Alà dei Sardi ( sc, Alà) is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Sassari The province of Sassari ( it, provincia di Sassari, sc, provìntzia de Tàtari, sdc, prubìnzia di Sàssari, ca, província de Sàsser, french: province de Sassari, co, pruvincia di Sassari) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sa ...

in the Italian region

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, located about north of

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

and about southwest of

Olbia Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age, ...

. Alà dei Sardi borders the following municipalities:

Berchidda Berchidda (; src, Belchidda ; sdn, Bilchidda) is an Italian commune in the province of Sassari, region and island of Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about southwest of Olbia. It is located near Lake Coghinas in a hilly area borde ...

Bitti Bitti ( sc, Bitzi) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region Sardinia, about north of Cagliari and about north of Nuoro. Bitti borders the municipalities of Alà dei Sardi, Buddusò, Lodè, Lula, Nule, Ona ...

Buddusò Buddusò (Gallurese: ''Buddusò'', sc, Uddusò) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sassari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about southwest of Olbia. Buddusò borders the following municipaliti ...

, Monti,

Oschiri Oschiri (Gallurese: ''Óscari'', sc, Óscheri) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and former bishopric in the Province of Sassari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about southwest of Olbia. As of 31 December 2004, ...

Padru Padru (Gallurese: ''Patru'', sc, Padru) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sassari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about south of Olbia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,107 and ...

. Alà is characterized by a predominant use of Sardinian as everyday language. It is home to the

Trofeo Alasport The Trofeo Alasport, also known as the Cross di Alà dei Sardi, is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in March in Alà dei Sardi on the Italy, Italian island of Sardinia. Unusually for a high-profile cross country event, ...

, an annual

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

event.

History

The ancient origins of Alà dei Sardi are testified by the numerous archaeological findings in the area. The origin of the name has been connected to both the Balares and the Ilienses, two Sardinian people who lived in the area and had never totally been subdued by the Romans. The modern Alà appeared in the 16th century, and has since then been traditionally connected to the breeding and agricultural activities. The mining of

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

begun in the 19th century.

References

External links

www.aladeisardi.altervista.org

Cities and towns in Sardinia {{Sardinia-geo-stub