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CULTURE AND TERRITORY
Jerzu is known in Sardinia as the “town of wine”, a name gained few years ago that officially
confirms its leadership both nationwide and all over the world. It rises at the last offshoots of Gennargentu Mountain
, surrounded by the lofty calcareous towers (“tacchi”) of Porcu ‘e Ludu, of
Troiscu and of Corongiu. The “tacchi” are calcareous plateaus caused by the accumulation
of arenaceous, calcareous, dolomitic detritus in the depths of the sea, which afterwards came to surface. Since the late
nineties the steep walls of these towers have become a destination for very competent climbers: in fact, two people of Jerzu
have looked for new paths under any weather conditions in order to attract whoever practises this sport. From the top of its
privileged position, the small town of Jerzu takes in a view of the sea at a glance; there, the area of Pelau extends next to
the seashore, where the luxuriant grapevines that give the famous “cannonau” grapes grow.
The grapes are trodden in the Cantina Sociale of Jerzu, a farmers’ union created more than fifty years ago by the
far-sightedness of a person that has become a legend, Doctor Josto Miglior. This man managed to put out the passion of the
people of Jerzu in producing wines, a thing that in that period was still made in the courtyards. Although it uses the most up-to-date machinery,
nowadays the Cantina Sociale, and its 500 members, is a structure that has maintained very high quality standards:
the care of the grapevines, the selection of the grapes, the ageing in oak barrels, side by side with barriques, have allowed the wine
production to rise over 40.000 hectolitres, without alterating the taste and the scent.
This is the reason why, on the first Sunday of August, the inhabitants of Jerzu take great care in organizing the fair of wine: old
farm carts drawn by oxen ornate with flowers and vine-shoots, over which baskets made with ratan and rush, the ancient tools once
used in working the grapevines and the traditional tub carrying the grapes are placed, parade along the main streets, while young men
wearing local costumes bring up the rear of the procession. During the evening, tourists are treated to the cannonau wine and
to local specialities: the cheese, the “coccoi prenas” (a kind of crisp flat bread stuffed with
potatoes) and the “coccoi ‘e tamata” (flat bread stuffed with zucchini, tomatoes, onions and “
fiscidu”, a kind of pickled cheese).
The archeological heritage of Jerzu is scattered all over the territory. You can visit well-preserved nuraghs in the areas of Pissemonti
, Gessidu, Barsu e Gedili, while in Pelau there is the site of Pira
‘e Mau, where in 1833 a farmer found six, long bronze swords.
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