Southwestern Sardinia
In the heart of the voluptuous green countryside near Barumini, the Nuraghe Su Nuraxi is Sardinia’s sole World Heritage Site and the island’s most visited…
Must-see attractions in Southwestern Sardinia
Southwestern Sardinia
Rising above the rolling green landscape, La Giara di Gesturi is a high basalt plateau famous for its wild horses and uncontaminated natural beauty. The…
Southwestern Sardinia
A marvel of early-20th-century engineering, Porto Flavia is a port dug into cliffs 50m above the sea. Consisting of two 600m tunnels and an ingenious…
Southwestern Sardinia
A sensational sandy beach wedged into a natural inlet between craggy rocks, Cala Domestica is a heavenly spot. Its shallow blue waters are ideal for…
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Southwestern Sardinia
An impressive Roman temple set in bucolic scenery 9km south of Fluminimaggiore, the Tempio di Antas has stood in isolation since the 3rd century AD. Built…
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Southwestern Sardinia
This magnificent beach is a picture of unspoilt beauty. A broad band of golden sand, it's sandwiched between a big-wave sea and a vast expanse of dunes…
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Southwestern Sardinia
This panoramic terrace, accessible by a cliffside path from Nebida's southern entrance, commands fabulous views. Dominating the seascape is the 133m-high…
Southwestern Sardinia
About 2km north of Buggerru, Spiaggia di Portixeddu is one of the best beaches in the area. A gloriously unspoilt strip of sand backed by swathes of…
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Southwestern Sardinia
From Piazza del Municipio, Via Pullo leads to the dainty rose-red trachyte of the Chiesa di San Francesco. Built over a 200-year period between the 14th…
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Southwestern Sardinia
Dominating the eastern flank of Piazza del Municipio, the Cattedrale di Santa Chiara has a lovely Pisan-flavoured gold-hued facade and a checkerboard…
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Southwestern Sardinia
A few kilometres south of Fluminimaggiore off the SS126, this is the largest cave system of its sort so far discovered in the Iglesiente. The standard…
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Southwestern Sardinia
Piazza Quintino Sella, Iglesias' central square, was laid out in the 19th century in what was at the time a field outside the city walls. Just off the…
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Southwestern Sardinia
The nearest beach to Iglesias is at Funtanamare (also spelt Fontanamare), about 12km west of town. A long strip of golden sand backed by dunes and fertile…
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Southwestern Sardinia
Marking the northernmost point of the Costa Verde, Torre dei Corsari is the area's main resort. In itself, it's not an especially attractive place, with…
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Southwestern Sardinia
A 3km lick of fine sand backed by towering dunes and walls of sandstone, Spiaggia Scivu is the most southerly of the Costa Verde's beaches. To get there…
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Southwestern Sardinia
Surrounded by woods and granite peaks, Montevecchio was once home to a massive mining complex. At its height in 1865, it was Italy's most important zinc…
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Southwestern Sardinia
Just outside the historic centre, Iglesias' main museum is dedicated to the town's mining heritage. It displays up to 70 extraction machines, alongside…
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Southwestern Sardinia
Housed in a yellow 19th-century palazzo in the village centre, the Museo Archeologico provides a good overview of the area's prehistoric past with finds…
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Southwestern Sardinia
This attractive museum complex occupies the 16th-century residence of the Spanish Zapata family, La Marmilla's 16th-century rulers. The whitewashed villa…
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Southwestern Sardinia
Just off Via Carlo Felice, the main road through town, Sanluri's 14th-century castle houses the Museo Risorgimentale Duca d'Aosta and its eclectic…
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Southwestern Sardinia
The Grotta di Santa Barbara lies deep within the abandoned San Giovanni mine some 4km west of Iglesias. The walls of the single enormous chamber are…
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Southwestern Sardinia
Iglesias' largest square, Piazza Quintino Sella was laid out in the 19th-century in what was at the time a field outside the city walls. It soon became a…
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Southwestern Sardinia
To the northeast of Villanovaforru near Lunamatrona, this excellent museum showcases the area's flora and fauna, as well as illustrating its ancient…
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Southwestern Sardinia
A few hundred metres from Sardara's museum, the Gothic Chiesa di Sant'Anastasia sits in the midst of what was once a much larger nuraghic temple. An…
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Complesso Nuragico di Genna Maria
Southwestern Sardinia
This nuraghic complex, signposted as the Parco Archeologico, is set on a panoramic wooded hilltop about 1km out of the village on the road to Collinas…
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Southwestern Sardinia
A remnant of Buggerru's day as a mining centre, the Galleria Henry is a 1km-long tunnel that was dug in 1865 to allow a small train to transport minerals…
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Southwestern Sardinia
A vast white scoglio (rock) rising out of the glassy blue seas in front of Masua, the Sugarloaf is one of the coast's great postcard sights. Named because…
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Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie
Southwestern Sardinia
Originally constructed at the end of the 13th century, the modest Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie retains little of its original form. About the only…
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Southwestern Sardinia
Overlooking Piazza del Municipio and the Cattedrale di Santa Chiara is the grand neoclassical Municipio (town hall). The salmon-pink building houses…
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Southwestern Sardinia
About 2km west of Iglesias, the sprawling Monteponi mining complex, now abandoned, was once one of Sardinia's most important producers of lead, zinc and…
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Southwestern Sardinia
Lording it over the electric green landscape, the scant ruins of the 12th-century Castello di Marmilla sit atop a perfectly pyramidal hill near the hamlet…
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Southwestern Sardinia
Just off Piazza Quintino Sella, stairs lead to a stout square tower. This is all that remains of the Castello Salvaterra, the once-mighty Pisan fortress…
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Southwestern Sardinia
The wooded countryside around Villacidro, an agricultural town best known for its saffron-based liqueur, harbours a number of striking waterfalls. Chief…
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Southwestern Sardinia
In Arbus's hilltop centre, just off Piazza Mercato, the Museo del Coltello Sardo is dedicated to the ancient Sardinian art of knife-making. The museum was…
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Southwestern Sardinia
A kilometre west of Barumini, the Parco Sardegna in Miniatura is a family-friendly theme park centred on a miniature reconstruction of Sardinia. Other…
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Chiesa di Santa Teresa d'Avila
Southwestern Sardinia
On the Giara's southeastern flank, the town of Gesturi is dominated by the 30m-high bell tower of the Chiesa di Santa Teresa d'Avila. The faithful flock…
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Southwestern Sardinia
Four kilometres north of Domusnovas, the Grotta di San Giovanni, an 850m-long natural cave-gallery adorned with stalactites and stalagmites, is worth…
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Southwestern Sardinia
Before you head up to the Giara, check out the Chiesa di San Pietro in Tuili. The pride and joy of this much-altered 15th-century church is its colourful…
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Southwestern Sardinia
Housed in a 17th-century monastery, this small museum displays a varied collection of artefacts and artworks relating to the activities of Sardinia's…
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Civico Museo Archeologico Villa Abbas
Southwestern Sardinia
At the top of the historic centre, this modest museum showcases a collection of finds from local archaeological sites. Among the finest pieces are two 8th…
