 In
Villasimius the most important festivals are “La
Madonna del Naufrago”(The Madonna of the Shipwrecked), “Santa
Maria” (St Mary) and “San Raffaele
Arcangelo” (St
Raphael Archangel).
The three feasts are characterised by
dances in Sardinian traditional clothes, music and poetic
compositions. It is a great moment, beyond the religious
sentiment, to discover the enchanting details of the local
culture.
 The
first of these festivals takes place in the middle of July
with a suggestive procession in the sea to
the “Isola dei Cavoli” (The Isle of the Cabbages)
to put down a wreath of flowers at the foot of a big sunken
statue. The work, which represents the Virgin with
the Infant Jesus, is made of pink trachyte by the Sardinian
sculptor
Pinuccio Sciola. The statue is placed in the depths in front
of the island and it is also visible from the surface just
using a diving mask.
Santa Maria's festival occurs on the
first week of September and, for the occasion, traditional
groups from the near villages, “Launeddas” (typical
Sardinian instrument) musicians and “Cantadores” (singers)
meet here. It is also possible to admire the adorned trucks
(the so called “Traccas”) and the knights in
their traditional clothes that represent a deep link between
religion, the land working and man’s job.
San
Raffaele Arcangelo’s
festival, the patron Saint of Villasimius that falls on 24
October, closes the long summer activities of the island
with songs, dances and fireworks.
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Sardinia is an island completely absorbed in her religious and historical
traditions. During the centuries she has been marked either
by conquests, raids, army and enemy fleet incursions, or
by natural disasters and long periods of drought. Nevertheless
the population has always found solace in religious propitiatory
rites to ask for the end of the adverse circumstances through
prayer. 
