We arrived at Olbia, having taken a five hour ferry from Civittavecchia - one of the shortest routes from the mainland to the island. We arrived and left immediately traveling up to Golfo Aranci - about a 45 minute drive - despite the maps saying it is 13 km. The route is inland away from the coastline.

Golfo Aranci

The town's roots are that of an old fishing village, and there is still active fishing going on - and this is different from some of the towns in this area which are basically parking lots for yachts. In the 19th Century Olbia was designated as a port for arrivals to the island.

I would say that this is really the start of the Emerald Coast, there are numerous beaches. We stayed in the Hotel Gabbiano Azzuro which was just beautiful. We enjoyed our say here, the beach was broad with lots of room to relax and swim.

Porto Cervo

The Costa Esmeralda was created by Aga Khan, one of the richest royals, and Porto Cervo is considered one of the main centers of this stretch of coastline. The village was designed by architects and landscape designers that include Jacques Couelle, Luigi Vietti and Michele Brusiri Vici. It did not do anything for us. Although we may have missed a few things, such as the famous art gallery (Monte di Mola). We were expecting charming village on the sea, now this was a a modern town. We were hoping to stop by a bar on the marina and watch the happenings. Nope., the marina was a parking lot for big yachts and we would see vans drive up and food be loaded on the boats.

It turns out the Pelorus, the 19th largest luxury yacht in the world is regularly parked there and I believe that is one of the boats we saw. It sold in 2011 for $300 million.

So we left Porto Cervo after a relatively short visit.

Palau

From Porto Cervo we continued our drive towards the northern tip of Sardinia, and stopped in Palau, which is the province of Sassari. It was a larger and more established down that Porto Cervo, but other than the scenic beaches along the coast, there is not much of interest in this town. We missed seeing the Monte Altura Fortress, it is located outside the village. It is a military fortress with views over the sea. It was built in 1887-89.

Alghero

Ahhh, this was a very interesting town, in the province of Sassari. It had much more of the feel we look for in cities or towns were we stay. It is a larger town of about 45,000 people. We stayed at the Hotel Florida, located facing the beach, about a 20 minute walk from the historic centre of town. The town has a broad promendade that extends along the beach. While Sardinia is part of Italy, and Italian is broadly spoken, the various areas of the island have their own dialect. In Alghero most of the locals actually speak Catalan. It is one of the 12 minority languages of Italy.

 

The town was developed as a fortified port in 1102. Then in the 16th Century town received papal recognition as a bishopic and this fueled further development. The historic centre is a network of old narrow streets, some palazzos that were not destroyed in heavy bombing during World War II - overall and good feel about the place. The ramparts date back to the 13th Century. The walls were rebuilt in the 16th Century, and there are seven towes and three forts that make up the wall's structures.

While there, we ate numerous times at the Ristorante Pizzeria Ramblas located just a block away on via Don Minzoni. Great place to eat.

• The Cathedral di Santa Maria dates back to 1570 but not completed and consecrated until 1730.
• Cloisters at the Church of St. Francis in Alghero
• The Church of St Francis dates back to 1360 and was rebuilt in the 16th century. It includes cloisters and is a very pleasant church.
• There are rampart walls from the 16th century still in place, and walked along the walls, along the water is very pleasant.

 

Drive from Alghero to Oristano

This was a great day. We headed our from Alghero and drove along the coast towards the town of Oristano. The drive is around 100 km, but give yourself time to make frequent stops as we left in the morning and did not turn off to head back up until almost 3. Here, almost all the the route is right along the water.

 

There are plenty of opportunities to view coves and beaches, a good number of pull-offs on the road.

Along the way, Santa Caterina di Pittinuri is a place that deserves a stop. This small down in a rock cover along the coast is very scenic. We stopped here and had lunch at La Scogliera. This is a small pensionne hotel, but they have a large restaurant, with an outdoor patio that overlooks the sea. The food was very good. The price extremely reasonable. Although the business card indicated they had a web site, I have been unable to find the particular restaurant. The name, is common to many areas of Italy.

Bosa

Bosa is a very scenic town. We stopped at Bosa Marina to enjoy a drink along the water. However, the most scenic event is the town of Bosa itself, which is inland along the river.

The main town looks stunning as you drive away, and the road starts to take you up into the hills. Looking back the town is a wall of multi-coloured buildings.

Sassari

This is the second largest city, and one of the oldest in Sardinia, with a rich historical past. We found the city to be very interesting and enjoyed our visit. There are grand palazi, a university founsws in 1562 by Jesuits, and numerous churches. It first started as an independent republic in alliance with Genoa.

The Fontana del Rosello, considered to be the symbol of the city, was built in 1603 to 1606 by craftsmen from Genoa. It is impressive with statues for each season, and one equestrian, of San Gavino. Originally water would be placed in barrels, and then loaded onto donkeys, to be delivered to the houses.

The Cathedral of St. Nicholas, from the 13th Century; was originally in Romanesque style and then iut was later rebuilt in Gothic Stule with a Baroque facade. The Palazzo Ducale, a monumental 18th-Century limestone construction. The Tower of St. Anthony is one of the remains of the original 13th-Century walls. It was in 1826 when the medieval walls were partially demolished to allow the town to expand.

 

• The university was founded in 1562 by the Jesuits. Go inside as there is a pleasant courtyard in the center of the main building.
• Only 6 or the 36 towers that used to be part of the Pisan City Walls from the 13th century remain.
• We had a great lunch at a little restaurant/bar on the Piazza d'Italia, which is the main square in Sassari.