You may have heard of Sardinia before – a beautiful ever-warm island, perfect for holidays. You may not, however, have heard much about it beyond that. As such, let’s go back to the basics. Is Sardinia a country in and of itself? Or does it belong to someone?
Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (right after Sicily). It lies between the Apennine Peninsula and Corsica and France. Sardinia also has its own capital city, Cagliari. As of 2016, Sardinia is divided into four provinces: Nuoro, Oristano, Sassari, Sud Sardegna (and the city of Cagliari, as a metropolitan city region).
To dispel any doubts, Sardinia is territorially a part of Italy. It does, however, have a degree of autonomy, officially being the Autonomous Region of Sardinia. The island’s authorities can make their own laws in a limited way independently of Italy, in a Regional Council. As such, Sardinia is an island belonging to Italy, not France (like the nearby Corsica). Though it has its own capital, it’s not a fully independent country.
Though it may seem like a relatively unimportant landmark in Italy, it’s basically the mother of modern Italy – Victor Emannuel II, the first independent King of Italy, was initially the King of Sardinia. The same Emannuel whose name you’ll see on half of the streets in large Italian cities. So, though Sardinia is now a mere part of Italy, it’s really more of a question of who’s the cradle here.
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