Sulcis-Iglesiente, amidst towers and mines

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Sulcis-Iglesiente, amidst towers and mines

Tunnels overlooking the sea and ruins emerging from the waves, fishing villages and forts poised on top of spectacular cliffs: here, the sea meets thousands of years of tradition

the past carved into the stone

For centuries, the natural bays and harbours of the southwestern corner of Sardinia saw ships leave with their cargo of minerals extracted in the mines. Those same coves were sometimes threatened by pirates and invaders, and defended by fortresses built in strategic points. From Buggerru to Sant'Antioco, you will follow a path that retraces fascinating pages of history, the traces of which mark and embellish an area of infinite natural and scenic beauty.

Itinerary: 75.5 km

Journey time: 13 hrs 30 mins spread over 3 days

Porto Paglia - Marina di Gonnesa

The starting point, Cala Domestica, is a fjord, and were it not for the tropical colours of the sea and the abandoned mining structures, you would think you were in northern Europe. Speaking of mining sites, the path will take you to Porto Flavia, to the beach of Masua - with a view of the Pan di Zucchero (Sugarloaf) natural monument and alongside the Lamarmora washery in Nebida. A little further south, there are the three kilometres of the Gonnesa coast, with four beaches, a tuna fishery and the emerging ruins of a Spanish watchtower.

Porto Paglia - Marina di Gonnesa

The first welcoming stretch of the enchanting coast of Gonnesa, dominated by a former tuna fishery and located between the high coastline of the...

Portoscuso

You can breathe an air of history, culture and seafaring traditions in every corner of this fishing village. The seventeenth-century tower looks out over the beaches of Caletta and Portopaglietto and the ancient tuna fishery of su Pranu, next to which you will see the church of Santa Maria d'Itria. Rocky outcrops and islets appear in the open sea and can be admired from Capo Altano, where sheer rugged rocky cliffs rise directly above the sea.

Portoscuso

At the heart of Sulcis, on the south-west coast of Sardinia and rich in naturalistic pearls and archaeological sites, is a village that once housed...

Carloforte

It is time to leave the mainland and cross the sea, even if only for half an hour or so. The destination is the island of San Pietro. Time also moves forward, taking you to 1768: the tower of San Vittorio dates back to this year and is a fortress built to defend the town, founded thirty years earlier, from enemy invasions. Today it is a museum that tells the story of the island, after having admired the stars as an astronomical observatory for about a century.

Carloforte

In the Sulcis archipelago, at the south-western end of Sardinia, lies a beautiful village founded by Ligurian families: one of the most enchanting...

Torre di Calasetta

Back on board for another half hour. The next stop is the island of Sant'Antioco, the largest of the Sulcis archipelago. You will set off from the extreme north: Calasetta emerged a few decades after Carloforte, but its tower was already there, watching over the channel between the two islands and protecting the fishing boats. It is located just five hundred metres from the port, it also has a museum and it overlooks the town and one of the most beautiful beaches on the northern coast of the island, Sottotorre.

Tower of Calasetta

Historical stronghold against pirates and symbol of a town with unusual origins, it stands guarding the two major islands of Sulcis, in the south...

Turri - Sant'Antioco

You will cross Sant'Antioco in an almost diagonal line from north-west to south-east. You can move along the inland paths, among lentisk trees, strawberry trees and junipers, or alongside the sea stacks of Nido dei Passeri, continuing south towards Cala Lunga and Cala Sapone. You will then pass by the Tombs of Giants of su Niu and su Crobu and the Nuragic complex of Grutt'i Acqua, before reaching Torre Cannai, the ‘sentinel’ of the Gulf of Palmas.