The Sardinian murradores (gamers) proved their worth in Slovenia this weekend, participating in Murramundo, the international morra game held in Pregaro, a small village on the border with Croatia . Ambassadors of Sardinia in Slovenian Istria, a crossroads of languages and cultures, a fierce delegation of five pairs, under the trees in the church square of the Istrian village, faced players from across the Mediterranean basin, where the game's identity is still deeply rooted.
"Chimbe, battero...murra bella" (literally, "beautiful song"), the numbers chanted in Sardinian resonated powerfully, mingling with numbers in Catalan, Friulian, Corsican, French, Aragonese, and many others. And at the end of the competition, among the 220 competitors, a respectable third place was won by a Sardinian couple: Ubaldo Serra from Ghilarza and Gianni Boi from Tertenia from Ogliastra , finishing behind the Aosta Valley and representatives of the County of Nice, who repeated last year's success in Catalonia.
The organizers of the Istrian trip are very pleased, fresh from the Sardinian championship held in Urzulei in early August. "This year too, we didn't want to miss out on this event, which was founded in Urzulei over 20 years ago. This is not only an opportunity to strengthen our identity through discussions with other delegations, but also to embrace our friends who share this great passion," says Luciano Murgia of the Sociu po' su jocu de sa murra association. The next Murramundo event, next year, will be held in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, which has legalized the ancient game.