Sardinia Archeo Festival | Friday, August 28 the festival arrives in Villagrande Strisaili:
at S’Arcu ’e is Forros the past meets the present under the stars of the Gennargentu
17 agosto 2026 MAURIZIO ZINI
Sardinia Archeo Festival: at S’Arcu ’e is Forros the past meets the present under the stars of the Gennargentu.On Friday, August 28, the festival arrives in Villagrande Strisaili for a day immersed in landscape and history: a visit to the Nuragic cult complex, the installation "Tappinozio di Mezzaestate" by Valerio Pisano, an aperitif with local products and, as evening falls, archaeological cinema with "S’Ozzastru" by Carolina Melis and "Vitrum. The glass of the Romans" by Marcello Adamo.From archaeology to cinema, via contemporary art and ending, for those who wish, with a night under the stars of the Gennargentu. On Friday, August 28, the Sardinia Archeo Festival resumes its journey through Sardinia and stops at the archaeological site of S’Arcu ’e is Forros, in Villagrande Strisaili, with a day built around the encounter between research, dissemination, images and artistic languages.The event is organized by the Itzokor Cultural Association, promoter of the Sardinia Archeo Festival, in collaboration with Archeonova, the company that manages the site, and with the Archeovisiva Cultural Association ETS, which for years has organized the Festival of Archaeological Communication and Cinema in Licodia Eubea, Sicily.The day will begin at 6 p.m. with a thematic guided tour of the Nuragic cult complex, the first step of a route designed to connect the site, its landscape and different ways of narrating the archaeological heritage.Dialoguing with the space of S’Arcu ’e is Forros will also be the art of Valerio Pisano, protagonist with "Tappinozio di Mezzaestate", a site-specific installation conceived especially for this occasion. Starting from the unit of measurement that characterizes his stylistic signature, the cap of a Bic pen, Pisano will build an encounter between words, matter, shapes and visions, bringing history and storytelling, past and present, into relation.At 8 p.m. it will be time for conviviality with an aperitif under the Gennargentu, accompanied by a platter of local products. A moment of sharing that continues that dimension of encounter between public, guests and territory that represents one of the characterizing elements of the Sardinia Archeo Festival.Archaeological cinema under the starsAt 9 p.m. the evening will come alive with screenings carried out as part of the collaboration with Archeovisiva, bringing to Villagrande Strisaili two works that, through different languages and perspectives, connect memory, heritage, scientific research and cinematic storytelling.Opening the evening will be "S’Ozzastru", a 2023 short film directed by Carolina Melis, with scientific consultancy by Elisa Guidelli and produced by Nical Films. Eight minutes to tell the story of a millenary wild olive tree, a silent witness to the passing of time and nature's ability to resist. In 2021, the devastating fire that struck Sardinia, destroying 28,000 hectares of land and thousands of animals, also involved the ancient tree. A year later, however, the wild olive tree sprouted again, becoming a symbol of a nature capable of being reborn despite the wounds inflicted by man.This will be followed by the screening of "Vitrum. The glass of the Romans – Rome’s glass revolution", a 2025 documentary directed by Marcello Adamo and produced by Filmare Entertainment and GA&A Productions, with scientific consultancy by B. Davidde, F. Cibecchini, I. Freestone and R. Petriaggi.The film takes the audience to the heart of the Mediterranean, off the coast of Corsica, where after two thousand years a Roman wreck re-emerges with an extraordinary cargo of raw glass and refined artifacts. Aboard the Alfred Merlin, an international team of female archaeologists uses advanced technologies to investigate the wreck and reconstruct ancient trade routes, opening a window onto the revolutionary role played by glass in the Roman Empire and, more generally, in the history of civilization.The evening can then continue beyond the screenings. Those who wish can bring their own tent and spend the night under the stars, thus completing a day in which archaeology, landscape, art, cinema and conviviality will meet in one of the places chosen by the Sardinia Archeo Festival to continue its journey through the territories of the island.Participation in the day has a total cost of 15 euros. Places are available by reservation, which is required to take part in the initiative. To receive all information on how to participate and reserve your place, you can contact Archeonova at 378 3027077 or Itzokor at 328 0570071.Also for the 2026 edition, the Sardinia Archeo Festival counts on the support of the Fondazione di Sardegna, which has accompanied the project since its birth, and on the collaboration of a network of public bodies, municipal administrations, associations and organizations engaged in research, dissemination and enhancement of cultural heritage. Among the partners of the 2026 edition is also ClassiCult, official media partner of the event. A system of collaborations that, over the years, has helped consolidate the festival as a meeting space between scholars, territories and communities, fostering the dissemination of knowledge and dialogue between different disciplines at regional, national and international level.THE FESTIVAL – Born in 2019, the Sardinia Archeo Festival has established itself over the years as one of the most original cultural dissemination projects in Sardinia, capable of bringing archaeology, history, geography, anthropology and current affairs into dialogue through different languages accessible to all. The core of the festival is the human being, observed in its Mediterranean dimension, in its encounters, its conflicts and its infinite possibilities of connection. The aim of the project is also the dislocation of activities throughout the island territory, in order to create a virtuous cultural circuit, which connects Cagliari with more or less distant municipalities.THE ORGANIZATION – Itzokor, a cultural association, was born in Cagliari in 2001 from the initiative of a group of young university students of archaeology with the aim of creating and managing a free space dedicated to cultural dissemination, with specific regard to the archaeological and historical field. It is particularly active on this front through the event Aperitivi Culturali, a series of small weekly conferences that since 2007 have animated the cultural life of the city. Over the years, numerous projects have been completed aimed at enhancing the archaeological, historical and artistic heritage of Sardinia. Since 2019 it has established the Paolo Bernardini Prize for Dissemination in Archaeology, dedicated to the memory of archaeologist and university professor Paolo Bernardini, to be awarded to the archaeologist who has distinguished himself for merits related to dissemination.
