Aritzo and San Michele Arcangelo

Aritzo is a small town at an altitude of about 800 m in Sardinia. If you look up Aritzo in the English version of Wikipedia you'll find some more statistical numbers and that's it [1]. I have been disappointed by this article as I enjoyed staying there. Aritzo already intrigued me by the mere name [2]. I suspected an influence of Basque of better Proto-Basque. In the Italian version of Wikipedia you can find this interesting information: “The name would be traced back to that of the chestnut trees, an abundant plant in the area. See also Basque areitz, haritz, for “oak” or “chestnut”, which habe to be evaluated whether it's a native term of that pre-Indo-European language or a loan.” [3]

In old times snow was collected and compacted  inside "nevieres" during winter to be transported and marketed in the form of ice blocks throughout the Campidano (the region from Oristano to Cagliari) during the summer. One of the uses has been the production of a sorbet called Carapigna (In Sardinian: sa carapigna), which is prepared from ice, sugar and lemon [4]. Carapigna has seen a revival like other traditional products, which is seen in other countries, too. Best occasion to see and taste would be “la festa di Sant'Isidoro con la Sagra de sa Carapigna”.

 

 

Bachisio Sulis was born in Aritzo in 1795. At the age of 23, he is unjustly charged of attempted murder and therefore had to spend 12 years as a fugitive, which gave him the nickname „poeta bandito“. He has written touching love poems but also verses against power and anticlerical. He was killed 1838 by a rifle shot from behind a hedge. His nephew published what of his poetry had survived in 1906: „ Poesie Sarde di Bachisio Sulis“. [5]

I could also visit the Parish Church of San Michele Arcangelo (La chiesa parrocchiale di San Michele Arcangelo), which oldest part dates back to the eleventh century. Most of  the current structure is believed to have been built between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in late Gothic style [6]. I reached the church in the late afternoon / early evening and there had been a mass dedicated to Padre Pio [7]. I have been very fortunate and joined the mass. Padre Pio (Saint Pius of Pietrelcina / Italian: Pio da Pietrelcina) lived from 1887 until 1968. He was „an Italian Franciscan Capuchin, friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic“ [8], who was beatified in 1999 and canonized in 2002 by Pope John Paul II. All participants received a picture of Padre Pio (like a credit card) with the first line of his prayer: „Il Signore ti benedica, ti guardi, volga la sua faccia verso di te; ti dia misericordia e ti dia pace.“ [9]

Visit Aritzo while it's still intact, the lack of jobs is steadily diminishing the population [10]. People are moving from the country to the big cities - keyword rural exodus. Aritzo, more than an insider tip!  

Links and Annotations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aritzo  
[2] I had already written about this placename here on my blog: https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2021/11/sammelsurium-202-13112021.html
Translation: „Nuragic or Old Sardinian There are no linguistic monuments from the Nuragic period, i.e. the language of the population before the Romans and before the Phoenicians in Sardinia, but perhaps onomatology (name research) and in particular toponymy (place name research) can help. When I saw the place names Atzara and Aritzo, I thought of Basque. And I found out that paleo-linguists also see it that way, there is a connection between Nuragic and Proto-Basque (Aitzineuskara) [2a].”
[2a] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleo-Sardinian_language
[3] https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aritzo
[4] http://www.sardegnadigitallibrary.it/index.php?xsl=626&id=190556 and a more elaborate text: http://www.lamiasardegna.it/aritzo.htm
[5] https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachisio_Sulis and http://www.lamiasardegna.it/aritzo.htm
[6] http://www.lamiasardegna.it/aritzo.htm
[7] San Pio da Pietrelcina santa messa alle ore 18.00 in Chiesa
https://www.facebook.com/443379642895272/photos/a.444199442813292/1021535801746317/   
[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padre_Pio
[9] „May the Lord bless you, watch you and turn his face towards you, give you mercy and give you peace.”
[10] During the past 50 years the population of Aritzo has been reduced from about 2400 to abou 1200. http://dati.istat.it/Index.aspx and https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aritzo

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