Sadali is a picturesque medieval village with almost one thousand inhabitants on the border between Sud Sardegna and Barbagia, in the central-eastern part of the Island. Located at an altitude of over 700m on a limestone plateau (su Taccu), it is surrounded by forests of holm oaks, durmast oaks, cork oaks and Mediterranean scrub. The Flumendosa river makes the landscape even more charming, while the plateau has a rugged appearance, except for splashes of forest that once covered it completely.
The route to reach the village passes by the nearby Is Janas grottoes, dwelling of three fairies, according to legend. The caves extend for 300m offering a natural treasure of stalagmites and stalactites that join together making columns, ochre-coloured flows and marmoreal drapes.
In Sadali is the only rapid within a residential area of all Sardinia: the San Valentino waterfall. In feudal times, the force of the water would activate the mills in the village. A 17th century mill, which still has its ancient work instruments, lies a few tens of metres from the waterfall.
The ancient Church of San Valentino, around which the village emerged before 1335, has late Byzantine origins and houses a 17th-century wooden altar. The other churches in Sadali are Sant'Antonio, in honour of which fires are ignited in mid-January, Santa Maria (15th-16th century) and Sant'Elena Imperatrice.
Fondazione Sardegna Film Commission
Via Malta 63 — 09124 Cagliari
Phone: +39 070 2041961
Email: filmcommission@regione.sardegna.it
