Paper short abstract:

Through ethnographic research with goat shepherds in Sardinia (Italy), I propose an investigation into the opacity surronding the "wildness" often attributed to the region. Going deep in issues related to identity and labor "wildness" becomes more than an impossibility to domesticate.

Paper long abstract:

The history of domesticating Sardinia's wilderness for agro-pastoral purposes intertwines with the current tourist allure of the inland areas, which owes much to the idea of untamed nature waiting to be explored.

Nuoro is embraced by Mount Ortobene, on whose slopes the last goat herder in the area continues to domesticate a space perceived as "outside" the city. However, the surrounding countryside and Mount Ortobene itself are places with their own history of power and manipulation, spaces unable to escape a present Anthropocene evident in its waste.

Here, domesticated goats are chosen precisely for their "wildness". Their needs are met between bathtubs repurposed as feeding troughs, nets made from old mattresses serving as enclosures, and open woods, unreachable rocks, and steep slopes. From the freedom granted to these animals to be "wild," the shepherd weaves a relationship with the grazing space never entirely controllable. However, work necessities do not prevent the shepherd from contemplating the mountain; a mountain appreciated both as a "home" and a "terrible place" where daily wonder disrupts the possibilities of control over the landscape, with aesthetic appreciation linked to a profound sense of freedom.

Within this framework, wildness becomes much more than an impossibility to domesticate, intertwining with issues related to identity, social and power relations, and labor. Acknowledging the cultural construction of the concept of the wild, I propose to delve deeper into the relationship between these categories, making room for contradictions that the relationship between shepherds and goats in Sardinia may bring to light.