The Corsa degli Scalzi (Race of the Barefoot) has renewed once again this year one of the most intense and identity-defining rituals of Sardinia, bringing thousands of faithful and visitors to Cabras and the Sinis territory to witness a tradition that has united faith, memory, and belonging for over four centuries. The most anticipated moment of the Feast of San Salvatore took place on Saturday, September 5th, and Sunday, September 6th, within a calendar of celebrations that began on August 28th and concluded on September 7th with the procession of Santu Srabadoeddu. The protagonists of the Race are Is Curridoris, the men of Cabras who, dressed in the traditional white habit and strictly barefoot, accompany the simulacrum of the Most Holy Savior along the approximately seven kilometers that separate the town from the village of San Salvatore di Sinis. About nine hundred runners took part in the 2026 edition, facing the route from Cabras to the village at dawn on Saturday, September 5th, and then repeating the run in the opposite direction at sunset on Sunday, September 6th, when the simulacrum was brought back to the town. It is a journey marked by fatigue, dust kicked up by bare feet, and the prayers of the participants, but above all by a devotion that continues to be passed down from generation to generation. The Corsa degli Scalzi is not a simple historical reenactment or a show built for the public, but a true religious rite, a gesture of faith and sacrifice deeply linked to the history of the Cabras community. The tradition has its origins in the 17th century and is handed down as a memory of the saving of the statue during an incursion, when the inhabitants carried the Saint away from danger. Since then, that race continues to represent a promise renewed every year, in which men of different ages participate—some out of devotion, others for a grace received, and still others to safeguard a tradition they learned about through their own families. In the edition that has just concluded, the passage of the Curridoris was followed by a large crowd of faithful and tourists who flocked along the route to witness one of the most evocative moments of the festival. The white clothes marked by dust and sweat, the simulacrum carried on shoulders, and the compact run of the men restored the image of a rite that still preserves all its strength today. The return of the Saint to Cabras on Sunday, September 6th, was accompanied by the emotion of the community, amidst applause, hugs, and tears, in a moment where the individual dimension of sacrifice was transformed once again into a collective experience. The entire program of the Feast of San Salvatore developed around the Race, with eleven days of religious celebrations and civil events that involved the town and the village of San Salvatore di Sinis, confirming how much this recurrence still represents one of the most important moments of Cabras’ identity today. The Corsa degli Scalzi thus continues to tell of a Sardinia deeply tied to its roots, capable of safeguarding its traditions without turning them into a simple representation of the past: every year, amidst the seven kilometers traveled barefoot and the dust of the Sinis roads, an ancient bond that unites faith, memory, and community is renewed.
