Sardinia is not a country. Sardinia is an autonomous region of the Republic of Italy. The island is politically a region of Italy. Its official name is Regione Autonoma della Sardegna or the Autonomous Region of Sardinia.

Sardinia May Not Be A Country But It Is Fiercely Independent

One of the most searched questions about Sardinia is whether it is a country in its own right. But like Sicily, and the other three autonomous regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino & Val d’Aosta, the belong to Italy, yet retain certain political powers.

Sardinia is culturally different from Italy, in many aspects. There is an ancient culture that lives on, in traditions, festivities, language & character. Numerous empires and nations have invaded it. For the most part, the people fought of any cultural interferences, turning inwards to protect their culture and ways of life, although a mix of foreign cultures is present. Especially visible in the traditional clothing and, even the architecture of towns such as Alghero.

Italy and Sardinia

The differences between Sardinia and the Italian peninsula are still evident despite a century and a half of cultural Italianization (and despite globalization tends to flatten diversity): basically, the main things in common are language and television. A Sardinian and an Italian both speak Italian, but the culture and mentality expressed with this language are different.

This is not to say that there is not some cultural closeness between Sardinia and Italy, which obviously exists, but only that in the same way Sardinia has traits of cultural commonality with the cultures of all the peoples of the Mediterranean and of the ‘Europe; and in any case, the culture most similar to that of Sardinia is that of the Iberian peninsula.