07/10/2026
Sardinia Is Not Italy - Really?
Some of you - perhaps those who have moved here - may have heard this from some Sardinians, and presented as though you've just been let in on a great secret that outsiders don't understand.
So it's worth making things clear.
Sardinia is, indeed, Italy.
Legally, politically, and administratively, there is no ambiguity about this. Sardinia is one of Italy's 20 regions and one of its five autonomous regions.
We are Italian citizens. We vote in Italian elections. We have Italian passports. We respect (or not) Italian laws. We pay taxes to the Italian fiscal system. We are also EU citizens and benefit from the rights, programs, and policies that come with that.
So when someone tells a foreign visitor that "Sardinia is not Italy," that is not a factual statement.
Now, this doesn't mean that our relationship with the Italian state has always been (and continues to be) straightforward.
Has Sardinia sometimes been treated more like a colony than an equal part of the country? Well, yes - and it often feels like this is still the case.
There are serious historical and even contemporary discussions about the military occupation of our land, the environmental burdens, the economic development, the infrastructure, transport to and from mainland Italy (or the lack thereof), energy, political power and the way decisions that affect the 1.5 million inhabitants of Sardinia are sometimes being made elsewhere.
Those grievances do not disappear just because Sardinia is legally part of Italy.
However...
Are we different from the rest of Italy? By all means, yes.
And while we are here, let me also say that Sardinia should not be lumped together with southern Italy either. Our history, geography, languages, and culture are different.
But there's something you need to understand about Italy: Italian regions are ALL different from one another. Italy is an extraordinarily regional country.
Go from Sardinia to Sicily, then Campania, then Tuscany and finally to Veneto and South Tyrol, and you will find different foods, hear different languages and dialects, experience different festivals, admire different architectural styles - each region in Italy has its own distinct identity.
Ask many people in Italy where they are from, and their town identity will often matter.
Sardinia's insularity and history make our identity incredibly strong. But this isn't unusual in Italy. And this is where I sometimes find the "Sardinia is not Italy" declaration a bit too convenient.
Some of those who will say to foreigners still travel with an Italian passport, participate in Italy's political life (or dismiss it as many other Italians do, something which infuriates me), and exercise the rights that come with Italian and EU citizenship.
You can't turn a complex question of identity and history into a catchy slogan and present it to visitors as a fact. You can feel Sardinian first, and proudly so (I am the one who carries her Sardinian flag on all her trips: it's come with me to France, to Peru, to Alaska, to Iceland... and many other places in the world). You can be Sardinian and have a very critical view of the Italian state (again, that would be me). You can even support Sardinian independence (not sure how that would ever work).
Those are questions of identity and politics, and Sardinians don't all agree on them.
But make no mistake: Sardinia is currently part of the Italian Republic. It's a fact.
Personally, I believe the reality is much more interesting than telling visitors that "Sardinia is not really Italy."
Sardinia is Italy. But Sardinia is also Sardinia. And appreciating the tension between those two things will tell you far more about the island than the slogan will ever.
