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ALGHERO AND THE SURROUNDING AREA
- where: in Sassari province
- location: north-western coast of Sardinia, between Capo dell’Argentiera (north) and Torre Poglina (south)
- length: about 60 km
- towns on the sea: Alghero, tourist harbour and most important town in the area. Fertilia, outlying ward of Alghero where the airport is located.
The Area
Alghero is located in the north-western part of Sardinia, the Nurra. It is a stretch of coast running from Capo dell’Argentiera in the north to Torre Poglina in the south, one of the loveliest areas on the island.
Along the coast are a series of marvellous beaches, small coves, tortuous gorges, great rocky promontories and spectacular grottoes.
The area is also called “The Coral Riviera” due to the abundance of that valuable coelenterate.
The area around Alghero boasts countless archaeological sites : in addition to the Romanesque bridge at Fertilia and the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Sant’Imbenia, the Anghelu Ruju and Santu Pedru pre-nuraghic necropolises and the Palmavera and Sant’Imbenia nuraghic complexes are extraordinarily interesting.
A few kilometres from the town of Palmadula, near Capo dell’Argentiera, we find the mining centre of the same name.
Natural Beauty
The territory around Alghero is also worth visiting from a naturalistic point of view.
The Neptune Grottoes and the karst formation at Capo Caccia, the State Forest at Porto Conte and the whole coast from Fertilia north to Porto Ferro are absolutely extraordinary. South of the city the coast stretches to Bosa, with breathtaking views along the 42 km separating the two towns.
Lake Baratz, not far from the sea near Porto Ferro, the only natural fresh-water lake in all of Sardinia, is also worth mentioning.
Two islands rise out of the blue, blue sea in front of the enormous Capo Caccia promontory: Isola Piana to the north, with its dwarf palmns and gigantic euphorbias; Isola Foradada to the south, crossed by a grotto and “populated” by a rare endemic plant: island-Brassica.