Bachisio Bandinu has died . The Sardinian intellectual, writer, anthropologist, journalist, and former editor of L'Unione Sarda was 87.
Born in Bitti on February 22, 1939, in 1993 he won the Funtana Elighe, an important award dedicated to journalism, culture, and Sardinian traditions. From 1999 to 2001, he served as director of L'Unione Sarda .
A scholar of Sardinian culture, he chronicled the transformations of the island's society, particularly the transition from the ancient pastoral world to modernity . Bandinu lived in Golfo Aranci and had been hospitalized for a few days.
In 1967, he graduated from the University of Cagliari with a thesis entitled "Antonio Fogazzaro and Modernism." In 1971, he earned a diploma in Journalism with a thesis entitled "Montale Giornale" from the Scuola Superiore delle Comunicazioni Sociali at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. From the same institution, he also earned a diploma in Radio and Television in 1973.
Between 1965 and 1987, he taught literature at the Industrial Technical Institute in Varese. Then, until 1997, he taught at the "Pertini" Technical Institute in Cagliari. From 1973 to 1985, he contributed to the Corriere della Sera.
In 1976, together with Gaspare Barbiellini Amidei, he wrote the essay 'The King is a Fetish', in which he analyses the relationship between the traditional world of pastoralism and the consumerist civilization in Sardinia .
HERE is an article from December 2025 on Videolina in which Bandinu analyzes the changes that have transformed Sardinia socially and economically since the 1950s .
President Todde's condolences
Sardinia loses Bachisio Bandinu, a rare intellectual, a free and profound voice of our culture. He was able to read our land beyond the surface of its narrative of identity, examining its fractures, metamorphoses, and persistence. His writings provide a valuable lesson on the relationship between memory, modernity, and collective consciousness. I will miss our conversations and the sometimes harsh but sincere exchanges between someone who always cared about the well-being of his land and the Sardinians. My most sincere condolences go to his family. Adiosu Bachisio. ” This was expressed by Alessandra Todde, President of the Sardinian Region.
"On behalf of the entire Bitti community, I express my deepest condolences for the passing of Bachireddu Banninu, as everyone in town called him." Mayor Giuseppe Ciccolini added: "He returned to Bitti often and never missed the most important cultural and political events. His extraordinary yet generous connection to his roots always informed his analysis and reflections. With him, we lose a thoughtful and insightful scholar of Sardinian society and the enormous cultural, social, and economic developments that, in recent decades, have brought the island's diverse agricultural and pastoral communities into the midst of the more complex global contexts of globalization."
Ciccolini: "An extraordinary connection to his origins."
"On behalf of the entire Bitti community, I express my deepest condolences for the passing of Bachireddu Banninu, as everyone in town called him." Bitti's mayor, Giuseppe Ciccolini , added: "He returned to Bitti often and never missed the most important cultural and political events. His extraordinary yet generous connection to his roots always informed his analysis and reflections. With him, we lose a thoughtful and insightful scholar of Sardinian society and the enormous cultural, social, and economic developments that, in recent decades, have brought the island's diverse agricultural and pastoral communities into the midst of the more complex global contexts of globalization."
(Unioneonline)