Sardinia

Climate

Sardinia enjoys for the most part a Mediterranean climate. It is however heavily influenced by the vicinity of the Gulf of Genoa barometric low and the relative proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. Sardinia being relatively large and hilly, weather is not uniform; in particular the East is drier, but paradoxically it suffers the worst rainstorms: in Autumn 2009, it rained more than 200 mm 8 inches in a single day in Siniscola. The Western coast is rainy even for modest elevations for instance Iglesias, elevation 200 m, average annual precipitation 815 mm against 750 mm for London.

Climate	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Daily highs °C	13.8	14.2	15.9	17.9	21.9	26.1	28.9	29.1	26.4	22.2	17.9	15.0
Nightly lows °C	5.8	6.1	7.4	9.1	12.3	16.2	18.3	18.9	16.9	13.3	9.5	7.0
Precipitation mm	53	52	45	35	27	10	3	10	29	57	56	55
Climate of Cagliari, source Global Historical Climatology Network

Summer is dry with very warm weather 35 °C [95 °F] and up being extremely common; however, contrary to the islands of Greece for instance, shade and wind are plenty. Autumn is typically very mild with averages of 20 °C [68 °F] and up for highs till mid-November, but is subject to heavy rainstorms as noted above. Winter is generally mild on plains cold spells being however not unheard of but cool to cold at higher elevations; snow is generally limited to the Gennargentu range. Spring is mild and rainy, but not as autumn. The island is very windy, especially from September to April northwest winds called locally Maestrale; southeast winds Scirocco are frequent during summer and bring invariably hot weather.

Geology and geography

Sardinia is the only region in Italy of Hercynian origin; actually, the Southwest is even older Cambrian. The mineral riches of Sardinia are the consequence of heavy hydrothermalism during the Permo-Triassic. As in the rest of Hercynian Europe, erosion has taken its toll since the orogeny and has reduced elevations considerably. 30 million years ago, the Sardinia-Corsica block started to detach from mainland Spain and tilted toward its present position. The island is both aseismic and non volcanic.

Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea 24090 sq. km [9300 sq. mi]; only Sicily is larger. The island is dominated by the Gennargentu Range culminating at Punta La Marmora, 1834 m [6017 ft], highest elevation in Sardinia, along with the Monte Limbara, Monte di Ala', and Monte Rasu ranges all below 1500 m [4900 ft]; isolated are the Sulcis-Iglesiente hills 1236 m [4055 ft] of Southwestern Sardinia, once home to a large mining district. Plains are quite rare and reduced in extent, with the exception of the Campidano Plain from Oristano to Cagliari, which divides the main hill system from the Sulcis-Iglesiente, and the Nurra plain in the northwest between Sassari, Alghero, and Porto Torres, which was once a mining district and quite forested, but is today mostly given to pasture. Sulcis proper in the extreme Southwest was a marshy area where malaria was still present in the 1940's but eradicated since. Cagliari's neighbourhood is also flat and boggy; exploitation of salt is a major industry there.

Coasts are generally rocky and tall, especially along the Eastern half; large beaches are found however on the North and Northeast Logudoro and Gallura, the South from Teulada to Pula and the Southwest Sulcis-Iglesiente. Apart from the Strait of Bonifacio famed for its often rough sea which divides Corsica from Sardinia, the surrounding sea is quite deep at short distances from the shore.

Population is low a little more than 1 650 000 inhabitants in 2010, with heavy concentration in the Cagliari one third of the total population and Sassari one fifth areas; Olbia is the only other town exceeding 50 000 inhabitants. Other centres include Alghero, Nuoro, Oristano, Carbonia and Iglesias. Sardinia, along with the Valle d'Aosta region at the French border, has the lowest density of population in Italy.

History

Sardinia is home to the old but somewhat mysterious Nuragic civilization ca 1500 BC; cylindrical towers called Nuraghi, sing. Nuraghe dot the Sardinian landscape, and fortified villages can still be found, as in Barumini Medio Campidano province. The Phoenicians arrived around 1000 BC, founding Cagliari Karalis, ca 800 BC and other emporia; Tharros near Oristano and Nora near Pula, Cagliari province are a must-see for the archeology-minded tourist. Sardinia was contended during the First Punic War between Carthage and Rome, but went finally to the latter. Rome had often trouble with the rebellious locals, but managed quite a large income out of grain and metal mining.

With the fall of the Roman Empire, heavy raiding of the coastal areas by pirates forced the population to the hinterland; Sassari for instance was founded by refugees from Porto Torres. The four Kingdoms Giudicati of Calaris (Cagliari, Arborea Oristano, Torres Sassari e Gallura Olbia-Tempio Pausania) sprang forth during the Middle Ages, but were rapidly colonized except for the Oristano area by Pisa and Genoa; in particular the Pisans the famous Conte Ugolino della Gherardesca of Dante's Inferno and his family held between 1200 and 1350 the southernmost part of the island, deriving a large income out of the silver mines near Iglesias, which they themselves founded. Spain then seized the whole of Sardinia by the end of the 14th century, and for nearly 400 years the island remained basically out of mainstream European history.

With the rise of the House of Savoy, the constitution of the Sardinia-Piedmont realm was the starting point for the unification of all of Italy. When this was achieved, Sardinia was once again left to its own devices, except for the exploitation of its large mineral resources. Fascism saw important work in particular the reduction of marshy areas, and in 1948, given the unique socio-political context of the island, Sardinia received the status of autonomous region which it still retains to the present day. With the end of the exploitation of the mines, but with the fast growth of the tourist industry especially in the Costa Smeralda ("Emerald Coast" area), Sardinia is slowly converting itself into a popular tourist destination, while traditional stock-herding in particular sheep is still a frequent sight.