Cortis Antigas Experience

We are located in Gesturi, in the southern center of Sardinia, found among the rolling hills of the historic region of Marmilla. Gesturi is located just underneath the impressive Giara plateau, home to the last group of wild horses in Europe and five minutes by car to the UNESCO site of Barumini.

Cortis Antigas Experience proposes a series of tasting itineraries to bring our participants closer to the age-old gastronomic and artisanal traditions of Sardinia. Our mission is to create a different type of tourism where the visitor lives the usages and customs of the place where he or she is visiting, not simply by looking from the outside as a tourist but by literally putting their hands to work.

The idea of this Trail of Taste is born through the passion of a young archaeologist (who at this point isn’t so young anymore) for his land: to try to get his guests to relive the past by rediscovering the fruits of each seasons and old artisanal crafts. Each itinerary has a duration of about two and a half hours.

The activities that are proposed cover everything from handmade pasta, traditional Sardinia sweets, cheese making even basket weaving.

Trails of taste

From the raw ingredients to our table

From flour to the table. Here we offer an extraordinary adventure following the grain of hard red Cappelli wheat produced in our territory all the way to our palates. Our guests will be able to discover the secrets of fresh pasta: malloreddus, fregola, ravioli, culurgiones etc and then have a chance to try them first hand, made by themselves! It all begins with the discovery of healthy ingredients, genuine and km 0, made for centuries on our island, that still today are at the foundation of the diet of our centenarians. In an increasingly homogenized world our intent is to stimulate creativity, manual dexterity, accentuating the diversity of every dish that makes Sardinia a special place to visit.

Each itinerary lasts about 2 and a half hours, it will conclude with a tasting of the pasta made by the participants and a glass of wine.

From milk to cheese, with the milk from our Sardinian sheep it will be possible to prepare cheese and/or fresh ricotta according to antique techniques, a tasting will follow the workshop accompanied of course by a glass of wine.

From almonds to sweets, in our territory there is an ancient tradition of sweets made with almond paste. We will prepare Sardinian amaretti, bucconettus, crobixeddas as well as others according to old traditional recipes of Gesturi. Later we can enjoy our creations accompanied by a nice glass of wine.

From raw eggs all the way to the preparation of “is pistoccheddus de cappa de Gesturi” a sweet that the women of the town once wore on their hats to help sell their baked goods in neighboring towns on the festival occasions.

Artisanal Itineraries

Local hands and crafts will be the star of this itinerary. It will all be made in respect with local traditions and the use of natural methods and therefore environmentally friendly. It will be distinctive from the idea of a museum exposition because here the participant, will make something on their own and will be able to take it home if they like.
There are several options that are available in this journey into the world of Sardinian arts and crafts:

giogus antigus, the creation of old fashioned Sardinian kid games made with natural materials like whistles made from apricot pits, dolls made with leftover fabrics and little flutes made from reed;
broom making for use in a wood fired oven made out of mastic, strawberry tree, strawflower or in sedge grass (the brooms will be made in small dimensions so that the participant can easily put them together in little time and bring it home). This broom could also be useful for the itinerary on sweets;
the creation of woven baskets, the participant will be able to make and take home the beginning part, the bottom of the basket which can be used as a hot plate, table decoration or simply a souvenir from your time in Sardinia!