My Sardinia

Take an interesting look at what scholars and travelers have discovered during their visit in Sardinia during the early part of the 20th century. This historical article was taken from an article of the same title in The National Geographic Magazine written by Helen Dunstan Wright, August 1916 Volume XXX Number Two. The article is serialized in parts.

The wild flowers are most beautiful, and there is practically no month in which a great variety is not found. Among these are orchids, narcissus, lilies, gladiolas, irises, cyclamen, fox-gloves, poppies, and sweet peas. In the summer months, usually from May until September, there is no rainfall. During the winter the rains are heavy and often accompanied by strong winds. In the northern part of the island a good deal of snow falls, and often the ground remains covered for a month at a time; but in the southern part of the island there is almost never any snow and seldom any frost. In the gardens there roses, heliotrope, calla lilies, nasturtiums, ivy, geraniums, marguerites, and many other flowers bloom all winter. It is during the summer that these cease blossoming.

May, June, and October are the months most pleasant for travel in Sardinia. The country is at its best then; the cultivated fields green, the wild flowers most profuse, the climate least variable and the roads, which are covered with “ghiaia” or broken rock, from December to February, are then in perfect condition.