Productive activities
Thanks to the varied nature of its territory, all those activities traditional to man are well developed - agriculture, stockbreeding, fishing and, in season, hunting.
Agriculture is characterised by greenhouse cultivations that range from vegetables to a wide range of plants. Sardinian shepherds employ traditional methods to rear their sheep and goats. Pig farming also has its place.
The Capoterra Mountains are situated in the Basso Sulcis massif, which also houses the naturalistic WWF oasis, Monte Arcosu. Their rich fauna and their beauty attract hunters that arrive from all over the island. Fowling is a venatorial custom still in use, but hunters now use different methods because horsehair laces and nets have been forbidden since 1970. Blackbirds and thrushes (pillonis de taccula), after having been boiled in salted water, are arranged in order to form a wreath - each wreath contains eight fowls - and flavoured with myrtle leaves.
However, tacculas are not the only sin of gluttony you can lapse into: the exquisite variety of Sardinian pastries, homemade pastas and liqueurs will gratify all gourmets. You can taste the products of the earth with the myrtle liqueur, almond-based pastries, meat, fish and cheese.
'Ricotta', for instance, is used to prepare delicious cakes (pardulas) and a kind of ravioli (culurgiones). There should be no need to present Sardinia's famous malloreddus and the succulent panada pastries that can be filled with eels, lamb or vegetables - all this washed down with excellent wines.
The Sardinians' proverbial hospitality reinforced by a masterly management of the area's accommodation facilities allow everybody to appreciate flavours and scents and to admire, last but not the least, the valuable and original creations born from age-old customs and the skilful hands of the local artisans: decorations, lacework, small baskets and knives.
The local authority wants to promote the local development giving subsidies to small and medium size industries especially, but not exclusively, to those working in the touristic sector. The passage of the new town planning scheme takes into account the safeguard of the territory and provides that the construction of new residential areas must lead to the creation of services able to give stimulus to employment and reinforce also the relations between the historical centre and the new areas.