Cork Museum of Calangianus
The Cork Museum in Calangianus is one of the most important museums in Gallura and Northern Sardinia, officially created in 2011 but made accessible in 2012.
The collection of ancient machinery from the late 1800s and modern equipment, along with the representation of various stages of cork harvesting, extraction, and processing, demonstrates how cork represents one of the faces of Sardinia.
Inside the Cork Museum, we can find video installations, scents, and ancient labors of the cork capital, Calangianus, portrayed in the faces of its artisans and workers, as well as the typical Gallura landscape.
The museum complex has a special charm as it has been set up in the premises of the old Capuchin convent, dating back to the 18th century.
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1 hour
The axe is the one and only tool used by the skilled workers specialized in debarking, known as extractors or, more commonly, ‘scorzini’—in Gallurese, ‘Li Bucadori’. A figure rich in history and tradition, never replaced by the advancement of technology.
Every extractor has their own favorite personal axe, almost always handcrafted and jealously guarded. Furthermore, they generally work in pairs, which must be perfectly synchronized and close-knit.
From this point on, they move into action. Positioning themselves on opposite sides of the oak tree, the ‘Bucadori’ make several extremely precise cuts at strategic points on the trunk. In particular, they first make a horizontal cut along the entire circumference at a precise height between 1.5 and 2–3 meters, called the ‘corona’ or ‘collana’ (crown or necklace).
A meticulous cut, done well only if it has a certain inclination with respect to the vertical of the tree, if it follows a straight line, and if its surface is clean and smooth.
But above all, a cut that highlights and enhances the experience and skill of each bark stripper compared to their colleagues.
Following the entire vertical of the plant and tracing the different portions of bark to be extracted, called planks, the other cuts are named openings or rulers.
Not by chance, the bark strippers must try to act by imparting a certain force to the hatchet, with precise sensitivity, in order to avoid damaging the layer underneath the cork, the so-called phellogen, fundamental for the life of the cork oak. (1591) Source: Sadenda
Ancient workbench of the ‘square maker’ on which cork strips were placed and cut to produce squares. The squares were made by eye without measurements and were more or less always the same.
Machinery used for the selection of corks which, while rotating and sliding between the rollers, are chosen by the operator according to the quality desired.
This is the last phase of cork processing.
Museum of Banditry
The Museum of Banditry aims to conduct research on the material testimonies of man and his environment: it acquires them, preserves them, communicates them, and above all exhibits them for the purposes of study, education, and enjoyment. Without running the risk of mythologizing the figure of the outlaw and exalting his deeds, the museum’s objective is rather to spread positive values for the construction of a mentality that favors the affirmation of legality and public morality at every level. In a territory like Gallura, which was the protagonist of the banditry phenomenon for about three centuries, this cultural center fits perfectly, offering visitors and residents an overview of documents, photos, films, objects, and testimonies of the past, but above all trying to stimulate reflections on a future to be built together.
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