SAN SPERATE AND ITS MURALS

In a nutshell

A tour to discover the colours and flavours of San Sperate, a 'town-museum' in which art and nature are blended together in perfect harmony and where the colourful murals that adorn the walls of the houses and the 'sound stones' of famous sculptor Pinuccio Sciola envelope us in a microcosm of extraordinary creativity.

Main stops

• Cagliari: a stop at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bonaria and at the viewpoint on Monte Urpinu
• San Sperate: historic centre, murals, the workshop-garden of Pinuccio Sciola
• Light Sardinian meal in a typical 'campidanese' house

The programme

• We start our excursion with an interesting panoramic tour of Cagliari that includes two stops: the first in front of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bonaria, where the guide will explain things to us while we sit comfortably on the coach, and the second at a viewpoint on Monte Urpinu, from where we can admire Poetto beach from one side and the city of Cagliari from the other.
• We continue the trip, reaching San Sperate, a small town just 20km from Cagliari and one of Sardinia's more important agricultural centres, being known for its production of fruit (peaches, lemons, apricots), cereals and vegetables.
• San Sperate has ancient origins: indeed, in 1876, during one of the first archaeological digs, a famous Punic "grinning mask" was unearthed here, as well as many votive finds.
• In addition, from 1967 onwards, San Sperate's artistic bent has seen it become a sort of "town-museum", home to many important Italian and international works of art as well as cultural events, exhibitions and theatrical festivals. The idea of transforming San Sperate into a town-museum came to Pinuccio Sciola in 1966. The artist and sculptor, who painted all of the houses white for Corpus Christi, invited various artists to paint their works of art onto the walls of the village houses, thus making San Sperate one of Italy's most important centres for mural art.
• In San Sperate, our local guide will first accompany us on a walking tour of the historic centre, where we can admire the many murals and stone sculptures that embellish the town. We then head to the workshop-garden of Pinuccio Sciola, who is famous across the world for his efforts to promote the murals of San Sperate and for his sculptures, especially his sound stones, unique creations that should be understood not only as works of visual art but also as musical instruments.
• At the end of the walking tour, before returning to Cagliari, we are served a light Sardinian meal inside a typical local home, the "casa campidanese", the architectonic structure of which perfectly blends functionality and aesthetics.

Good to know

• Places are limited, so please book early.