Spent time in Brittany. Liked the people. Similarly, spent time on Sardegna and the Sards reminded me of the Basque though I don't think they overlap at all. Both groups seemed to know what they were about and didn't give a shit what the rest of the world thought about it. Helped build a mud brick farm house while I was on the island and was told by the owner it would likely outlive me by at least 300 years.
I was also told that during WW2 the Sardegnans didn't fight in the Italian military but were largely their own thing and were considered a sort of "special forces" of the region because they were hard motherfuckers. ( Maybe when you are being compared to WW2 military anyone would look like hard mothers? ;) ) When the war ended they were the only part of "Italy" -- a lot of folks in those regions think "Italy" was forced on them and they want no part of it -- that didn't fall under mafia control because the Sards would murder any southerners who tried to come there and start their bullshit.
(post is archived)