On show in Sardinia
As many as 320 large wall paintings, done by different contemporary artists, define the settlement near Cagliari, which is now called the village of murals

Who, one might legitimately wonder, has heard of towns like Cagliari, Sassari, Nuoro, Oristano, here? Or even of Sardinia — of which they are a part — even though it happens to be the second largest island in the Mediterranean, smaller than Sicily but larger than Cyprus? And yet, it seems to be a remarkable land — an autonomous region of Italy now — marked by history that almost baffles the imagination, for one has to delve into the history of nearly all its neighbours or near-neighbours — Italy, of course, but also France and Spain and Tunisia, apart from all of the ‘Near East’— before one can even begin to understand what made it what it is now.

Centuries before Christ, the Carthaginians were here; the Romans and the Vandals dominated the scene here at different times; the land came under the Byzantine rule; the Spaniards and the French, even the Austrians, kept fighting over controlling it in the medieval times; it moved from being part of one empire to that of another; in the 19th century, it joined the Italian War of Independence and became part of Italy although its autonomy as a region is clearly established. The history of the island is a colourful but complicated mosaic, details of which one can keep on tracking for a very long time.

With its long coastline and azure waters, its equable climate and rugged landscape, dotted with remarkable sights of antiquity, Sardinia is now a great tourist destination, especially from the neighbouring lands. I have never been there but my attention went to it somewhat sharply when I came upon a publication that spoke of the region’s several months long, sustained, celebration of its culture, all led by the vision of the people at the top. "Sardinia needs culture", a slogan read, but added: "Sardinia is culture". With great pride, the regional councillor for Sardinia’s cultural heritage, Maria Lucia Baire, declared: "We are very specifically an island with a clear focus on our autochthonous heritage".

Left: Gazelle and Cactus Sculpture by Albino Manca, 1936; Sardinia St Antony: Detail of an altarpiece. 16th century; Diocesan Museum in Cagliari, Sardinia

Autochthonous that heritage might not necessarily be, considering the strong winds of influence and radical change that have been blowing over the island for centuries, but there seems to be a burning desire to focus on what the culture of the region, in fact of nearly all its cities individually, is: today.

Megalithic sites, ancient sports stadia, archaeological digs, medieval churches, folk music and textiles and handicrafts, all feature in it. Naively so, perhaps, but I believe that there is a lesson somewhere in all this for us in our own land. Sustained interest is the key, and renewing the challenge.

They speak there of a history that "has always taken different paths", and ask everyone who comes to "consider our links with the civilisation and states in the western Mediterranean basis and its relationship with the Spanish civilisation, far older and closer", which creates "a deep-rooted sense of identity and individuality with customs, traditions and costumes that are unique". The councilor Maria Baire speaks of promoting the "old, modern and the contemporary", all together, and movingly so since "we have virtually a "right/duty to history which has handed down a heritage that is extraordinary in the literal and original sense of the term. We cannot afford to squander or dumb it down."

In the publication that I referred to earlier, I was struck by the description and images of a little village, San Sperate: population 7,000, only 20 miles inland from the capital town, Cagliari. While there are old churches and ancient ruins, all around on the island, here in this village, within just the last 40 years or so, something quite new has been created.

The outer walls of house after house in the village are covered with wall paintings done by different, contemporary artists. The idea came from a local artist, Pinuccio Sciola, who thought of turning it into a place "walking through the streets of which would be rather like walking through a huge comic strip, a surreal parallel world with painted characters in fantasy settings on the walls".

Soon, as the description goes, "painters from all over the world came to add their own different styles and techniques and the village was transformed, with an amazing mixture of murals, from trompe l’oeil windows, verandahs and lines of washing, to historic scenes of village life 100 years ago, and copies of famous works of art …A house with a Picassoesque wall of distorted brightly coloured images, and high white wall painted to resemble a space for hanging agricultural implements, so realistically with shadows that they look ready to be unhooked and used. Elsewhere, there are curiosities like a house which appears to be wrapped in paper with a corner torn off, or painted groups of people chatting in front of arcades." As many as 320 large wall paintings define the village which is now talked about as a paese museo: a village of murals.

Now, painted walls are not unknown in our country — Madhubani in Bihar, whole clusters of huts with abstract ‘tribal’ designs in Orissa or Kutch come easily to mind — but is there someone who really cares except possibly the people who paint them or live in those houses themselves? And in any case, isn’t everything declining, or mouldering away? The point I am trying to make is not about painting walls, but about thinking afresh or differently. And about caring.

But, to go back to Sardinia. There, on this lonesome island, they are speaking of "planning a global management of our cultural assets". The current philosophy is "to display our heritage, reappraise it, and show it off". All efforts are being made to make all their cultural assets accessible to the public, in complete realisation of the fact that "the great challenge is that of combining protection and conservation within a policy of fruition and opening up to the world …". Different activities and programmes have been developed for realising these goals. Among them is an aid programme for local bodies restoring cultural assets, particularly museum systems, "in the sense of aggregated museums."

And another: the Patrimonio Culturale Saredegna Virtual Archaeology, which aims at providing an integrated system of archaeological sites, reconstructed using the latest 3D technology. "We aim", the heritage councilor says, "to make sites that cannot be visited in full, either because partially closed to the public to avoid harm or because not safe, available in an alternative manner. This is a cutting edge technological, graphic design and interactive project … that would at once add to visitor enjoyment and turn into a first rate local education tool".

As I said there is much to think about and learn in all this. On my part I am greatly tempted to take off and visit Sardinia to see how it is all working, or is being worked out.

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