Its one of the few places in the world where theres a concentration of centenarians. People live here long, long lives. Its due to different factors the diet, they have access to fresh, local food all year long, the way of life also. Theyre very active. And its also due to the Strong Family ties. The elders in sardinia are taken care of, and very much appreciated. Theres also that little glass of wine every day that probably doesnt hurt. Basically, people are happy here. And after spending a couple of days or weeks in sardinia, it kind of rubs off on you. You start thinking that maybe, you too, would like to live to be 100. Claudia Tavani sardinia is the second biggest island in the mediterranean. Its part of italys territory. I say its the heart of the mediterranean. If you look at the mediterranean, it has a bit of this shape, and sardinia is right inside. People ask me where sardinia is. Is it near rome . Is it off the coast of naples . Its not. Its really in the middle of nowhere. Theres nothing else around. Sophie FouronClaudia Tavani. Journalist and blogger, she left sardinia to start a career abroad but decided to return rather quickly. And this is her island. Claudia Tavani the main city is that way, cagliari. Sardinia is around 25 000 square kilometers. Most people know about sicily, and sardinia is basically as big as sicily, but it has a population of around 1,6 million. So compared to sicily that has around 6 million people, there isnt that many people here. Sardinia has been regularly invaded. By the pisans, aragonese, the spaniards, people from genovese, phoenicians, romans, the arabs. Thats why the flag has the four blindfolded dark faces, and those are the four moors, quattro mori, which is a symbol of sardinia. And at some point in history, they were even talking about surrendering sardinia to france. So we could have been french today. When people ask me where are you from . I say im from sardinia. And then they ask me oh, where is that . Then, i say its part of italy. Which is fine. I dont feel the need to separate myself from that, but if you come here and you stay long enough, you do realize that its actually different. So we do say its not italy, but not as a way of complaining about anything. Its because its very matteroffactly. Its very different. I feel so strong about sardinia. Its where my roots are, and its where i want to come back. Its where i want to be buried. Sophie Fouron antonio, we could be in a Little Village in italy if i didnt know better. Antonio Iavarone please, in sardinia. Please, in sardinia. Its like do not insult me. Right . No, no, no. No . But you know, its the proper noun of this region is sardinia. As you probably know, we are quite proud of our history and our culture. So its something that we appreciate, when someone says o. K. Youre sardinian. Its sardinia. What are the main differences between italy and sardinia . We are quite far from the mainland. Not only geographically, but also our identity and our culture. For example, in the last century, they tried to oblige the sardinian people to speak italian. So the newest generation started with this idea, but now, they are starting to do programs and projects about. The sardinian language. To encourage. Yeah, also to encourage the young people. For example, in this little town, i am sure that every little kid can speak sardinian. In the biggest city of the island, its more difficult to find a young person that can. Its interesting to know that the sardinian language is not a dialect of italian. No, no, no. Its quite different, also because we had a lot of influences in the last centuries. Over the years. A lot. So you can imagine. More than other regions of italy. A lot of spanish words, north african words. There are parts of sardinia where they speak a sort of old catalan language that now in barcelona. No one speaks . No one speaks anymore. Thats very interesting. So there are different dialects of sardinian. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Different conquerors. Yeah. claudia tavaroni within sardinia, we have so many different dialects. I understand the one my mom speaks. You know, i speak the same. If you ask me what people from the north of sardinia are saying when theyre speaking their dialect, i wouldnt know. I grasp a few words here and there, but its different. Antonio Iavarone for that reason, its quite complicated to find. How can i say . A common sardinian language to teach, for example in schools. Because we can choose one, but the other one will say hey wait Sophie Fouron not fair not fair its not mine. You know, so they are trying to start teaching, for example, the grammar, that is quite similar. Also, the words change a lot. Wow yeah. So thats a project. Yeah, thats a project. Its a process that probably will take years. What is specific about sardinian culture. Well, im sure theres not just one thing. Compared to the Italian Culture . O. K. For me, we are more. Not closed off, but more intimate. O. K. For example, i dont know if you know that in the south of italy, there is a dance called taranta, tarantella. Yes, tarantella, yes. O. K. They are very, very big. Expressive. Expressive and big in their movements. The sardinian dance is very, very close, little steps, little movements. More subtle. Yeah, more. Humble, is the word . Humble. Humble, yeah. Yes. Which is very good. Sort of, yeah. In some ways, yeah. It could be good. But the other side is that we are not so famous. You have to come to sardinia to know sardinia. Speaking of which. O. K. Is this arranged . The singing starts as we walk . Oh, boy. O. K. [polyphonic song] [speaking italian] Sophie Fouron is it always four . antoni maria cubadda traditionally, sardinian polyphonic singing features four voices. Theres a solo voice, called the boche, the mesu boche, which is a second tenor voice, then the bassu and the contra, which uses a guttural voice technique. These are the voices in our traditional polyphonic singing. Is it taught in schools, this way of singing . No . No. I learned to sing like this at the barbershop in our village. The barber was a bachelor and lived alone, and i knew that he had been very successful as a singer. I discovered my passion for this style of singing when i was 16, and ive been doing it ever since. Where do we find this type of singing in sardinia . Is it all over sardinia . Theres a triangle area where this kind of singing is still quite popular. The tip of the triangle is seneghe, the last village in the province of oristano, right next to nuoro. This singing is also popular in the villages of baronia. The region where this traditional form of singing is still very much alive includes 70 villages. Many young men have taken it up, like federico. They all help keep this authentic musical genre alive. Why is it important for you to be singing . federico piredda ive loved this kind of singing since i was a little boy. Id listen to my brother practice and try to sing along. It became a passion, and then these men welcomed me into their quartet. It made me very happy id go so far as to say theyve become my second family. We perform mostly in local festivals. We also sing in Church Concerts because we sing many religious songs. We also perform in small village festivals. Theyre a great means to meet new people and discover other folk groups that remind us of our rich traditional heritage. [polyphonic song] Sophie Fouron the festivals in sardinia, is it still very important in your culture . antoni maria cubadda in this village and its surroundings, religious traditions are very important. Many people come out to these events. Antonio Iavarone its a strong religious feeling, and also the desire to Stay Together in different situations. And do the young people do it, or is it the older generation . All the preparation of this festa is made by young people. Really . Yeah. It means that young people. Yes. They want to keep the traditions alive. Yes, they want to keep the traditions alive. Sardinia is an island, so its isolated. With globalization isolation simply isnt an issue anymore. One hundred fifty planes land in olbia every day, and just as many land in cagliari. Sardinia is truly open to the world. We hope that when we stop singing, a new generation will step up to keep the tradition alive and learn from us. [speaking italian] antoni maria cubadda those are our costumes. Claudia Tavani yeah. All these festivals. The religion is just an excuse, really. What we want is an excuse to go out, stay with our friends, have one or two, or many drinks, whether its beer or wine, it doesnt matter. Eat a lot. Its just a social gathering, basically. Thats what it is. The majority of people here would declare themselves catholic, but most of them also dont go to church on a regular basis. The region of the islands of the southwest coast of sardinia is famous for tuna fishing. Its the livelihood throughout sardinia. Theres so much that they export it. They push them all inside this fishnet, and then they catch them from there. Its a tradition. In a way, its cultural. Its probably more sustainable than other technological ways of fish farming that involves a lot of pollution. It is a key element of the culture of san pietro. The tuna fishing and the tuna production and the tuna farming. And the tuna is actually very good. The tuna from there, its really, really good. Sophie Fouron were in san pietro, and this morning, were supposed to go fishing tuna. But the sea is very, very rocky. Well see if we can manage to catch a few. rivano goliardo youre ready all right lets go lets go fishing do i need a. No. You dont have lifejacket. Ah well how long have you been fishing for . rivano goliardo i started fishing in 1999. Most of us are fishermens sons, and our fathers were too. Tuna fishing is one of the few industries on this island. We fish using traditional methods. The fishing season lasts two months, from may to june every year. In the past, all the men on this island were involved in fishing. Do you go every day in may and june . Every day, seven days a week . Yes. Once the fishing nets are set up in the water, we go out every day with divers to check them, make sure theyre not damaged and retrieve the fish weve caught. Sophie Fouron what do you do with the tuna after . Who buys it . What do you do with it . rivano goliardo id say close to 90 of the fish is sold to foreign countries. We keep a bit of what we catch for our own consumption, about 10 to 15 tons, and process it in our factory. The factory is right there, by the water. Thats where we cut up the fish and package it. We started preserving tuna a few years ago, we didnt use to. We catch a lot of tuna. Fortunately, our methods are ecofriendly. We limit the number of fish we catch. We dont try to catch them all. When we put our nets in the water, we carefully choose where to do so. We make sure to only catch the fish that come close to the coast. In general, we catch anywhere between 2,000 to 3,000 tunas per season. People who use different methods catch over 3,000 a day. They can catch an entire pod of tuna every day, so at least 3,000 fish and anywhere up to 5,000. We catch 3,000, but in two months. We have to follow a quota. The maximum is around 200 tons per season. When we reach the quota, the season is over. The limits are imposed for a reason. If we were allowed to fish without any restrictions, there would be none left. Sophie Fouron the sea is very rocky, but the guys are smiling and laughing. So. So far, so good. Im just holding on to something. I just need to hold on. Its a big one or a small one . fisherman this is a small one. Small . The other is big. Oh look at that this is a very special way of catching tuna. rivano goliardo yes. Its the oldest method of tuna fishing. Its been practiced for a very long time. The principle is very simple. The nets are like a maze. We set up a wall of nets that extends to the shore. When the tunas come, they hit the net and get trapped. The net holds the fish in. They cant swim anymore, so they die, and the divers go retrieve them. The divers we saw on the boat are under water now, inspecting the net. When they find fish, they bring them to the surface of the water and onto the boat. Sophie Fouron you need the divers to do this. You cant do it on your own. rivano goliardo we come out here every day with the divers. They look around the nets to see if there are any catches. They also make sure that the nets dont tear and that everything goes well underwater so we can keep doing our work. Sophie Fouron go, will your kids and your grandkids be doing this as well . rivano goliardo yes. Yes . Si . We make a good living. As long as this traditional method is prosperous, well keep practicing it. Sophie Fouron good fish wow Claudia Tavani traditions have been changing. They have been developing. For example, in terms of traditional activities, one of them is shepherding. And you know, traditionally, you would milk the sheep manually. Just because nowadays, you dont do it manually, it doesnt mean that its not a tradition anymore. Its still a traditional job in this country. Going back to the traditional occupations and to the things weve done, and how they are connected to the territory is probably the best way to save this island and save the people from falling into even more poverty. Sophie Fouron there are three times more sheep in sardinia than human beings. Its more than great britain. Its more than new zealand. The shepherds way of life has been in the heart of this island for centuries. [speaking italian and french] mauro lampis yes, theyre. mauro lampis theyre endangered. sandro lampis theyre almost extinct. Theyre arbus black sheep. We have around 300 females. mauro lampis yes. mauro lampis there are twice as many sheep as sardinians, 3,5 million sheep to 1,6 million inhabitants. mauro lampis yes, a lot. sandro lampis in the past, shepherds had to stay with their flocks at all times, night and day, because there were no fences. Its a very physical trade, both in terms of milking the animals and gathering hay. Wed work from sunrise to sundown taking care of the animals and gathering enough hay. Things have changed now. Some chores have been automated. We still work very hard, but its less demanding than before. It gives us more free time to spend with our families. We wanted to continue the family tradition. Yes, maybe, well see. Well see. It depends on what they decide to do after they graduate. Come here time to go. sandro lampis the dog is white. mauro lampis there we go. Well let them come up. We milk them all. mauro lampis youre too young. sandro lampis there. mauro lampis a lot, yes. mauro lampis a minute. mauro lampis give or take. mauro lampis yes. mauro lampis around 150 litres. mauro lampis we make a onekilo block of cheese for every five litres. mauro lampis yes. mauro lampis yes, exactly. Ill show you the cheese we make after. mauro lampis an hour, an hour and a half. mauro lampis every day. mauro lampis sunday, christmas. mauro lampis all the time. This is where my grandfather taught me how to make cheese. sandro lampis this place is called su medau in the sardinian dialect. Its a traditional building where we used to make cheese. The milk was heated over a fire in the middle of the room. The fire was always going when cheese was being made. As you can see, the walls are completely blackened because they always smoked the cheese. The room was closed off and filled with smoke. The smoke served as a kind of natural preservative. Its important to preserve the cheese, so we smoked it. And this room this building dates from 1925. Weve produced a lot of cheese and burned a lot of fires here. mauro lampis people inhaled lots of smoke. sandro lampis when our family moved to the country, this was the only building here. There was no house and no dairy. mauro lampis the house. Everyone lived here. It was our house. We have so many memories of this place. sandro lampis shepherds have played a very Important Role in the history of sardinia since its the oldest trade in the region. The practices have modernized over time, but shepherding will remain one of the most important trades in sardinia. mauro lampis other than shepherding, there are related occupations, such as cheesemaking and selling milking machines. Theres a whole industry that depends on shepherds. I dont think sardinia could manage without shepherds. sandro lampis take, for example, the Italian Cheese pecorino. 90 of it is produced in sardinia. We are the only farm that makes cheese from this species milk. This species was almost extinct. sandro lampis its a pleasant way of life. We live according to traditions passed down by our grandfathers and fathers. This way of living comes to us naturally and makes us happy. This is our goldmine. mauro lampis the cheese cellar. sandro lampis we produce two kinds of cheese. One is a fresh cheese called carlota. sandro lampis once its ripened, it stays fresh for 60 days. The aged cheese we produce is called petro. Once its ripened, we eat it within six to 12 months. sandro lampis carlota. sandro lampis help yourself. sandro lampis its the perfect time to eat it. sandro lampis thank you. mauro lampis everyone eats cheese in sardinia. Theres a proverb that says that he who eats cheese lives to 100 years old. We also say pani e casu, binu a rasu, meaning cheese, bread and a large glass of wine. Claudia Tavani there are lot of sardinians who go overseas to work because the Employment Situation in sardinia is really poor. Its really bad. There are some places in sardinia that have really high unemployment rates. Whatever is related to agriculture is a huge part of the economy. Everything else is unreliable. So theres been the mining industry, but theyre basically closing all the mines. We could literally survive with just tourism and agriculture, and the point is that theyre not investing