A calm emerald green sea, speckled with turquoise reflections and a few rocks emerging from the water, caresses the shoreline, giving way to soft, white, almost impalpable sand. All around, stunning pink granite cliffs, covered with fragrant junipers, rosemary bushes and sea daffodils, enclose and guard this private and secluded cove. The description helps to understand why Cala Conneri is nicknamed the ‘cove or beach of love’. It occupies a small stretch of the eastern coast of Spargi, the fourth largest island of the Maddalena Archipelago National Park. The feeling of having reached an intimate and romantic corner of paradise also comes from the small size of the beach, which is sheltered from the winds and can only be reached by sea, on private or rented boats and authorised charters departing from the ports of La Maddalena, Palau and Santa Teresa Gallura.

In summer, it’s a destination not to be missed on guided tours of the archipelago’s beaches: the sun’s rays highlight the colours of the clear sea and the intense white that makes the beach stand out, while its waters are shallow and the seabed is sandy near the shore. The view opposite the beach is enriched by the jagged outline of the western coast of the island of La Maddalena. The emotion is just as strong in the off-season period: all you will hear is the sound of your footsteps sinking into the sand, surrounded by the colours and scents of wild nature and the feeling, at least for a moment, that the Cala Conneri landscape is for your eyes only.

The whiteness of the beaches and the colourful reflections of the sea are also typical of the other beaches of Spargi, which stretch out along the eastern and southern sides of the island that has a curious almost oval shape. Cala Corsara is divided into four small beaches, separated by rocky outcrops and enriched by sand dunes covered in shrubs. A little further to the east you will find Cala Soraya and Cala Granara. The first has a distinctive arch shape, a turquoise sea and a large rock in the centre of the sandy shore. The second is one of the most popular destinations in the park. It is divided in two by a promontory and has small sand dunes, on which there are helichrysum flowers and sea daffodils. At Cala Canniccio the sand takes on an amber hue, adding variety to the landscape, which is also coloured by the surrounding Mediterranean greenery, the reddish shades of the rocks and the blue of the sea.

The island’s hinterland is almost inaccessible and is covered with thick rockroses, strawberry trees, junipers and lentisks. Off its coast, there are lots of wreckages, including the famous shipwreck of Spargi, a Roman cargo ship dating back to the 2nd century BC that lies at a depth of 18 metres. Part of the cargo is on display at the Nino Lamboglia Museum of La Maddalena.