Photograph by C. \V. Wright 



GREETING THE TOURIST WITH A SMIEE 



Politeness is one of the striking characteristics of the Sardinians. As the traveler rides 

 through a village the women, children, and the old men sitting at the doorways rise and 

 cheerily cry out "Buon viaggro." 



scenery. The land around the lagoons is 

 especially fertile and well cultivated with 

 truck gardens and vineyards, from which 

 a very large quantity of wine is made. 



Cagliari, the largest city on the island 

 and the capital of the southern province, 

 has about 53,000 inhabitants. The entire 

 population of the island is estimated at 

 796,000, a density of population of 85 

 per square mile ; this is a much lower 

 figure than in any other part of Italy. 



Among the objects historically interest- 

 ing in Cagliari are rock-cut tombs on the 

 hillside below the Castello. These are 

 probably of the same period as the "nu- 

 raghi," the famous prehistoric remains in 

 Sardinia, and some may have been en- 

 larged by the Romans into the tombs 

 which still exist, well preserved and with 

 Latin inscriptions on their walls. 



STRANGE RELICS OF THE BRONZE AGE 



Of the Roman period an ampitheater 

 remains. This is on the side hill to the 



west of the city and is fairly well pre- 

 served, with the passages under the tiers 

 of seats. The work of the Pisans in the 

 cathedral was begun in 131 2 A. D. and 

 finished by the Aragons in 1331, but later 

 partly rebuilt by the Spaniards in 1669. 

 Among the modern buildings is a beauti- 

 ful city hall, recently completed ; a uni- 

 versity with its library, which has a valu- 

 able collection of manuscripts, among 

 them a code of laws made by Eleanora of 

 Arborea, who was a ruler of a part of 

 Sardinia when it was divided into four 

 provinces under the Spaniards. The 

 southeastern corner of the old fortifica- 

 tions has been remodeled to form a 

 "piazza" above the city. Here concerts 

 are held at midday on Sundays during the 

 winter months and on summer evenings. 

 It is the fashionable promenade, as is also 

 the Via Roma, a boulevard along the edge 

 of the bay. 



Throughout Sardinia prehistoric mon- 

 uments are prominent in the shape of 



105 



