A few miles from the caviar coast, the 'real' Sardinia sings a sad song of lost opportunity — theguardian.com

Into the midday hush of the archaeological and ethnographic museum comes an incongruously tinny beat from manager Giorgio Pala's laptop. "Island of blue; land of happiness," croons a male voice in Italian to a jaunty pop backing. "The air is mild; there's a scent of eternity." A big bear of a man with a grey beard and expressive eyebrows, Pala can barely disguise his scorn. "What can I say? Poor guy," he mutters. "It's true that the sea is lovely; the sea is blue. OK. But I believe that the really beautiful part of Sardinia is that of the inland, far away from these places." He presses the pause button. Quiet returns to the Nuragic treasures and Roman gems.

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