The fires of Sant'Antonio
On the night of 16 January hundreds of bonfires light up village squares and open Carnival.
Read →January to CarnivalThe Barbagia Carnival
Mamuthones, Issohadores, Boes, Merdules and Thurpos: the archaic masks of Sardinia's inland villages.
Read →Carnival Sunday and TuesdayThe Sartiglia of Oristano
The masked rider, the star pierced at full gallop and the acrobatic pariglie of the last days of Carnival.
Read →1-4 MayThe feast of Sant'Efisio
The plague vow, the carpet of petals, thousands of costumes and four days on foot to the sea at Nora.
Read →Early May and early OctoberSan Francesco di Lula
The night walk from Nuoro to the sanctuary on Monte Albo, the novena and su filindeu offered to pilgrims.
Read →Second-to-last Sunday of MayThe Cavalcata Sarda
Thousands of costumes from all over the island, decorated carts, galloping riders and dancing in Piazza d'Italia.
Read →Mid-May, peak on the 15thThe feast of San Simplicio
Olbia's mid-May week: procession, Palio della Stella horse race, singing and a mussel festival.
Read →Holy Week and EasterHoly Week
Hooded confraternities, polyphonic chants and torchlit processions: the rites of Castelsardo, Alghero, Iglesias and Cagliari.
Read →6-7 JulyS'Ardia of Sedilo
The wild gallop of some hundred riders around the sanctuary of San Costantino, amid blank shots and dust.
Read →Two weeks after EasterThe feast of Sant'Antioco
The traccas, costumes, riders and the great procession for the doctor-saint from Africa.
Read →14 AugustThe Descent of the Candelieri
The guilds' wooden columns dance down the streets of Sassari to Santa Maria di Betlem. UNESCO heritage.
Read →First weekend of AugustThe Mauritanian Wedding
A real couple marries with the old rites: dressing, ox-drawn carts, sa 'razia and a feast in the square.
Read →Late August, peak on the 29thThe Redentore festival
The parade of costumes and Barbagia masks, the folk festival and the dawn pilgrimage up Ortobene.
Read →First weekend of SeptemberThe Corsa degli Scalzi
At dawn nearly a thousand barefoot runners carry the saint from Cabras to the village of San Salvatore.
Read →Weekends, September to DecemberAutumn in Barbagia
Every autumn weekend an inland village opens its homes and courtyards: crafts, food, wine and music.
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