Tuscany and Umbria 2010: Exceptional Places to Stay and Itineraries Book

The book I read to research this post was Rough Guide Sardinia which is a very good book which I bought from a local bookstore. Sardinia is the 2nd biggest island in the Med behind Sicilly. It's a little bit south of Corsica which is governed by France. It shares many fauna with Corsica and much of it is found no where else. There are no poisonous snakes or wolves on this island because it is cut off from land. Sardinia is governed by Italy but enjoys a lot of autonomy. The provincial capital is Cagliari which has this island's main city for hundreds of years. Sassari the island's 2nd city is probably the more interesting city from a tourist point of view with its well preserved old town. 75% of the buildings in Cagliari were flattened during the air raids of the 2nd World War. Both Cagliari and Sassari have fine cathedrals. If you fly to sardinia you can get flights from the Italian mainland, Germany & Britain. If you fly from further afield you will probably have to get a connection flight in one of these countries. Cagliari has its own airport which is probably the main airport on the island. In the south east Sardinia is sparsely populated and many deserted but fine beaches. The island has a total population of 1.6 million and also has its own native dialect. Some people arrive here by ferry but it's almost as expensive as flying so unless you are bringing a car with you is probably a false economy. Sardinia is midway between Europe & Africa and both have influenced her greatly. The centre of the island is mountainous and sparsely populated.