UNUSUAL SARDINIA: CALASETTA AND CARLOFORTE

What do you expect from a holiday? The answer to this type of question is very personal and dependent on the wishes of each of us. If your reply would be sea, culture, relax and nature the ideal destination may be represented by a small Sardinian stretch of coast characterized by two small villages on the sea: Calasetta and Carloforte.

These two small municipalities, Calasetta on the peninsula of Sant'Antioco and Carloforte on the neighbor island of San Pietro, both situated in the south western coast of Sardinia, may be considered as unusual tourist destination out of the ordinary places for a beach holiday. Separated between them by a small stretch of sea, they preserve from ages unchanged life rhythms, traditions and surrounding nature.

Borned as fishermen small towns, they face the sea and are surrounded by places still wild where rocky coasts are alternated with small sandy coves. The wind has modelled this Sardinian corner creating sometimes surprising natural sculptures in the cliffs or sandy dunes enclosed by the typical Mediterranean vegetation.

Calasetta and Carloforte offer typical Mediterranean atmospheres. The low buildings which form their city centers remember the ones of the small villages in Tunisia and the similarities between the two places are not confined to the urban architecture.

The first inhabitants arrived from Tabarka, a small town of Tunisia, but were originally from Liguria in Italy. They were forced to leave Tunisia because of fish shortage and poor relationships with the Arabic people. The Ruler of the Sardinian kingdom at the time, Carlo Emanuele III di Savoia, allowed the fishermen to live on the small island of San Pietro. In honour of the king the fishermen called their brand new city Carloforte.

During the 18th century other people with common origins reached them still from Tabarka where they lived enslaved by the Arabic population. It was born this way a unique cultural mixture still present today and manifested in the language, traditions and enogastronomy.

The local dialect influenced by the Ligurian, the enogastronomy with classic recipes such as the cascà which is very similar to the Arabic cous cous, join the Sardinian tradition and nature creating a fascinating ensamble.

These places are in our opinion an ideal destination to spend a different and regenerating holiday. The accommodations have a good quality and rates and fulfill the needs of different customers: charming hotels with pool, holiday homes, small apartment hotels or bed and breakfasts with a family atmosphere are excellent solutions to savour this small and fascinating world.

Luca Frau
Domus&Tour

A special thank goes to Abigail Northam

TOURIST SERVICES IN SARDINIA: THE SMALL TRAIN OF CAGLIARI

A Sardinian tour cannot be considered complete without a visit to discover its capital city. Cagliari is the biggest town of the island thanks to its inhabitants number and one of the most important because the headquarters of the main political institutions.

There are several tourist places deserving a visit: the historical city center of Medieval origin, the archaeological sites of the Roman period as the Villa of Tigellio or the Amphitheatre, the museums, the seafront with its characteristic limestone cliff called La Sella del Diavolo (Devil Saddle).

In the hearth of the historical Cagliari we find the district of Castello which dominates the city from above. Protected by tall walls and towers it encloses the main museums and monuments.

The narrow streets that characterize its urban architecture are designed for small carriages and overlook the feature squares where we find buildings of historic significance such as the Vice-Regio Palace and the Cathedral, or the ramparts offering to the visitors beautiful panoramas on the city and sea.

An alternative, fast and relaxing way to reach and visit the Cagliari city center is represented by the Trenino di Cagliari. It is a small train on rubber wheels that easily moves on paved or cobbled streets. It is easy to recognise it because the brilliant red and blue colours representative of the town, of its flag and football team.

The train terminal is located in the central Piazza del Carmine, few steps from Via Roma and from the port. It hosts about 40 people and tickets can be bought on board including a tourist information service in different languages.

The journey includes the main streets of the city center, the most panoramic sites and, of course, the district of Castello crossing its main streets such as Via Canelles, Via dei Genovesi and Via Santa Croce.

After 40-45 minutes the train reaches again the departure point and guests can decide to continue the visit of Cagliari by walk, or to have a break in one of the many cafes, taverns and restaurants of the Marina district that faces the harbour, or even to discover the main shops and shopping centers.

Luca Frau
Domus&Tour

Holidays in Sardinia: innovative ideas for a pleasant stay

Domus&Tour, travel company based in Sardinia, presents in its brand new catalogue a branch dedicated to the charming homes.

Charming homes are mostly ancient villas or manors restored according to the local tradition and surrounding environment. The restoring is made in the respect of the materials of the first building but with equipments and technologies necessary to ensure a comfortable stay to modern customers.

A practical example of the new kind of accommodations is represented by “Lo Stazzo Lu Ciaccaru”, a typical countryside manor built in 1850 and with restructured ancient furnishings. It is a valid alternative for a nature holiday in Sardinia but with modern comforts as air conditioning and a gorgeous pool.

Another big new of this kind of accommodation is the double formula hotel or villa. It is possible, according to the availabilities, book a single room or the whole villa not giving up the possibility to have the hotel services as for example the half board.

In the property there is a restaurant offering Mediterranean and Gallurese recipes. A yacht with skipper is also available for excursions to discover enchanting coast stretches and archipelagos.
Domus&Tour enriches its proposals to meet the needs of high demanding customers looking for a unique and precious holiday to Sardinia.

Holidays in Sardinia: discovering archipelagos and sea parks

Sardinia along its coastline has a lot of archipelagos and sea parks of rare beauty. We suggest a visit to the main ones such as La Maddalena, Asinara and Tavolara.

La Maddalena is an archipelago placed in north-eastern Sardinia overlooking the small town of Palau. It includes seven main islands named La Maddalena, Caprera, Santo Stefano, Spargi, Budelli, Santa Maria and Razzoli. It is easy reach La Maddalena by a short ferry trip from the Palau harbour.

La Maddalena municipality, with a little more than 11.000 inhabitants, is characterized for the nice historic downtown dated back in the 18th century. It is twinned with the French cities of Ajaccio and Nice. La Maddalena has cultural contaminations with the close island of Corsica especially in the local dialect. It has hosted for many years an American military base now totally dismantled and probably for that reason it preserves still wild areas.

The island of Caprera, in the same archipelago, has been for long time the residence of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian hero of the reunification, that built in this islet his home never abandoned until the last days of his life. Garibaldi home is now an interesting museum and it is possible visit it to discover a small and still uncontaminated 19th century corner and to know the private life of the main historical figure of the Italian Risorgimento.

Spiaggia Rosa (Rose Beach) in the Budelli islet has been the set of Michelangelo Antonioni movie Il Deserto Rosso (The Red Desert), thanks to its wildness and yearning beauty.

The island of Asinara is located, on the contrary, in the north-western Sardinia and belongs to the Porto Torres municipality. A small channel separates it from Punta Falcone.
The history of this small Sardinian stretch started during the Neolithic era as shown by some finds and it is continued with several dominations as long as in 1885 it became a penal colony.

From 1885 to 1999 it has been totally inaccessible and starting from sixties until the reopening as National Park, it has hosted terrorists as Raffaele Cutolo and mafiosi as Salvatore Riina. Today it is one of the more gorgeous areas in Sardinia thanks to its wild beauty caused by its prolonged isolation.

It is curious to know that the name has origin from its wild donkeys population that today represent a tourist attraction. Asini is the Italian translation of donkeys and that’s why Asinara (something as Donkeys Island).

The archipelago of Tavolara is close to Olbia and it is formed by three small islets: Tavolara, the biggest and the main one, Molara and Molarotto. It is a part of the Tavolara and Capo Coda Cavallo sea park and it is considered one of the more beautiful stretches of coast of the whole Mediterranean sea.

The Island of Tavolara during the 19th century has been protagonist of a fascinating and mysterious story. It was the residence of a Ligurian man called Giuseppe Bertoleoni that has reached Sardinia at the end of the 18th century. During the the first years of 19th century he has decided to occupy the island, at that time uninhabited, and has proclaimed himself King of Tavolara.

The State of Tavolara during its short history became a small Kingdome, maybe the smaller of the whole history, with 55 inhabitants. This Kingdome has been officially recognized by the Queen of the U.K. that at the end of 19th century has sent there some emissaries to take a photo of the King and his court for her private collection. That photo is still showed in the Buckingham Palace.

Tavolara was rejoined, without official acts, during the 20th century to the Italian territory and now gives hospitality to the descendants of the first King that manage the two restaurants on the island and a ferry line connecting with the Sardinian territory.

There are several possibilities to arrange a stay in the northern Sardinia to discover its archipelagos and sea parks thanks to quality accommodations located in the surroundings. La Maddalena and Palau are the ideal places for a stay useful to visit La Maddalena archipelago. Stintino and Alghero have several hotels, holiday homes, aparthotels for a stay close to the Asinara island and the resorts between Olbia and San Teodoro are recommended for a stay close to the Tavolara sea park.

Luca Frau

Domus&Tour publishes on the internet its brand new hotel catalogue for Sardinia

Domus&Tour, travel company specialist for Sardinia, introduces its brand new hotel catalogue on the internet. It offers several high quality accommodations suitable for a pleasant stay, culture tour or beach holiday in Sardinia. Customers will find in the internet catalogue carefully selected and frequently visited mini, charming and club hotels.

Mini-hotels have no more then 10 rooms and are recommended for couples or small families looking for an intimate and calm accommodation, avoiding luxury or particular solutions.

Charming hotels have also a few rooms (usually no more then 50) and are located in suggestive places or on the beach. In comparison with mini hotels they offer a superior comfort and high quality services. Customers looking for suggestive or exclusive moments may choose one of them offering high quality catering service and suitablity for a relaxing holiday being cuddled in the same time.

Club-hotels, on the contrary, are big accommodations (very often with more then 100 rooms) but they offer a lot of entertainments suitable for all the ages, sea sports activities and an amusing night life. They are perfect for a family looking for a good quality and price, a simple but good catering service and a beach holiday. Usually this kind of hotels offer mini-club activities, sea sport schools and competitions, night shows and piano bar.

Every single hotel, irrespective of the category which it belongs, has its special features that make it different from the others. For that reason choosing a hotel could be a bit complicated and it is a good reason to consult with an expert which can give suggestions to the customers in accordance with their demands.

The brand new catalogue also offers self catering accommodations such as villas, holiday homes, apartments, residence and apartment hotels and tailor-made tourist services.