Page 137 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Sardinia

THE WESTERN C O AST  135

depictions of ships, which huts made of wood and reeds
experts believe are ex votos. (see p119). Today only a few
The Latin letters RVF, inter­ survive; the largest group lies
laced as in a monogram and east of the motorway, not far
repeated several times, seem from the archaeological site of
to derive from the Phoenician Tharros (see pp136–7).
language and are said to stand As visitors enter the small
for “cure, save, give health”. village of San Giovanni di Sinis
On the first Saturday in they will see the early Christian
September, the feast day of San church of San Giovanni which,
Salvatore is celebrated. The together with San Saturnino
event is marked with a barefoot in Cagliari, is the oldest in
(scalzi) race in memory of local Sardinia. It was built in the
youths, who, in the Middle Ages, 5th century, though much of
left the village to escape from the present­day church was
the Saracens but returned to the result of 9th­ and 10th­
Marsh samphire, a typical plant growing in save the statue of the saint. century rebuilding. The three­
the Cabras marshes Just east of the sanctuary are nave interior is barrel­vaulted.
the ruins of the Domu ‘e Cubas
the vaulted ceilings are made of Roman baths. Environs
sandstone and brick. On the walls Near San Giovanni di Sinis is
are graffiti of animals (elephants, u San Giovanni the WWF Torre ‘e Seu reserve,
panthers and peacocks) and where some of the last dwarf
heroes and gods (Hercules di Sinis palms in the area survive. A dirt
fighting the Nemean lion, Mars Road map B4. * 40. n Cabras. road at the northern end of San
and Venus with a small winged Giovanni di Sinis leads to the
cupid). There are even Arabic At the edge of the Sinis reserve. At the gate there
writings about Allah and peninsula is a bathing resort is a path to the sea and the
Mohammed, and numerous once famous for its fishermen’s Torre ’e Seu Spanish tower.
The Vernaccia Wine of Sardinia
The countryside north of Oristano is one of the
most fertile areas in Sardinia, carpeted with
olive trees and grapevines. The Vernaccia made
in Oristano is perhaps Sardinia’s most famous
white wine and is produced in the towns of
San Vero Milis, Cabras, Zeddiani, Narbolia,
Vernaccia Riola and Baratili. The wine is full­bodied
grapes and strong, with 15 degrees of alcohol,
and is aged for at least three years in
large oak barrels. You can take a tour of the wine­
producing area, and pause for wine­tasting at the
Vino Vernaccia.
E Vino Vernaccia
Via Oristano 6A. Tel 0783 33 383. Open 8am–1pm, 3:30–6:30pm
Mon–Fri, 8am–1pm Sat. & 8 book in advance. The 18th-century gate at the entrance to Cantina Sociale
∑ vinovernaccia.com winery, Oristano

Wine barrels in the Vino Vernaccia Rows of Vernaccia vines

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