Oppor-tuna-ty of a Lifetime

The annual celebration of the tuna harvest, the Girotonno, was held this past weekend on San Pietro, a small island right off the southwest coast of Sardinia. The tonnara, or tuna harvest, occurs in late May or early June, just as schools of blue-fin tuna are migrating past the island. For centuries, fishermen have set traps in the sea, catching hundred of fish. On Saturday, several students went to the festival to learn about arts, culture, and of course, the traditional tuna harvest.

The excursion started off with a bus ride to the port at Sant'Antioco, a neighboring island to take a ferry to San Pietro.

The official festival was much smaller than expected, but it was clear that the small town still held on to the tradition. Almost every restaurant offered a multi-course set menu featuring tuna prepared in at least five different ways.

The festival activities closed down from about 3 to 7 in the afternoon, which left plenty of time to explore and grab some gelato before heading back to Cagliari.