This invitation to the island of Sardinia begins with departing from the Traghetto, the ferry in Olbia, which has been bringing many Sardinians to the Italian mainland for generations, into another life from which they see the island - its barren and enchanting sides - with new eyes. From Olbia, the authors lead us to the north and northeast of the island, to Sassari and the coastal town of Alghero, with the rugged surroundings of paternal authority over people and sheep. Then we continue to the center of Sardinia, to the "Land of Barbarians" in Barbagia with the town of Nuoro, where the archaic world of birth and death, of marriages and succession still seems unbroken. Finally, we travel to the south of Sardinia with the Mediterranean, cosmopolitan capital and port city of Cagliari, alongside Sardinian classics of the 20th century, such as Gavino Ledda and Grazia Deledda.