Sant'Efisio, from Cagliari to Nora

On the first of May, at noon, the Stampace quarter fills with the scent of roses. In front of the little church of Sant'Efisio the streets are covered with pink, red and yellow petals, aromatic herbs and leaves. This is sa ramadura, the carpet of flowers over which the saint is about to pass. From that moment, for four days, Cagliari and the whole of Sardinia accompany a young Roman soldier on foot to the place where he was killed seventeen centuries ago.

The warrior saint

According to tradition, Efisio was an officer of the imperial army, born in Asia Minor and sent to Sardinia to fight the Christians. A vision, a shining cross in the sky, converted him. He refused to obey Emperor Diocletian, was imprisoned in Cagliari and beheaded on the beach at Nora in 303. Before dying, he is said to have promised to protect the city and its people forever.

For centuries Efisio was one of the island's best-loved saints, but it was in the 17th century that his cult became the great festival we know today. Between 1652 and 1656 a terrible plague struck Cagliari. The city government made a solemn vow: if the saint freed the city from the epidemic, every year his statue would be carried in procession from Cagliari to Nora and back. The plague ended, and the vow has been fulfilled every first of May without a break, even in 1943, under the bombing, when the saint went out on a lorry through the rubble, and during the pandemic years, in reduced form.

The parade of the first of May

On the morning of 1 May the streets of central Cagliari become the stage of a parade unlike any other. Before the saint come the traccas, ox-drawn carts decorated with flowers, rugs and objects from farm life, then thousands of people in traditional dress from dozens of the island's villages. Each group has its own costume, colours and jewellery: it is the largest living showcase of Sardinian costume, and on its own would be worth the trip.

Then come the riders of the Campidano, the miliziani on horseback with rifles on their shoulders, who once escorted the saint against bandits, and the Guardiania with its banner. Launeddas pipes accompany the groups, and women sing the goccius, hymns in honour of the saint.

Then he arrives. The statue of Sant'Efisio, dressed as a warrior, travels inside an 18th-century gilded carriage drawn by a pair of decorated oxen. Ahead of the carriage walks the Archconfraternity of the Gonfalone, the brothers in blue habits and the sisters in black, and beside it rides the Alter Nos, the mayor's representative, in tailcoat and top hat, who for four days embodies the city that made the vow. In front of the Palazzo civico on Via Roma the carriage stops to receive the community's homage, while the ships in the harbour sound their sirens.

The walk to Nora

Once out of the city, the saint begins his pilgrimage. At Giorgino, on the western outskirts, the statue is moved to a simpler carriage suited to country roads, and the procession continues along the coast. It stops at the little church of Su Loi, in the territory of Capoterra, then at Villa d'Orri, and in the evening reaches Sarroch, where it spends the night.

The next day the procession passes through Villa San Pietro and arrives in Pula, welcomed by the villagers. Finally it reaches Nora, the Phoenician and Roman city on the sea, where the Romanesque church of Sant'Efisio stands on the site of the martyrdom. Here the festival turns inward: masses, prayers, the vigil by the sea, the pilgrims who have walked for days.

The whole route, there and back, is more than eighty kilometres. Many of the faithful walk it entirely on foot, out of devotion or a personal vow.

The night return

On the evening of 4 May the saint returns to Cagliari. It is the most intimate moment of the whole festival. The streets are dark, people light candles and torches, and a silent crowd accompanies the carriage through the city back to Stampace. When the statue re-enters its church, the vow has been fulfilled once more. The Alter Nos symbolically hands back his mandate, and the city starts preparing for the next year.

How to experience the festival

The most spectacular moment is the parade in the centre on 1 May, from mid-morning until the saint sets off around noon. Ticketed stands are set up along Via Roma and Largo Carlo Felice and should be booked early; alternatively you can find a spot along the route by arriving very early, especially in the streets of Stampace, where you can see the flower carpet. The detailed route and times are published each year by the City of Cagliari.

If you want to experience the festival differently, follow part of the pilgrimage, for example by joining the procession in Pula on 2 May or reaching Nora on the feast day. The night return on 4 May is less crowded than the parade and very moving.

During the festival Cagliari is full, so book accommodation well ahead. The first of May often falls on a long weekend and at the start of the direct-flight season, so fares go up too.

A festival of the whole island

Sant'Efisio is Cagliari's festival, but not only that. Costume groups come from Barbagia, Gallura, Ogliastra and the Sulcis; riders from the Campidano; launeddas players from the Sarrabus. For one day all of Sardinia gathers in the streets of its capital, and then sets off towards the sea, as it has every year since 1657.