The Il Messaggero Sardo archival holding preserves documentation produced and gathered around the newspaper of the same name, dedicated to communities of Sardinian emigrants in Italy and across the world. For many years, the newspaper served as a means of information, connection and participation for Sardinians living far from the island.

The records creator of the holding is the Cooperativa Messaggero Sardo, established in Cagliari in April 1974 by professional journalists and contributors. The Autonomous Region of Sardinia entrusted the cooperative with producing, printing and sending the monthly newspaper free of charge to Sardinian emigrants worldwide.

The archival holding includes copies of the newspaper, administrative and management documentation, editorial materials and a heterogeneous body of letters, poems, drawings, cartoons, postcards, diaries, loose papers, manuscripts, typescripts, newspapers and notebooks. This documentary variety reflects not only the activity of the editorial staff, but also the ongoing relationship between the newspaper and the Sardinian communities that contributed to it.

Deposited with the Cagliari State Archives in 2013 at the request of the cooperative’s president, Giovanni Maria De Candia, the holding was formally donated to the Institute in 2019. It is an important source for the study of contemporary Sardinian migration, associative networks, communication with diaspora communities, and the ways in which identity is maintained across distance.