Cortes Apertas in Sardinia is an event that takes place from September to December and is an opportunity to discover the courtyards and villages of Barbagia, in a splendid corner of Sardinia.
An event that in its latest edition saw more than five hundred thousand people wandering around the gardens and houses of the villages. The little ones centers of Barbagia they are preparing to decorate themselves to best welcome visitors.
La Sardinia it's not just beaches and sea, how many times have you heard that? With Cortes Apertas (Literally open courtyards) you will be able to immerse yourself in the most characteristic centers of Barbagia, in the center of the region, know its past and understand its present and, why not, imagine its future.
The event, which is officially called "Autumn in Barbagia”Lasts from September to December and every weekend a country takes turns preparing to welcome the invasion of thousands of people on its streets.
The inhabitants of the city open their most characteristic houses letting us discover an ancestral world that still resists today. The whole country is mobilized and even the youngest take on the role of touristic guides directing and helping tourists. The organization is precise and accurate; two or three days of exhibitions, events and collateral events, all usually shown on a map that is given free to the visitor.
The best thing I can suggest you do in the beginning is to walk without a specific goal. Let yourself be carried away by smell and sight through the streets of the center, in this way you can discover an unexpected attraction that seemed far away on the map or enjoy the glass of wine that they will promptly offer you if you enter the right place. The best part of the event is right kindness and warmth of these people who try, successfully, to welcome the visitor to accompany him in the discovery of the place.
During the three days of celebration you will also have the opportunity to attend ancient rituals and ceremonies which are repeated intermittently throughout the year. Making it virtually impossible to admire those movements, that atmosphere and the bright colors of traditional clothes on other occasions. But Cortes Apertas it is not a village festival where religious events are the masters, far from it; as these are villages with an agricultural vocation, do not miss the opportunity to taste and buy the excellent products of their production. There is nothing better than tasting a good homemade ice cream or freshly baked carasau bread in a bucolic Sardinian garden.
In the 2015 edition of Cortes Apertas I was ad oliena, a small town famous for Nepente, the wine also mentioned by Gabriele D'Annunzio for its qualities. During my visit, made on Saturday to avoid the influx of people on Sunday, I was able to enjoy the tranquility of the place, taste excellent wines and taste (and buy) the excellent artisanal and organic oil directly from the producer. As the sun went down, the town became even more fascinating: the dim lights illuminated skilled craftsmen inside their workshops and the street lamps of the last century kept company with children dressed in traditional clothes in their usual square, ready for the peaceful invasion of the next day .
