Sardinia is a land of legends and mysteries. Every country church, every castle or monastery ruin, every village, every cussorgia (region or area), every cave, every cliff, every mountain… every valley has its own legend.

Some legends are long and frightening, others are short, vague, without a strong outline, but all have a kind of Southern and Mediterranean atmosphere. The protagonists are historical figures who mingle with devils, fairies, witches and janas; the giants who live in the nuraghes; the Saracens, the Pisans, the Genoese, the Spaniards, the judges (kings and queens) and the bishops.

The Sardinian legends in this book

Sas nurras and the Devil-deer; legends of Aggius in Gallura; Castel Doria and the Castle of Galtellì; Our Lady of Gonare and Saint Peter of Sorres; the curse of the monks; the spirit of Madame Galdona and other local legends; the three brothers and the three janas; Monte Bardia; the story of Don Juanne and Mariedda; the legend of the birth of is launeddas; the strange case of Zia Biròra the egg seller; the fairy house and the little silver ring; Efix and the spirits of the forest; Cosima and the Legend of the Mouflon.

The author

Grazia Deledda (Nuoro, 1871 - Rome, 1936) was the first Italian woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, “for her idealistically inspired writings which with plastic clarity picture the life on her native island and with depth and sympathy deal with human problems in general”.

She wrote a large collection of novels, short stories and essays on the legends and popular traditions of Sardinia.

Grazia Deledda is still considered the Voice of Sardinia.