| Plant Life
Once, the territory of Sardinia was completely covered with forests,
which
reached as far as the sea, but, with the arrival of Greek and
then Roman civilisation, a period began in which wood was of fundamental
importance to the local economy. A large part of the vegetation
was, consequently, destroyed, since wood served for the construction
of sea vessels and houses, in foundries and for a great deal of
other uses. In the second half of the Middle Ages, under the Spanish
Dominion, Carbonara was a flourishing village, living mainly from
agriculture and dairy farming, but its inhabitants also devoted
themselves to the utilisation of the forests, with charcoal production
(hence the name “Carbonara”).  Today,
despite the past destruction, Villasimius preserves its natural
beauty almost entirely intact. The vegetation has recovered, growing
vigorously, thanks largely to villagers’ awareness that
preservation of the environment is of the utmost importance, as
demonstrated by the fact that its coastland and sea are protected
by a geo-marine park. Villasimius is not only its sea: as well
as the miles of fabulous coasts, there is a still unclaimed environmental
heritage, extending as far as the Seven Brothers mountain chain.
Isolation for the area’s plant life  has
been a determining factor: a number of very ancient plant species
have been preserved intact, which in other areas of Italy are
now extinct. >From the Seven Brothers mountains (future regional
park), passing through S’Acqua Callenti and Minni Minni,
one reaches the coast at Sa Callazziga. Here, the rawness of the
rocks, fashioned by the wind and rain, mixes with verdant, typically
Mediterranean bush, still the most extensive and vigorous kind
of vegetation in Sardinia.  As
is well known, Sardinian plant life is rich in native species,
(around 200), i.e. in varieties which grow only on the island
and in Corsica, preserved thanks to isolation. Among these, we
find the centaura horrida, types of peony, thistle, cyclamen and
limonium as well as the manifold white lilies, which spring up
from the sand dunes in Villasimius (protected flowers because
of the threat of extinction). Tourists who may have been unaware
of the species’ scarcity are advised not to gather them
as souvenirs, to avoid the danger of their elimination (as well
as a heavy fine!).
The lofty local scrub is composed of junipers, strawberry trees,
wild olives, lentischus, carobs, myrtle and cistus, scattered
all around; untamed natural beauty, giving the impression that
time has stood still. An inferior kind of Mediterranean bush also
exists, with smaller shrubs, including species such as rosemary,
heather, thyme, oleander, broom, sage, etc.
These fabulous forests, habitual haven for many tourists, never
cease to amaze us. They boast several types of high-branched trees
– ilexes, oaks, cork oaks and pinaster, which, fortunately,
have escaped man’s intervention.
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