Even more tasty is the typical Sardinian open air cookery, among the ancient holm-oaks, or a lunch withthe shepherds that make you discover the most genuine flavours of this ancient land. In the mountain sheepfold, the shepherds cook the lunch open air, under the shade of the holm-oaks and age old junipers, among the natural environment and the flavours and perfumes typical of our menu, based on salami, cheese, boiled sheep with "patat'a perras" and roasted pork, typical bread, and everything becomes tasty twice if accompanied by the full-bodied local wine, the cannonau of strong colour and taste. If you wish to taste a genuine and simple digestive liqueur, the local brandy, of alcoholic content above 50°, the ideal drink to end at best a rich meal.
The ancient sheepfold called "sos pinnettos", once shelter of the community used by the shepherds. The simple and practical facility reminds of the nuragic huts; the basement is usually made up of a thick circular dry stone wall, surmounted by juniper trunks skilfully fixed to form a cone. Besides being a shelter it is also a workshop: here the shepherd used to make the cheese and put the whole cheese above "su kannitthu" (a cane rack), where they could dry open air and receive a light smoking.
Indeed the fire is lit inside the hut, the shepherds used to sleep all around inside sleeping bags in corse woollen fabric, and the smoke went out through the frond.
It could sound strange but a good pinnettu allows the smoke out through the top, keeps the heat inside and represents a shelter from rain and snow. In the period from May to June you can assist to the ancient ritual of the sheep shearing called “sa tundimenta” in Sardinian, one of the most important events of the shepherds world. Each year in Springtime there is the “in su beranu”, both to gather the wool and to let the sheep be free from the heavy fleece. The real shearing is made in the morning. The sheep are gathered inside the fench, “sa corte”, and then taken one by one to be sheared. The animal is skilfully placed lying on the back, quickly tied at the legs, and completely sheared, head to tail. The shearers show their ability, are quick and skilled. They use specific shears, of archaic shape, that are watered and sharped continually in order to become real razors.
Each form of aggregation, from labour to the village fair, show the strong public spirit of the Sardinian people: there is not shearing, return from transhumance, banquet or patronal festival without su tenore, polyvocal singing made up of four voices that, in Sardinian are called "sa oche", the leading voice that performs the strophe; "sa mesu oche", the highest voice that moves freely; "su bassu" and "sacontra", the voices that produce the low notes; the singing is perforned during the lunch and later with the traditional dance "ballu tundu". The main figure the dancers perform is the circle in which all the couples are tied hand in hand “a manu tenta". This figure shows the important of the community union for the Sardinians (the "tenore" as well performs traditionally inside a circle). A concert that likely reproduces the sounds of nature: sa contra is taken from the sheep bleating, su bassu imitates the ox bellowing, sa mesu 'oghe the wind whistling, sa oghe, at last, reproduces the word.
Period: the open air lunch with the shepherds is arranged during Spring and Summertime.
Please note: We suggest to book in advance.
