The Way of the Paths, into the heart of Sardinia one step at a time

• The Cammini in Sardegna along the routes walked over the centuries by pilgrims, to reach the heart of the island's identity.
• Walking in the traditions of East and West, between spiritual paths and connections.
• Gesturi and the Giara plateau, ancient villages and nature steeped in devotion and sacred hospitality.

Lace your boots up tight. Then backpack, water bottle, hat, and off you go. Walking the Way to discover and experience authentic reality.
For Eastern cultures, the Way, the Japanese "dō" (道), is a path that leads from the outside inward, from the physical to the spiritual. It is the journey that, through commitment and physical gesture, through discipline, not only brings about perfection of execution, but (and above all) spiritual elevation. A path that in Asia can take various martial forms, such as judō (the way of yielding) or kendō (the way of the sword), or artistic ones, such as chadō (the way of tea) or shodō (the way of writing).

The Way is the foundation of Christianity. According to Rinaldo Fabris, biblical scholar, theologian and presbyter, "in the Bible the 'path-way' is a metaphor for the ethical-religious experience: the way of life, the way of salvation." Again for Fabris, in the second book of the Acts of the Apostles, "Luke designates the Christian experience as hodós, 'way', a salvific path and process (Acts 9:2; 19:9.23; 24:14.22)", just like the way of life in the parable of the good Samaritan. It is a Way that over the centuries has taken the form of pilgrimages, of journeys on foot. These are routes that find their very impulse in the act of walking — leaving everything behind. Making contact with the spiritual dimension through silence, through the physical effort that helps the mind detach, through the practical need to travel "light", setting aside the superfluous, in order to rediscover the sharing with fellow travellers, the hospitality of the communities encountered along the way and, ultimately, oneself.

The Way is therefore also the literal path itself, "the miracle of walking on the Earth, in mental presence" — that is, anchored to the present moment, aware that we are walking through the connection of steps to breath. This is the walking meditation of the Vietnamese Buddhist monk and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. We walk for the sake of walking, not to arrive, aware of the contact of our feet with the Earth, accompanied by inhalation and exhalation, with the journey itself as the true destination.

Walking in Sardinia: slow time and sacred hospitality

We wanted to walk in Sardinia "rediscovering routes walked by pilgrims over the centuries, through landscapes and places where time moves more slowly and hospitality is considered sacred." This is the "Noi camminiamo in Sardegna" project, an initiative conceived, developed and promoted by the Assessorato del Turismo della Regione Sardegna and the publishing house Terre di Mezzo, which "likes to inhabit borders with gentleness and determination", attentive to slow tourism, to sustainability and the creator of "Fa' la cosa giusta", the national fair of critical consumption and sustainable lifestyles.

"Noi camminiamo in Sardegna" reminds us that "along the routes walked over the centuries by pilgrims, one arrives at the 'heart' of the island's identity, in its most authentic and profound part", such as its villages, churches and its nature far from the hustle and bustle of the equally wonderful Sardinian coast. Slow and sustainable walking becomes the key to approaching a proud, devout and unique land, respecting its rhythms, its history, its identity and character, becoming part of it through direct experience and the hospitality of its people. The "Noi camminiamo in Sardegna" offering features itineraries divided into 8 Cammini and 8 Destinazioni, 17 itineraries and more than 70 municipalities.

Eight paths between beauty and spirituality

Eight itineraries, each with its own distinctive features linked to a saint, to history or to the characteristics of the territory, guide walkers along routes steeped in beauty and spirituality.

• Cammino minerario di Santa Barbara, a 500-kilometre "ring" route along mining trails linking sanctuaries dedicated to the protection of miners and geo-mining sites.
• Cammino 100 Torri, the island's perimeter in 1,284 kilometres, connecting around one hundred defensive bastions from the era of Spanish rule.
• Cammino di Santu Jacu, 450 kilometres from Cagliari to Porto Torres, following the devotion to Saint James the Greater.
• Cammino di Sant'Efisio, 70 kilometres walkable all year round, an itinerary completed as a round trip by thousands of the faithful in procession from Cagliari to Nora.
• Via dei Santuari, 400 kilometres, twenty novenaries, places of prayer and celebration, along ancient pilgrimage routes in central-northern Sardinia.
• Cammino di San Giorgio, retracing the wanderings of the saint around the year one thousand (first bishop of Suelli) along the sanctuaries dedicated to him: from Cagliari to the Tacchi d'Ogliastra, then towards a coastal route and the Supramonte.
• Cammino Francescano in Sardegna, linking 17 centres from south to north, in the footsteps of the Franciscans. Franciscan hospitality and an experience of sharing, spiritual recollection and conviviality.
• Cammino dei Beati, 90 kilometres between Galtellì, Orosei, Dorgali, Oliena and Orgosolo, in the places where saints and blesseds were born, lived and performed miracles.

From Borutta to Sant'Antioco

Eight evocative villages distinguished by extraordinary popular devotion to saints and blesseds. Rites, processions, songs and moments of sharing, spirituality and authentic hospitality.

• Borutta, celebrated for the church and monastery of San Pietro di Sorres
• Dorgali, birthplace of Blessed Sister Maria Gabriella Sagheddu, patron of Christian unity
• Galtellì, a village with deep devotion following the miracles of the Most Holy Crucifix
• Gesturi, birthplace of Blessed Nicola and gateway to the Giara plateau
• Laconi, the village where Sant'Ignazio was born and lived
• Luogosanto, home of the Porta Santa and the statue of the Queen of Gallura
• Orgosolo, birthplace of Blessed Antonia Mesina
• Sant'Antioco, the town named after the patron saint of Sardinia

Gesturi and the Giara plateau

This year our destination was Gesturi (in the province of Medio Campidano), a village in the heart of the Marmilla — the breadbasket of Italy for the ancient Romans — a territory inhabited as far back as the pre-Nuragic age (around 6000 BC), dominated by the Giara, a plateau of great naturalistic value. We walked with Cinzia Medda, our guide, passionate about her land and her people. Together we explored the wonders of the village, with the knowledge of its local craftspeople and masters, such as Vittorio, who has loved to give away crucifixes and rosaries woven from palm leaves since childhood, and with the flavours of this ancient land so charged with energy. Pamela's savoury panadas pastries, Maria's fresh goat's cheeses, or Emanuela's biscuits, like the pabasinas fragrant with the lemon of this powerful land.