In a Sardinia that blends ancient and modern, Michael Francalanci‘s photographic project, titled “The Last Healer of Sciatica,” plunges us into the mysterious and fascinating world of traditional healing. Francesco Bagattini‘s text accompanies the images, providing an in-depth look at the millennia-old practice passed down from generation to generation. In pre-war Sardinia, traditional medicine thrived, creating a collective knowledge where healers played almost magical roles. The island, now an Italian tourist destination, reveals a unique context: a historically closed region embracing modernity through tourism. Let’s delve deeper into Francalanci’s journey and the photographs documenting it.

Last autumn, Francalanci’s team spent weeks in the island’s interior, near Lake Omodeo, seeking individuals born after the war who still practice traditional healing. The focus was on those who, while fully integrated into contemporary society, continue ancient healing practices. Francesco, portrayed in the images, is a central figure in this project.

Francesco is seated in his laboratory, a stone room illuminated by a small square window. Behind him, against the wall, there’s a wooden cross and the History of Italy in comic book form. With his gaze fixed ahead, he tells us with his warm and low voice that in the 17th century, during the great pestilence that struck the island, a group of Jesuits returned from China to care for the sick. The religious brought with them seven healing practices (meighinas in Sardinian). The only one that has reached us, passed down through Francesco and his ancestors, is the treatment for sciatica.

Francesco’s healing ritual is fascinating and steeped in tradition. The practice takes place only during the waning moon, a period usually lasting for eleven days. «For each patient, Francesco gathers a wild fig branch. It is crucial that the tree is located outside the patient’s province (mandamento), in a spot where the rooster’s crow cannot be heard. To strip the branch and obtain a ribbon about a meter long, Francesco uses the same knife his grandfather used,» explains Bagattini in the project’s text. In Francalanci’s shots, the magic of these moments is captured. Images of Francesco during the practice, the fire consuming the fig knots at the end of the waning moon period, and the Sardinian landscape embracing this millennia-old tradition.

The narrative by Francalanci and Bagattini provides an intimate insight into this endangered practice. Francesco is indeed the fifth and final healer in his family, marking the end of a chapter that has endured for over a century. The family legend asserts that the practice can only be passed down for five generations, and with Francesco, the secret of the meighina against sciatica will slowly dissolve over time, bringing an end to an era of healers in Sardinia.

Courtesy Michael Francalanci