Barbagia (; or ) is a

geographical Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

of inner

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, contained for the most part in the

province of Nuoro The province of Nuoro (; ) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia, Italy. Its capital is the city of Nuoro. It has an area of , and, , a total population of 210,972. The province is divided into 74 ''comuni'' (: ''comune''), t ...

and

Ogliastra The province of Ogliastra ( , ) was a former Provinces of Italy, province in eastern Sardinia, Italy. Ogliastra was the most mountainous province in Sardinia. With only some 57,642 inhabitants, it was also the least populous province of Italy. Th ...

and located alongside the

Gennargentu Gennargentu (; ) is a large massif in central-southern Sardinia, Italy, encompassing the provinces of Nuoro and Ogliastra. It includes the highest peaks on the island, such as Punta La Marmora (), Monte Spada (), Punta Erbas Virdes (), Br ...

massif. The name comes from

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

, who described the land as inhabited by

barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

; Roman domination over this part of the island was in fact never more than nominal as a result of the Roman-Sardinian Wars. This word shares its etymology with the now antiquated ''

Barbary The Barbary Coast (also Barbary, Berbery, or Berber Coast) were the coastal regions of central and western North Africa, more specifically, the Maghreb and the Ottoman borderlands consisting of the regencies in Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, a ...

''. The

Sardinians Sardinians or Sards are an Italians, Italian ethno-linguistic group and a nation indigenous to Sardinia, an island in the western Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean which is administratively an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special st ...

, many of whose revolts came from this area, were also mocked by the

ancient Romans The Roman people was the ethnicity and the body of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens (; ) during the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. This concept underwent considerable changes throughout the long history of the Roman ...

with the pejorative term 'thieves wearing rough woolen garments'. In 594, Pope

Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...

wrote a letter to Hospito, a Christian whom he calls the "leader of the Barbaricini" (). Hospito apparently permitted the evangelisation of pagan Barbagia by Christian missionaries. The area is usually divided into five Barbagias: the Barbagia of

Ollolai Ollolai is a ''comune'' at the centre of Barbagia, in the province of Nuoro, Sardinia, Italy. Its territory covers an area of . It is the main town of the Barbagia di Ollolai. Places of interest Architecture The main square of the village ...

, the Barbagia of Seulo, the

Barbagia of Belvì Barbagia (; or ) is a geographical, cultural and natural region of inner Sardinia, contained for the most part in the province of Nuoro and Ogliastra and located alongside the Gennargentu massif. The name comes from Cicero, who described the l ...

, the Mandrolisai, and finally the , the historical name by which the area of

was once referred to. The latter two are named after a sub-region, and the others after their main villages. The area comprises mainly rocky and steep hills and mountains, and there is little human presence. Barbagia is one of the least populated areas in Europe, which has allowed Barbagia to preserve better the island's cultural and natural treasures. According to a thesis by the archaeologist

Giovanni Lilliu Giovanni Lilliu (13 March 1914 in Barumini, Italy – 19 February 2012 in Cagliari), was an archeologist, academician, publicist, politician and an expert of the Nuragic civilization. Largely due to his scientific and archeologic work in the Su ...

, Sardinian history has always been characterised by what he called the "constant of Sardinian resistance", opposed to the invaders who attempted at various times to lord over the indigenous inhabitants. Barbagia is one of the few Sardinian regions where the

Sardinian language Sardinian or Sard ( , , , , or , ) is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken by the Sardinians on the Western Mediterranean island of Sardinia. The original character of the Sardinian language among the Romance idioms has long been know ...

in its own varieties, both Nuorese and

Campidanese Campidanese Sardinian (, ) also known as Southern Sardinian () is one of the two written standards of the Sardinian language, which is often considered one of the most, if not the most conservative of all the Romance languages. The orthography ...

, is still spoken on an everyday basis, while the rest of the island has already mostly undergone thorough

Italianization Italianization ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is the spread of Italian culture, language and identity by way of integration or assimilation. It is also known for a process organized by the Kingdom of Italy to force cultural and ethnic assimilation of the nati ...

and

language shift Language shift, also known as language transfer, language replacement or language assimilation, is the process whereby a speech community shifts to a different language, usually over an extended period of time. Often, languages that are perceived ...

to Italian. One of the most important villages is

Gavoi Gavoi is a ''comune'' in central Sardinia (Italy), part of the province of Nuoro, in the natural region of Barbagia. It overlooks Lake Gusana. History The territory of Gavoi is inhabited since the prenuragic period. During the middleage is cit ...

Orgosolo Orgosolo () is a ''comune'' (municipality) located in the Province of Nuoro, in the autonomous region of Sardinia, at about north of Cagliari and about south of Nuoro. The municipality is famous for its murals. These political paintings can be ...

was famous for its bandits and kidnappers and typical

murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

Oliena Oliena ( ; ) is a commune in the province of Nuoro, Sardinia, Italy. History The territory of Oliena has been inhabited since the Palaeolithic Era until today. The first proofs about the above-mentioned presences have been found inside the ...

is well known for its

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

s (especially the ''Nepente'', a wine made with Cannonau grapes). Another well known town is

Fonni Fonni () is a town and ''comune'' in Sardinia, in the province of Nuoro (Italy). It is the highest town in Sardinia, and situated among fine scenery with some chestnut woods. Fonni is a winter sports centre with a ski lift to Monte Spada and Bru ...

, the highest town in Sardinia at more than 1,000 meters above sea level. Fonni is also the gateway to the Gennargentu mountain system. The economy consists of agriculture, sheep breeding, art and tradition related business, tourism and light industry.

References

{{Authority control Geography of Sardinia Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy Blue zones Natural regions of Europe History of Sardinia

See also

References