Sardinia's coastal lagoon system
Sardinia holds the largest concentration of coastal lagoons in Italy, with over 30 permanent or semi-permanent water bodies distributed along the island's western, southern, and eastern coasts. The largest of these — the Stagno di Cagliari (2,185 hectares), the Stagno di Cabras (2,000 hectares), and the Stagno di Santa Giusta (680 hectares) — support dense communities of wetland plants that have supplied craft communities for centuries.
The physical characteristics of Sardinian lagoons differ from those of the Venetian Lagoon and the Po Delta in ways that directly affect plant material quality. Sardinian lagoons are shallower on average, with summer water temperatures reaching 28–30°C in the surface layer. The high evaporation rate raises salinity significantly between June and September, reaching levels at which common reed growth is restricted to the fresher-water margins near stream inflows. This seasonal salinity variation is one factor explaining why Sardinian craft traditions use a wider variety of plant materials than mainland Italian basketry.
Plant species used in Sardinian basketry
Phragmites australis
Common reed is present in all major Sardinian lagoons, growing densely along the northern and eastern margins where freshwater streams enter and dilute the lagoon water. In the Stagno di Cabras, the reed fringe along the freshwater channels entering from the Tirso River can reach widths of 50 to 80 metres and heights of two to three metres. The culms produced here are shorter and more slender than those of the Po Delta — a consequence of the shorter growing season and reduced freshwater input — but are valued by local craftspeople for their lighter weight and even taper.
In Sardinian basketry, Phragmites culms are typically used in two forms: whole culms for rigid structural elements, and split halves for flat weaving and decorative binding. Splitting is done with a knife guided along the natural vascular lines of the culm, producing two pieces of consistent thickness that can be woven flat or twisted into decorative borders.
Asphodel (Asphodelus ramosus)
The white asphodel, a perennial herb common across Sardinian garrigue and wetland margins, produces long, flat leaves that dry to a buff-coloured, semi-translucent material. Asphodel leaves have been used in Sardinian basketry for at least two millennia — fragments have been recovered from nuragic-period sites (approximately 1800–500 BCE) in association with other organic craft materials.
Harvesting occurs in late spring, when leaves reach maximum length before the plant flowers. The leaves are cut near the base, tied in loose bundles, and dried flat in shade for two to four weeks. Dried asphodel is more pliable than dried reed and requires only brief soaking before use, making it the preferred material for the continuous coiled technique used in Sardinian bread baskets (sos corbeddos or is corbulas) and the flat trays used in grain processing.
Dwarf fan palm (Chamaerops humilis)
The only native palm species in Europe, Chamaerops humilis grows across Sardinia's coastal zones, including the margins of the main lagoons. The young, still-folded leaves at the centre of the plant — known locally as la palma nana — are harvested before they open, then split and dried. The resulting strands are thinner than asphodel leaf and are used primarily for fine coiling and decorative finishing.
Palm leaf harvesting is more selective and slower than reed or asphodel cutting: only the inner, unopened fronds are taken from each plant, and only from plants large enough to sustain removal without damage. This restraint reflects both practical knowledge (over-harvested plants produce fewer usable inner leaves) and, in some communities, a cultural norm around sustainable use that predates contemporary conservation frameworks.
Rushes (Juncus acutus, Juncus maritimus)
Sharp rush and sea rush grow in the transitional zones between open water and dry land around Sardinian lagoons. Their round, unbranched stems are gathered in summer and used for the binding element in coiled baskets — the same function they served in early Venetian lagoon work. Rush is also woven into flat mats (stuoie) used as drying surfaces for fish and grain.
Seasonal cutting calendar
The Sardinian material harvesting calendar differs from mainland practice primarily in the timing of asphodel and palm leaf collection, which follow the island's drier, warmer seasons, and in the reed cutting schedule, which is compressed by the shorter growing window available in lagoon-margin sites.
- December–February: Reed cutting. Culms are fully dried and at peak hardness. Night temperatures low enough to suppress insect activity. Cutting is done with hand scythes or motorised reciprocating blades depending on access.
- March–April: Rush collection along lagoon margins. Early spring growth is most pliable; stems are bundled fresh and dried upright in outdoor racks.
- May–June: Asphodel leaf harvest at maximum length, before flowering. Flat drying in shade for two to four weeks.
- June–July: Dwarf fan palm inner frond collection. Selective removal from individual plants, requiring more labour per kilogram of material than reed or asphodel.
Drying and storage methods
The method of drying plant material significantly affects its final working properties. Sardinian craftspeople distinguish between material dried in full sun, which becomes brittle and prone to splitting, and shade-dried material, which retains more internal moisture and remains more workable after soaking. The practical rule applied by experienced harvesters in the Cabras area is that material destined for fine coiling should never dry in direct summer sun: the heat differential between the outer cortex and inner pith causes uneven moisture loss and micro-cracking along node boundaries.
Reed cut in winter is typically dried in upright bundles outdoors, taking advantage of the lower temperatures and reduced UV intensity. The bundles are stored in covered outdoor racks — structures of rough timber with open sides that allow air circulation — for three to six weeks before they are assessed for colour and flexibility.
Asphodel leaves, because of their flat shape, are best dried in horizontal stacks with spacers to prevent mould formation between layers. Traditional storage for long-term reserve material uses terracotta containers or woven reed chests that buffer humidity fluctuations — a practice documented in farm inventories from western Sardinia dating to the 18th century.
Regulatory framework
Harvesting in and around Sardinia's lagoons is regulated at the regional level by the Regione Sardegna's environmental directorate, with site-specific rules managed under individual Natura 2000 site management plans. The Stagno di Cabras is a protected area under both national and EU law (SIC ITB030010 under the Habitats Directive) and harvesting of plant material within the protected zone requires a permit from the managing body, the Comune di Cabras, in coordination with the regional environmental agency ARPAS.
In practice, permits are issued annually to a small number of traditional harvesters with documented connection to the local craft community. The management plan sets limits on the area that can be cut each season and requires that cutting not occur during the bird breeding period (March to July). These restrictions align with the seasonal calendar already observed by experienced practitioners.
The Sardinian basket in context
Sardinian coiled baskets — particularly the corbulas made from asphodel and rush, and the reed-frame containers used for fishing — represent a distinct regional tradition within Italian material culture. The use of multiple plant species in a single object, layered and integrated rather than used in separate elements, is not common in mainland Italian work and appears to derive from the specific combination of species available around Sardinian lagoons.
The Istituto Superiore Regionale Etnografico (ISRE) in Nuoro maintains a substantial collection of Sardinian craft material, including several hundred basketry pieces spanning the 19th and 20th centuries. The collection documents both the variety of construction methods and the regional variation in design — baskets from the Oristano area around the Stagno di Cabras differ in proportions and finishing from those produced in the Cagliari lagoon communities, a difference attributed to both material availability and distinct local aesthetic conventions.
Contemporary practitioners in western Sardinia continue to produce coiled asphodel and reed baskets, some for local domestic use and others for sale through craft markets and heritage events. The annual Settimana delle Culture event in Cagliari regularly includes demonstrations of traditional material harvesting and weaving, providing one of the few public contexts in which the full sequence from plant to finished object is demonstrated.
