Cargeghe

A little bit of history

Cargeghe (“Carzeghe” in Sardinian, “Cagliègga” in Sassarese, tn* language spoken in Sassari) is an Italian town of 588 inhabitants in the province of Sassari, located in the historical region of Logudoro (tn* meaning “Land of gold”, it is an area in the northern part of Sardinia), in the territory of Coros. Historically, back in the age of the Judgedoms or Judicatures (tn* independent governments in power in Sardinia from the 9th to the 15th century AD), Cargeghe wasn’t in the territory of Coros but in another called Figulina. Only recently has it been included in the vaster Union of the Towns of Coros. The village developed around the parish church dedicated to the Saints Cyricus and Julitta, which contains works of value inside. Of great interest there is also the parish house, a seventeenth-century stately home. The territory of Cargeghe has been populated since the Neolithic period, nevertheless its landscape has stayed the same over time. In fact, there are many domus de janas (tn* Neolithic tombs carved into rock called “houses of the fairies”), among which the necropolis of S’Elighe Entosu – where the domus IV called “domus of the spirals” stands out – and those with an architectural design of the area called Pascialzu. The town is also home to the Sardinian Library, the first library entirely dedicated to Sardinian books, and home to the Sardinian Photographic Files. The film “Padre Padrone” was shot in the town of Cargeghe and its surrounding countryside, in 1977, by the Taviani brothers; taken from the autobiographical novel written by Gavino Ledda. At the 30th Cannes Film Festival, it was awarded the Golden Palm for best film.