Three legends in the "history" of Cannigione

After all, even legends hide a minimum of truth, even if no documents or evidence can be found that attest to them.

And if we take this into account, that of Cannigione, today a charming tourist and residential seaside village of Arzachena, could not be just a small local history but take on a narrative that is intertwined with what has been great history. Starting from the missed opportunity, with history precisely, of being chosen, in the times of the great Rome, as a port instead of Olbia; to then continue with the presence of two protagonists of history, such as Napoleon Bonaparte and Horace Nelson.

Speaking about these topics recently, during a conference at the University of the Third Age of La Maddalena, was Mario Sotgiu, a lover of history and antiquities , in the continuous and passionate search for documents, objects and stories, creator and director of the small museum “The time box” by Arzachena, installer and curator of various exhibitions.

Let's start from ancient Rome and from the legend that it would have been, Cannigione, "the failed Olbia". Rome conquered Sardinia in the Republican age, in 238 BC. The descendants of Romulus and Remus (just to remain in the legend), soon looked for a place strategically opposite Rome, where they could consolidate their military presence, develop trade and exploit its resources. Attention would have fallen precisely on the Cannigione plain and on the large inlet well sheltered from the winds. However, legend has it - said Mario Sotgiu - «that when they arrived at the tip of "Tres Montes", three Roman ships, which were supposed to found the colony there, suffered a disastrous shipwreck on a stormy night. And so for reasons linked more to superstition than anything else nothing was done about it, opting for another large inlet, that of Olbia".

Why did the elderly call the one located in front of Laconia, 1 and a half km from the village, "the isulottu of Napulioni"? Here the Bonaparte, who, as a young officer, was part of the Franco-Corsican expedition which, in 1793, should have occupied Sardinia, starting from La Maddalena, "would have spent a whole night", said Sotgiu, having escaped from the ship's crew on which he had embarked which, given the strong Sardinian-Maddalenian armed reaction, he wanted to retreat. Napoleon strongly opposed it and, "for fear of being killed", took refuge right there. Once he decided to give up on the enterprise, Napoleon would have joined the fleet and returned to Corsica.

Inconclusive proof of this story could be the discovery of a French anchor in the gulf dating back to that period. The third "very deep-rooted" legend, stated Mario Sotgiu, would see the protagonist of the English admiral Horace Nelson (England was then at war against Napoleonic France) who between 1803 and 1805 - it's history - dropped anchor several times of his Victory in the waters between La Maddalena and Palau. It is not clear why but, according to another legend, under a large oak tree, again in Laconia, near Cannigione, Nelson held a summit with the commanders of the fleet involved in that operation, to take stock of the situation. . The existing documents, however, deny that Nelson ever set foot on land during his presence on several occasions in Northern Sardinia, not even in La Maddalena, the only port and only town existing at the time, despite repeated invitations from the local authorities, the cordial correspondence and the gifts sent. But that's it!