Cagliari to Porto Flavia

Michael Portillo embarks on a stunning railway adventure through the western Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Corsica, beginning in Sardinia’s capital, Cagliari.

Michael delves into the city's Roman past and experiences warm Sardinian hospitality with a taste of the traditional myrtle liqueur. He discovers the legacy of Eleanora de Arborea, the pioneering medieval ruler who shaped Sardinia’s laws, and listens to the unique sounds of the Sardinian language, Sardo, and its haunting choral singing.

Travelling west to Porto Flavia, he marvels at an extraordinary feat of engineering, an underground railway and tunnel which revolutionised the transport of the island’s prized minerals to the Mediterranean.