the traditional costumes, each an expression of a community. The Sardinian wedding band is a jewel loved for the symbolic value and beauty of the filigree, entirely pounded by hand by the master goldsmiths. A masterpiece of precision and harmony. The shape is obtained by joining small beads that look like grains of wheat together, a sign of prosperity for the future spouses.

1. From the art of weaving, baskets and corbule take shape: in Castelsardo the raw materials are dwarf palm and raffia; Ollolai, in Barbagia, Flussio and Tinnura, small villages of Planargia, are the ‘capitals’ of asphodel; the baskets of Sinnai are created with rush and hay. They have in common a taste for traditional motifs and functional shapes.
2. The art of filigree goldsmithing has ancient roots throughout Sardinia, from Cagliari to the workshops of Dorgali, Fonni and Ozieri. On the subject of preciousness, the 'Riviera del Corallo' is an ideal place to seek out artefacts created with the ‘red gold’: in Alghero and Bosa, centres united by a splendid panoramic road, the ‘corallara’ skill has been handed down for generations.
3. The tradition of carpets is widespread: from Nule, where the rugs are produced, to Mogoro and Samugheo - the summer venues of the Sardinian Artistic Handicrafts Fair and Tessingiu, respectively, the main events in the island's sector - and finally to Sulcis, where the productions of Villamassargia stand out.
4. Sardinian ceramics tell the story of archaism and myth with an attitude to everyday life, emblematic of a people who hand down ‘knowledge’ and transform it into modern artistic expressions. In the ‘cities of ceramics’, Assemini and Oristano, you will discover this evocative combination of identity and innovation.
5. Resolzas or arresojas, depending on whether you go to Logudoro or Campidano, the switchblade is a symbol of Sardinian craftsmanship. The most famous centres: Pattada, in the Monte Acuto regions, home of the pattadesa, Santu Lussurgiu, in the Oristanese area, and Arbus, home of the arburesa and its dedicated museum.

1. sardegnaartigianato.com