Not very far from Poltu Cuatu, in Baja Sardinia, the 6 August 1976, the greek Shipowner Mr Stevros Niarchos wanted to gather all his friends coming from all around the world, in a place excavated in the granitic rock called „Ritual“ a nightclub designed by a trendy and a fanciful architect Mr Andres Fiore. It was one of the most magnificent and crazy nights that the Emerald Coast reminds. Other places of madness nights, over the years, have been: S’ Inferru, undersquare in Porto Cervo, followed by Pepero, Sottovento, Sopravento and at the end The Billionaire, the Creation of the business man called Mr Flavio Briatore, that has conquered in the decade the night life in the Coast.

Before this of course, a long work of diplomacy, a planning of intent written down, in September 1961 preceded the signing of the Statute, that made possible this unexpected touristic revolution. A long extensive work began, quite casually, in 1958. The English banker Mr John Duncan Miller at the time, vice-president of the World Bank, was visiting Sardinia for one reason: he wanted to check, himself, how was proceeding the campaign against the malaria and the progress of eradication of anopheles, the mosquito, transmitter of the malaria. While sailing along the coasts of the island, the yacht of the British Tycoon stopped near the Cala di Volpe and there it stayed at anchor. Once there, Mr Miller was enchanted by the clear waters of the bay and was convinced about the touristic potential of this corner of Gallura. We can say we have two witnesses of this first approach. At that time, two young boys, Giovan Michele Linaldeddu and Giovanni Azara, still with us, were in those waters, taking a bath the same day, and were invited to go aboard by Mr Miller that through an interpreter asked them information about the landowners and the possibilities that they could accept to sell the lands. The story of this singular interview is documented in the film: «From the Mountain to the Mountains», which tells us the foundation and the development of the Emerald Coast in the late fifties till the beginning of the New Millennium. Mr Miller informed the Prince Karim Aga Khan IV about the wonders of this island. Karim at that time had just become the Imam of the Muslims Ismailiti and, as a descendant of Mohammed, was considered a God on earth by those who believes in this religion. In any case, He decided to get involved on the trade and invested 25 thousands dollars in the Union that became later the Consorzio formed by a group of enterpreneurs. But the Prince believed to have made a very bad deal when, during the winter of 1958, he came to Olbia by the Tirrenia ferry boat and had to travel for 4 hours to mule tracks, impassable paths to arrive to his properties purchased without having seen them before. The place, future touristic resort, was completly without services, no roads, no electricity, no water, and nothing else. And then, the bad season and the rainy day, made «Monti di Mola» wilder and more unconquerable than ever, and the prevalence of these gray days, took away all the beauty of those evocative corners of these charming coasts, described to him as fantastic. Providential was, an improvised cruise in the summer of 1959. The Prince Aga Khan and some friends boarded a yacht in Costa Azzurra, there on holidays, decided to leave for Sardinia. Karim wanted to show to his traveler friends his properties that too quickly he hastily dismissed as a lost deal. The crystalline colors of the water, the white beaches, granitic rocks shaped by the winds as plastic sculptures, pine trees, wild olives and sand dunes, that left the Prince speechless. Following the suggestion of the Architect Mr. Luigi Vietti the Aga Khan believe that that corner of the island could be called Costa Smeralda, inspired by the emerald colors of the water, a transparent sea deeply insinuated in a thousand creeks. The future of tourism of Monti di Mola was certainly, outlined in that time. Until then, the only illustrious tourist that the area had known was the industrialist Giuseppe Kerry Mentasti. In 1953 Mr. Mentasti bought for 3.5 million lires, 43 hectares of the island of Mortorio, transferred to the owner of the San Pellegrino company from the tobacconist of Arzachena Mr Luigino Demuro. Mr Mentasti considered the little island of Mortorio just a summer retreat and did not think at all to cultivate entrepreneurial ambitions. Also because, as already said, the area was really lacking even of the most elementary forms of urbanization and without any networks water. The lack of water in the area was one of the hardest battles for the politician Mr Giovanni Filigheddu: in the fifties, in the Regional Council, Mr Filigheddu expended all his energy and moved all his knowledge possible to press the building of the Dam of Liscia, essential for watering the dry low land of Gallura. A dream that became reality only few years later and was decisive for the wild mountains of Mola that became a welcoming wonderful luxurious touristic destination.

These spaces were restored to create the rooms of the museum, which conserves a number of the liturgical furnishings of the Cathedral. This «Treasure of the Cathedral» is an integral part of the history of the Diocese of Ampurias: liturgical objects in silver, Baroque altar crosses, incense burners, reliquaries and ceremonial vestments, mitres and candelabras. Other fine pieces include wooden statues from the Lombard-Emilian school, such as the Madonna di Salasgiu and the statue of the patron saint. The museum exhibits the other paintings by the Master of Castelsardo: San Michele, the Four Apostles and the Trinity, which were part of the original retablo along with the current altarpiece of the cathedral. These panels are all painted on a gold background, and the unmistakable style of the Master can be seen in the details, such as the contrast between the disposition of masses in the faces of the subjects and the decorative parts in relief.

It is said that the flamingo has inspired the myth of the flaming-flaming phoenix: the ancient symbol of transformation and resurrection, the phoenix that at the end of its life is consumed by fire and then reborn, magically from its ashes. This enchanting bird has fascinated, over time, many artists, poets and writers, just think of the Grazia Deledda — Sardinian novelist who was influenced by the verismo (q.v.; «realism») school in Italian literature. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1926.

In 1904 the museum had a new building in Piazza Indipendenza: it was planned by Dionigi Scano, and the curator of the exhibition was the famous archaeologist Antonio Taramelli, superintendent from 1901 to 1931. After many donations and a large number of materials coming from the excavations, in 1993 the museum was transferred to its final location in the Cittadella dei Musei, in a building planned by the architects Piero Gazzola and Libero Cecchini in the area of the eighteenth- century Regio Arsenale.

According to legend, the Giudice Constantino di Mariano and his wife camped the night here and received a vision telling them that they were going to have their first longed-for child. The Giudice, delighted by the news, built the church and a neighbouring monastery, which the pope subsequently gave to the Camaldolite monks. Little remains of the monastery, although the church with its basalt walls is still in use.

For their poignancy and immediacy, the Sardinian murals have been used as an effective tool of communication. The Orgosolo painting technique emerged in the twentieth century thanks to the artistic verve of a group of feuding anarchists. The technique was adopted again during period of the Italian Resistance Movement and also spread rapidly to the nearby villages, becoming a total success. Today, this mural tradition characterizes numerous villages in the Barbagia area and has made Orgosolo an internationally famous museum-village.

Don’t miss the real voice of Barbaggia, Canto a Tenores. If ever some sort of music could represent the soul of Sardinia ‘s rugged territories and agro-pastoral landscapes, it is canto a tenore. This traditional singing is one of the oldest-known forms of vocal polyphony. Little is known of the canto’s origins but it’s thought that the voices were originally inspired by the sounds of nature: the contra based on the sheep’s bleat, the bassu on a cow’s moo and the mesu oghe imitates the sounds of the wind blowing. According to some, the leader of the choir, the soloist, sings poems meaning the man who is capable of ruling the nature.

The lifespan of this monument runs from the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age (1500 — 800 BC) but it was also in use in historic times.