Historical background and roots of tradition
Carloforte, known in Campidanese Sardinian as Carluforti, is the town of the island of San Pietro, in the Sulcis, in the province of Sulcis Iglesiente. Its inhabitants speak Ligurian Tabarchino and call the town U Pàiže, “the Village”. The name literally means “Charles’s Fort”: it was named in honour of Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy, who in 1738 invited a community of Ligurian settlers from Tabarka, a small island off Tunisia, to settle here. The town was designed by the architect Augusto de la Vallée. In 1798 a Barbary raid carried more than nine hundred inhabitants into slavery in Tunis, freed only five years later: the devotion to the Madonna dello Schiavo is linked to this event. Today Tabarchino is still spoken by about 80% of the population.
Women’s dress
The women’s festive dress consists of a mantle, mantigliu, white cotton and rectangular, hand-embroidered with floral motifs and edged with red ribbon. The part covering the head is stiffened with cardboard, and the fabric is sewn to a headband that allows the mantle to be worn.
The dress is red cotton, edged with white tape, with wide sangallo lace applied at the neckline and cuffs. The shoulders are covered by a small white cotton shawl, embroidered at the back, edged with red satin and fastened at the front with a brooch. The apron is white cotton, embroidered with floral motifs. The jewellery usually consists of necklaces, earrings and rings in rough coral.
Men’s dress
The men’s festive dress includes the sampa (beret), black wool cloth, with a red ribbon falling on the right side and a red wool pompom in the centre. The camixa (shirt) is white cotton, with wide sangallo lace on the collar and cuffs, and is closed at the neck with a red cord and two red wool tassels. The gileccu (waistcoat) is red checked flannel with central buttoning, and the jacket is black tropical wool, edged with red tape.
The casuin (trousers) are black wool cloth, straight and ankle-length. The casette (socks) are red cotton and the shoes black leather, moccasin style. The dress is completed by a red satin sash wrapped around the waist.
