Interesting Facts About Sardinia

Sardinia lies in the Mediterranean Sea some 120 miles (190 km) southwest of central Italy. Though it is comparable in size to Sicily, its population is only about one third that of the other island. Geologically, Sardinia differs from the rest of Italy in that it consists mainly of ancient crystalline blocks rather than of folded sediments. 

The most productive area is the Campidano rift valley, whose northern end (the area around Arborea) is irrigated from the Tirso River. The rest of this lowland is underdeveloped, but by the mid-1960s it was being improved with the aid of water diverted from the Flumendosa River.
 
With local exceptions, the remainder of the island is hilly or mountainous, and where it has not been abandoned to cork woodlands, scrub, or rough grazing, it is devoted to extensive wheat production, vines, and olives. Great progress has been made in taming the island's rivers (always a vital matter), and malaria, once a major scourge, has been controlled if not eliminated. Sardinia possesses a variety of minerals, but only lead and zinc (at Iglesias) and lignite (at Carbonia) are mined in significant quantities. Apart from Cagliari, the island's capital and main port, the only sizable towns are Sassari and Nuoro (both provincial capitals), Oristano, and Olbia.

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