- 3 weeks ago
Great Continental Railway Journeys Season 9 Episode 1
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00:01I'm embarking on a new series of railway journeys, exploring Europe's most
00:08beautiful and historic regions. Oh, we're about to set off.
00:14From Belgium. Oh, I'm loving this.
00:20To Hungary. Oh, this is amazing. And the islands of Sardinia.
00:29Fantastic. And Corsica.
00:34I'll enjoy nature, history, culture and fun in some of Europe's most enchanting places.
00:44I am looking forward to a tremendous railway adventure.
01:07I'm beginning a new railway journey in the Western Mediterranean, exploring the beautiful neighbouring islands of Sardinia and Corsica.
01:25A mountain range rises sharply out of the seabed, creating the islands of Sardinia and Corsica.
01:33Sardinia is the second largest island in the Western Mediterranean after Sicily and enjoys a coastline of almost 2,000
01:43kilometres.
01:48Sardinia's extensive beaches and temperate climate make it a paradise for the sun worshipper.
01:54But on this journey, I will dig deeper, venturing into its rocky interior to discover its imposing mountains and charming
02:02villages.
02:05I'll uncover the many layers of its distinctive culture, which has resulted from multiple civilisations that have washed over Sardinia
02:14from many parts of the Mediterranean.
02:17Railways arrived quite late on the island, but they're now extensive.
02:21Both standard gauge and where the mountain terrain requires it, narrow gauge too.
02:25I am looking forward to a tremendous railway adventure.
02:31I shall begin in the south of the island at the capital, Cagliari.
02:34I shall traverse the island to the northern coast.
02:37And there, I shall cross the narrow strait to Corsica, moving from Italian to French jurisdiction.
02:51On Sardinia, my first port of call is Cagliari, the island's largest city, with its ancient ruins and Mediterranean charm.
03:00I'll then explore the island's dramatic coastline, with its soaring cliffs and expansive beaches.
03:07Sardinia's Trinino Verde, the little green train, will haul me into the mountains.
03:12And the country's regional lines will carry me to remote towns and villages across this stunningly picturesque island.
03:32I'm arriving into Sardinia's capital.
03:41Cagliari's railway station, the terminus of several lines, opened in 1879 and has a stunning neoclassical facade.
03:56Cagliari is built on seven hills.
03:58Cagliari's, being a large port at a strategic point in the Mediterranean, has shaped the city's history.
04:06It was founded by the Phoenicians, occupied by the Carthaginians and Romans, contested by the Pisans and Spanish,
04:13before being ruled by the House of Savoy, and then united with Italy in 1861.
04:22With so many cultural and architectural influences, there's much to stimulate my senses on my first ever visit to this
04:30island.
04:32I'm always delighted to be in a European place that I've never been to before and think about my first
04:38impressions.
04:40And Cagliari is a city of church towers and church bells and alleyways.
04:46And these are so welcome in the Mediterranean climate, because you get some shade.
04:51And I love the iron work, and it's clear that people really live here because of all the washing that
04:57is hanging out.
05:07To gain an overview of the city, I've climbed up to one of its huge fortifications, the Bastion de Saint
05:14-Rémy,
05:14to meet archaeologist Isabella Adseni.
05:23Isabella, hello. Hi.
05:25What a lovely spot you've chosen, with fantastic views over much of the city.
05:31From what era is this?
05:33Now we are on the top of a 19th century building.
05:38Bastion de Saint-Rémy was built by the mayor Otone Baccaredda,
05:43because he wanted to create a gate, but it had to be monumental.
05:49So he created this huge staircase with the triumphal arch that we can also see from the sea.
05:57And it was built using this fancy and white limestone.
06:03It was the same material that was used by Pisans back to centuries.
06:09Tell me about the Pisans.
06:10I think everyone knows about the baptistry and the leaning tower and the cathedral of Pisa.
06:16So this was an invasion by a highly civilized medieval power.
06:21It was. It was a medieval civilization that arrived here in the 12th century.
06:29And they decided to conquer this part of the island and created their own town in this specific hill.
06:36This is all related to the position of the island of Sardinia,
06:40from which you can actually reach any part of the Mediterranean,
06:46from the east to the north to the south.
06:48So this was the perfect position to have a headquarter for trades and whatever.
06:55Now, logically, if we want to discover more about the history of Sardinia,
07:00we have to go down. Is that true?
07:02Yes, as archaeologists. So we have to go from the top to the bottom.
07:07Let's begin the journey.
07:21Descending from the pinnacle of 19th century glory,
07:26through the medieval Pisan occupation at ground level,
07:31we head further down, beneath the church of Saint Eulalia,
07:35to arrive at the deepest layers of Canary's recorded ancient history.
07:42We're in a magnificent chamber here, aren't we?
07:44And we see here very carefully hewn blocks of stone and fluted columns.
07:50I'm assuming that we've arrived in the Roman era.
07:53Yes, we have.
07:54So what we are looking at now is this colonnade.
07:59Ah.
08:00And also a water and cistern in there with these several pots.
08:05And exactly in front of these columns, we also have a wall and this covered path.
08:12For how long were the Romans in Sardinia?
08:15They arrived here in 238 BC.
08:20And we were part of the Roman Empire until the Vandal invasion.
08:25The arrival of the Vandals in the fifth century ended nearly 700 years of Roman rule in Sardinia.
08:32But amongst this magnificent architecture, you feel the powerful and enduring influence of Rome.
08:38How do you, as a Sardinian, feel about all these layers of history?
08:43I'm actually pretty proud of it because when I say I'm from Sardinia,
08:50I can say that I have a legacy from all Mediterranean Sea,
08:56which is spectacular and in a way it's kind of unique.
08:59So I can say I'm pretty proud of it.
09:12I've ended up in the street, a Roman street.
09:16And as you'd expect, it's well-built, great, generous flagstones
09:21so that the carts descending the hill towards the port wouldn't be jiggled around too much.
09:28And here I think this must be a pavement for the pedestrians to get themselves out of the mud.
09:33And the traffic and the legacy of Rome.
09:38It's like a road that leads to everything we know.
09:42Civil engineering, architecture, language, law, systems of government, decorative arts, performing arts.
09:53I just feel so close to the Romans, as though I might bump into them in the street.
10:06Opposite the entrance to the enormous Bastion de Saint-Rémy,
10:09I make a pit stop at an historic cafe founded in 1855.
10:23Buongiorno.
10:23Buongiorno. Hello, sir.
10:25I'm very pleased to be in the Antico Café.
10:27Welcome.
10:28It's quite famous and it obviously is very old.
10:30Yeah, it's a very old and historical place here in Cagliari.
10:36First owner comes from Liguria in 1838 and he opened here in this place a coffee shop
10:44and selling teas and only later opened a bar and in time becomes very famous.
10:53It has such a great atmosphere.
10:55I love the iron work outside.
10:58That little balcony where people are sitting having their lunch is really beautiful.
11:02I love it.
11:03What would you recommend?
11:04Yes, in Sardinia we have traditional Sardinian liquor called Myrto.
11:09Myrto.
11:10Myrto is made from berries of myrtle plant, which is a native of Mediterranean region.
11:20And I would say it's a symbol of hospitality here in Sardinia.
11:26A myrtle berry to me is a purplish color.
11:30It's somewhere between blue and black.
11:31So this is more or less what I would expect from a myrtle drink.
11:37It smells very alcoholic.
11:41Yeah, because it's an infusion of myrtle plant.
11:44It's a very delicious liqueur.
11:46I mean, it's a bit like...
11:48Yeah, you feel a little bit bitterness.
11:52Mmm.
11:53Mmm.
11:53Yeah.
11:54Increasingly.
11:54The longer you leave it, the more bitter.
11:56It's a little bit like a plum brandy or something like that.
12:00As well as the red variety of the liquor, there's also myrtle bianco.
12:05So, white, infused also from flowers.
12:10So we've used the myrtle berry and the myrtle flower.
12:13Myrtle berries, but it's white berries.
12:15It's difficult to find.
12:18Most common is black berries.
12:21Yeah.
12:22I didn't know there was a white myrtle berry.
12:24But here's the evidence.
12:26In the Mediterranean, there exists also a white berry of myrtle plant.
12:37Which one do you prefer?
12:38Well, it's difficult to say.
12:42I simply can't decide.
12:43I think the only way is to have both.
13:02From one bold spirit, I step out onto the streets in search of another.
13:08Sardinia's much loved national hero, Eleonora.
13:11From her base in Arboria, in the west of the island, she successfully resisted Aragonese invaders,
13:19uniting almost the whole of Sardinia under her rule.
13:22I've come to the university where Eleonora's achievements are recorded and celebrated in this beautiful library,
13:29and by Professor Giulia Murcia.
13:40Giulia, I'm Michael.
13:42Hello.
13:43Welcome.
13:44In this extraordinary library.
13:46I've come to ask you about a great woman, Eleonora d'Arboria.
13:50Tell me a little bit about her, please.
13:53So Eleonora d'Arboria was the Uighissa, the sovereign of the kingdom of Arboria between 1383 and 1403.
14:01She was an extraordinary political figure and was able to lead Arboria in the war against the crown of Aragon.
14:08As well as for her military prowess, she's remembered for establishing the legal code known as the Carta del Logo,
14:16a work of great importance in the country's history.
14:19What sort of subjects are covered in here?
14:22So the Carta del Logo opens with a beautiful proem in which it is Eleonora that takes the floor.
14:32And Eleonora says that she wants the well-being of good people and she wants to curb the wicked people,
14:40thus bringing harmony to the giudicato.
14:43After the proem, there are some chapters devoted to criminal law.
14:46Then there are some chapters about civil matters like dowry or inheritance issues.
14:53And then some chapters about agrarian law.
14:56Now, in what language is this written?
14:59The Carta del Logo and many of the first medieval documents are written in the Sardinian language.
15:06It is a Romance language that has descended directly from the spoken Latin,
15:12which was widespread in Sardinia since the Roman conquest.
15:16Many have said that the Sardinian ruling class used the Sardinian language because they did not know Latin.
15:24But we know that they did know Latin.
15:27They used it with exchanges with other chanceries, for example, the Papal Chancery,
15:32and they did not perceive the Sardinian language as a low-register language.
15:36I hear the pride in your voice there. What has happened to the Sardinian language today?
15:41Nowadays, Sardinians want to re-appropriate the language.
15:43They know that this is their cultural heritage and that should be protected and passed on.
15:49Are you able to read a sentence or two to me?
16:07Okay.
16:07It sounded to me like a combination of Italian, Catalan, and Latin. It had the sound of all of those
16:14three.
16:15Yes, because it's a Romance language.
16:17If I went out into the streets in Sardinia and stopped Sardinian people and said,
16:22do know Eleonora de Arborea, do you think they would?
16:26Absolutely. They would, and they would know Eleonora de Arborea as a warrior,
16:32as the writer of the Carta del Hogo and a great leader.
16:37Eleonora's laws remained in force for more than 400 years,
16:41a tribute to their justness and popularity.
16:52They were written in sardo, a language that survives preserved in speech
16:58and in traditional songs such as his tenore from the heart of rural Sardinia.
17:05He was a non-nogAtala—
17:08he was a non-nogAtala—
17:11he was a non-nogAtala—
17:20he was more than 40 years of his son in the story.
17:21He was a non-nogAtala—
17:21a non-nogAtala—
17:21Great, great, great, great!
17:23Sir, you were very good.
17:27How did you learn to sing?
17:29Great as well.
17:30The most great of us is a tradition
17:57Tell me about your costume.
17:58Questo è il costume tipico del mio paese, Ovod. La peculiarità del costume di Ovod è che solo noi abbiamo
18:07l'orbacce, questo si chiama l'orbacce, che sarebbe lana di pecora schiacciata con un macchinario che facevano l'antico.
18:18E questa è la pelle di pecora, di maschio, di maschio della peco, sempre per difendersi dal freddo, perché il
18:26nostro paese è in montagna, circa millimetri.
18:29Quindi prima non c'erano tutte le comodità di adesso e riparavano con quello che avevano.
18:37Una seconda canzone, per favore, è possibile?
18:45E' possibile.
19:21I'm now leaving the capital to visit the island's dramatic coastline.
19:30From Cagliari, the line head's due west, to the city of Iglesias.
19:36I'll visit the Monteponi mine, one of Italy's important sites of industrial heritage.
20:04The Monteponi mine was founded in 1850, but the history of mining in Sardinia stretches
20:11back around 6,000 years.
20:14The island's ancient rocks, over 500 million years old, contain an extraordinary range of ores,
20:22which were coveted by the surrounding Mediterranean civilisations.
20:31The island was famed for its mineral wealth, and that provided an extra attraction to conquerors,
20:39who were already magnetised by the island's strategic position.
20:44And poignantly, after so many years of history, mining has now moved into the past.
21:02In the 19th century, as many as 1,000 people used to work in this now derelict mine, extracting silver,
21:10lead and zinc.
21:12From the 1920s, all from the mine was transported 11 miles to Porto Flavia on the coast,
21:20an engineering marvel hidden inside the rocky cliffs.
21:25Laura Sasso is showing me around.
21:29You might think this tunnel is part of a mine, but it's the entrance to a huge shipping port.
21:37Porto Flavia is unique because we have this suspended harbour.
21:42Porto Flavia was connected with three mines, and this was built in the 1920s,
21:47in order to speed up the transport of the minerals.
21:51A suspended harbour.
21:53That's a difficult concept, but I'm sure it'll become clearer as we go along.
21:57Yes.
22:05Before Porto Flavia, transporting ore from the mine was difficult.
22:10It had to be hauled to San Pietro Island using small boats.
22:15The town of Carloforte had the nearest harbour big enough and deep enough to receive seagoing ships.
22:22They had to walk from miners.
22:25I mean, I had to walk from the mine to the coast with 50 or 60 kilograms in shoulders.
22:30And this is just the first step.
22:32Then the second step was to carry the material with little sailing boats, like no more than 20 tonnes.
22:38And we have a lot of this with wind here normally.
22:41So they had also to stay maybe days until the weather was fine.
22:45So then they could reach the harbour, and this took too much time and money.
22:53The building of Porto Flavia enabled ore from the mines to be loaded directly onto seagoing ships,
22:59moored below the tunnel in a natural deep water berth.
23:03The point where the lower tunnel disgorges lies directly below us now that we've emerged from the upper bore.
23:10How does this work?
23:12We have a double system.
23:14This is the upper tunnel at 38 metres above the sea level.
23:17So we need a lower tunnel in order to connect with the ships.
23:21So in order to connect with the lower tunnel, we have nine silos 18 metres deep.
23:25So the train came inside, they threw the material inside the silos.
23:29And in the lower tunnel, we had a conveyor belt.
23:32Yeah, so you're making the best use of gravity.
23:35You come in on the train on a high tunnel, tip into the silos, and then a lower tunnel with
23:41the conveyor belt,
23:42which shifts it out to the ships.
23:45Great. Can we take a closer look at that?
23:48Yes, for me.
23:50To reach the silos, we must follow the tracks of the underground electric railway.
23:57Now we are going to walk on the top of the silo number eight.
24:01What did this contain?
24:03Silver and lead.
24:05This is extraordinary, because when you said silo, I imagined a great metal bin.
24:10But actually, they're just hewn out of the rock.
24:13Yes, we have all rock.
24:15That is an extraordinary thing.
24:18And then down below there...
24:20Yeah.
24:21..is the lower tunnel.
24:22Yes, exactly.
24:24It's an amazing system.
24:29The point where the lower tunnel disgorges lies directly below us as we emerge from the upper bore.
24:42Well, Laura, what an extraordinary setting it is here, isn't it?
24:46Really dramatic landscape with this great island, this great cliff here.
24:52Yeah.
24:54The engineer was Italian, Cesare Veccelli, and they thought about this specific spot,
25:00because we have, of course, the possibility to have this huge ship in front of us,
25:04but also we have the highest cliff in the Mediterranean in front of us.
25:08Pandizzucro is 133 metres height, so it's like a shelter for the wind.
25:14Is it really?
25:14It's quite deceptive.
25:15I would never have guessed it was that high.
25:17Yeah.
25:17And that provided a shelter for the ships?
25:21Yeah, exactly.
25:22By the way, do people climb that?
25:24Yes, you can climb.
25:25When you say you can climb, I think probably I'll leave it to others,
25:29but it looks like a very exciting climb indeed.
25:32How did the material get into the ship?
25:34We had in the last part not more the conveyor belt but a mechanical arm.
25:38Ah.
25:39This moved outside, exactly, and then we are going inside.
25:42Amazing.
25:44Presumably, this was a great success.
25:46This solved the problem.
25:48Yes.
25:49Before Portoflavia, they could move 4,000 tons in one month.
25:53Now, same tons, also in one day.
25:564,000 tons in a day?
25:58Yeah.
25:59Extraordinary.
26:00Do you have any family connection with mining?
26:02My grandfather worked just for a few years in the mining field.
26:06He preferred to go in the countryside then, yeah.
26:09So you do feel a family connection with all this history?
26:13A little bit, yes.
26:15But also this is really interesting also for those who had no connection with this field
26:21because if you think about the work that men made here, it's huge.
26:27You think we should remember these extraordinary efforts,
26:31all the people who worked and all the people who suffered?
26:33The first thing is about how the engineer was so brilliant thinking about a plan like this.
26:42But we need to think also about the men that made this like, for example, in 18 months.
26:49There were less than one other man that made all of this using drill machines with compressed air and dynamite.
26:55Yeah.
26:56Men are extraordinary.
27:12Many people are drawn to Sardinia by its windswept beaches and they show the most exquisite taste
27:20because these are some of the finest in the world.
27:24But when you're lying here, covered in your factor 30,
27:28you're probably not thinking very much about Carthaginians or Romans or Pisans.
27:34But all of those people also found this island irresistible.
27:39Sardinians carry in their DNA probably traces of all those civilisations and many more.
27:47This is a cocktail of cultures and out of it has arisen a distinctive language, Sardo,
27:55and a national heroine, Eleonora of Arborea.
28:07Next time...
28:09Panorraga in its simple shape was a tower.
28:12It was 20 metres high and consisting of three rooms placed one up and the other.
28:18Extraordinary.
28:20The great advantage of this rolling stop is that you can open a window.
28:24You can not only see Sardinia, you can smell Sardinia.
28:29Now take this piece of pasta with it and pinch it together.
28:33Wow!
28:34Perfect.
28:35Let's have a look at yours.
28:37Good, right!
28:38Hello?
28:39Hello?
28:39Hello?
28:40Hello?
28:46Hello?
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