Diving the KT12 Wreck, Sardinia

The wreck of the KT-12 in Sardinia makes for a perfect weekend’s diving – good visibility, lots of marine life and plenty to explore.

Just 90 minutes’ drive south of Olbia airport in Sardinia’s Golfo di Orosei lies the wreck of the KT-12. This ship was carrying lorries and other goods for the Afrika Korps, when she was torpedoed in 1943 by HMS Safari – one of Britain’s most successful submarines of the Second World War. It now makes an interesting diversion for wreck divers in search of military history covered with marine life. Cheap flights to Olbia with easyjet are available from the UK, so the wreck is well within reach for a long weekend of wreck diving. 

For more info www.divemagazine.co.uk

Orosei Diving Centre 00 39 0784 91201
www.oroseidivingcenter.it 

COULD SARDINIA BE THE LOST ISLAND OF ATLANTIS?

Courtesy of The Malta Independent

Top scholars have gathered in Rome recently to discuss the exciting and controversial idea that Sardinia is the lost island of Atlantis.

The theory, developed in a book by the Italian journalist Sergio Frau, has drawn international acclaim but also fuelled heated criticism.

Despite selling 30,000 copies in Italy, a detailed 20-point appeal by 250 academics has dismissed the book, claiming it sensationalizes Sardinian history.

But the theory received a major boost last year, when the United Nations cultural heritage body UNESCO organised a symposium on the issue in Paris, suggesting the idea was worth serious consideration. Academics, archaeologists, geologists and historians from across Italy have met in Rome’s Accademia dei Lincei to look at the theory in closer depth and discuss possible paths of future research.

The meeting has also been timed to coincide with the opening of an exhibition on Frau’s ideas, originally shown in Paris last year. Atlantika uses Frau’s book, The Pillars of Hercules, as a springboard for exploring theories and ideas on the legendary island and its whereabouts. Neither the location nor the existence of Atlantis have ever been confirmed...

Homemade Limoncello

After Campari Limoncello is the second most popular drink in Italy.

This recipe is from Nonna Peppa's oldest friend 86 year old Zia Domenica.

Ingredients

4 organic lemons (a bit green)
1 litre of 98% proof alcohol (if you can't find it you can use a good quality vodka)
1kg of sugar
1 litre of water

Peel the lemons so that the zest is cut into big bits and remove any white parts remaining.

Put the zest in the alcohol for 2 days (even more is fine). After this keep the alcohol and remove the zest.

Dissolve the sugar in the water (adding a bit at a time and always stirring) and then let it boil for 3 minutes. When this mixture has cooled down add the alcohol to it.

Sieve the final mixture (you can use a funnel with a fabric napkin on top so that it goes straight in the bottle).

Ready! Keep in the freezer!

Adventure Sardinia - 'Le Ragnatele'

From Alghero Tourismo

http://www.parco-avventura.net/en

“Le Ragnatele' offers children and adults the opportunity to try out tree top adventure courses along high wire trails that you can find at different heights thanks to hanging platforms, steel cables, Tibetan bridges, cable ways on pulleys, ropes and rope-ladders.

The Park offers 8 adventure courses of varying difficulty: Red, Green, Yellow and Green Plus for ADULTS; Orange, Blu, Red and Pink – children must be accompanied by an adult – for BABY courses.

A Park for all the people

The tree top adventure courses are accessible to people of all ages. The access is ruled only by the height reached with raised arms: starting from 120 cm (usually 3-5 years old children) for Baby courses and from 145 cm for Adults ones.

All the courses are accessibile to people with handicaps – the pink course is suitable for people with mobility problems - so as the other services of the Park: Toilets, Bar and Refreshments, Grill Area, Barbecuing Area&Picnic tables, Children's playground. 

Le Ragnatele Adventure Park is the ideal place for holding Team Building sessions or company incentive programmes. The fresh outdoors, testing concentration, courage and coordination helps promote awareness of one's own abilities and strengthen team spirit.

Ragu Baby!

Tagliatelle al ragù alla Bolognese

The first documented recipe for a meat sauce in which the cooked meat was an integral part of the sauce served with pasta dates to the end of the 18th century. That first Ragù as a sauce, Ragù for maccheroni, was prepared and recorded by Alberto Alvisi, the cook to the Cardinal of Imola (at the time maccheroni was a general term for pasta, both dried and fresh). The recipe has been replicated and published as The Cardinal's Ragù. The following recipe is how Nonna Peppa cooks  Ragù in Sardinia - simple and tasty!

Serves 4

Ingredients

Cardinal of Imola

Half a small onion (very finely chopped)

1 kg of fresh tomatoes

bunch of parsley (finely chopped)

300 g of mixed mince

half a cube of vegetable stock

1 tsp of nutmeg

2 tbls of Extra virgin olive oil

salt

Peel the tomatoes (trick: before peeling them pass the blade of a knife over the skin without cutting it or alternatively put them in boiling water for 5 seconds; peeling them will be much easier)

Crush the tomatoes and sieve the sauce so that all the seeds and hard bits are separated. If you are lucky enough to have a "passapomodoro" the process will be quicker!

The home-made 'passata' is now ready. You can use a bottle of passata if you don't want to do the above but fresh passata will always taste better.

On a very low heat gently fry the mince and onion in a pan with the olive oil for approximately 2 minutes or until the mince is brown. Use a wooden spoon to make sure the mince is well separated

Add the passata and stir, always on very low heat. If you use ready made passata you also need to add half a glass of water

Add the parsley, the stock and grated nutmeg

Cover and let cook for about half an hour always on a  very low heat. Leave it more if it looks very liquid or less if it starts looking too dense. Salt to taste and Enjoy with fresh pasta if possible.