North Sardinia's best beaches are not on the Costa Smeralda (the most expensive) or the Maddalena Archipelago (the most famous) — they are on the Bonifacio Strait coast between Palau and Santa Teresa di Gallura, where the pink Gallura granite forms the most extraordinary cove landscape in the Mediterranean and the beaches have been left largely to the Sardinian families who have been using them for generations. International visitors are starting to find them. The window is narrowing.
Read the guide →The Costa Smeralda (the Emerald Coast — the 55km stretch of northeast Sardinia coastline developed by the Aga Khan consortium from the early 1960s) is the most exclusively infrastructured Italian coastal resort: the Porto Cervo marina (the largest luxury yacht marina in the Mediterranean, with 700+ berths for boats up to 90m, the specific social spectacle of the August superyacht parade), the private beach clubs (the Pevero Beach Club, the Cala di Volpe beach — both part of hotel resort complexes, accessible to guests only), and the road network designed for the private car of the resort visitor rather than the independent traveller. The specific Costa Smeralda access problem: the finest beaches (the Spiaggia del Principe, the Cala Petra Ruja, the Capriccioli coves) are all either hotel-private or road-and-fee access points where the access road is privately managed. The practical access strategy for non-resort guests: arrive at the Capriccioli beach (the most accessible free Costa Smeralda cove, accessible by the public road from the SS125, parking space limited — arrive before 9am in summer) or take the group boat excursion from Baia Sardinia (the adjacent town with a public harbour — the excursion boats access the Costa Smeralda coves that the road system reserves for hotel guests, at €35–45 per person for a day circuit).
The Arcipelago della Maddalena (the La Maddalena National Park — 62 islands, described in the boat tour Sardinia guide) has the most accessible and the most extraordinary concentration of granite cove beaches in Sardinia. The key beach circuit from La Maddalena town: the Spiaggia di Cala Lunga (the most accessible La Maddalena island beach — 10 minutes by bicycle from the town centre, the longest beach on the main island, free access, beach clubs in the central section with free sections at the ends); the Spiaggia di Cala Coticcio (the most spectacular — accessible only by boat from La Maddalena harbour, 20 minutes, the specific pink-orange granite boulder configuration and the turquoise water produce the most dramatic granite cove colour combination on the island, approximately 50m of beach between two granite formations); and the Spiaggia di Spargi island (Cala Corsara — the most photographed Maddalena Archipelago beach, accessible by day boat tour from La Maddalena, the clearest water in the archipelago at 12m anchor-chain-visible depth). The Budelli Pink Beach (the most famous — the closed-to-landing island with the pink sand produced by Foraminifera shells, visible only from the sea — described in the boat tour Sardinia guide).
North Sardinia's best beaches: Spiaggia del Principe (Costa Smeralda — the finest Costa Smeralda cove, free access, 4km unpaved road, granite boulders and turquoise water, arrive before 9am); Cala Coticcio (Maddalena Archipelago — boat-access only from La Maddalena, 20 minutes, the most dramatic pink-granite and turquoise combination); Rena Bianca (Santa Teresa di Gallura — the most accessible north Sardinia town beach, 1km of white sand, crystal water, the Corsica coast visible on clear days); Testa di Polpo (Capo Testa — the 30-minute coastal walk from the Capo Testa lighthouse, the most isolated mainland granite cove on the north coast); and Cala di Trana (between Palau and Santa Teresa di Gallura — the most specifically geological beach, the pink granite formations largest on this section of coast). All beaches are free or free with optional beach club; all benefit from early morning arrival in July–August.
Santa Teresa di Gallura (population 5,300 — the northernmost Sardinian coastal town, 11km from the French ferry connection to Bonifacio, Corsica) is the most accessible north Sardinia base for visitors who want the Bonifacio Strait granite cove experience without the Costa Smeralda prices. The Rena Bianca beach (1km of white silica sand immediately below the Santa Teresa centre, accessible on foot in 5 minutes — the most conveniently accessible quality beach in north Sardinia) and the Capo Testa promontory (3km west of Santa Teresa — the most extraordinary north Sardinia granite landscape: the entire promontory is a jumble of 20–50m granite formations, the coast divided into dozens of small coves, the 30-minute walk from the Capo Testa car park to the lighthouse provides the most dramatic granite-to-sea viewpoint on the Sardinian mainland). The Corsica ferry from Santa Teresa (Moby Lines, 30 minutes to Bonifacio — the shortest Corsica connection from Sardinia, €10–20 per person foot passenger) makes Corsica accessible as a day trip, the most specific expression of the Bonifacio Strait's historical maritime character: the narrow channel, barely 14km wide, has been crossed by boats since the Phoenician period. Related: Sardinia boat guide.
Spiaggia del Principe access and September timing, Maddalena Archipelago day boat tour from La Maddalena, Capo Testa lighthouse walk, and the Santa Teresa–Bonifacio Corsica ferry.
La Redazione di TourLeaderPro.comItalian churches have crypts — the underground spaces below the main floor of a church, typically housing the tomb of the patron saint or the early Christian burial chambers on which the later church was built. The finest Italian crypts are among the most powerful spiritual and archaeological spaces in the country:
San Zeno Basilica, Verona (the crypt of San Zeno): The Basilica di San Zeno (Via San Zeno 2, Verona — €3 entry, open daily) contains the most complete Romanesque crypt in Italy: the crypt of San Zeno Maggiore (the 4th-century Bishop of Verona and the city's patron saint), a single-naved underground space on the column bases of the 9th-century original church, with the original stone tomb of San Zeno visible in the apse. The Romanesque bronze doors of the basilica (12th century — the most important bronze door programme in Italy after the Pisa Baptistery doors, 48 panels of biblical narrative in the specific northern Italian Romanesque style) are the first experience before descending to the crypt. San Miniato al Monte, Florence (the crypt of the bishop): The Romanesque crypt below San Miniato al Monte (described in the Cimitero delle Porte Sante guide — the 11th-century church on the hill above Florence, the most beautiful Romanesque exterior in Tuscany) contains the tomb of San Miniato (the Christian martyr of the 3rd century, whose head rolled here after decapitation in the Forum area — the most specific Florentine martyrdom geography). The crypt is accessible from the main church floor, free. San Lorenzo in Lucina, Rome (the Arian heresy): The crypt below San Lorenzo in Lucina (Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina 16 — free entry) has one of the most historically charged underground spaces in Rome: the site where the Grill of San Lorenzo (the gridiron on which the martyr Lawrence was roasted in 258 AD — the object of the most famous martyrdom joke in Christian history, Lawrence reportedly saying "I'm done on this side, turn me over") is preserved, accessible in the crypt.
Italy's most significant church crypts: San Zeno Basilica Verona (the most complete Romanesque crypt, 4th-century tomb of San Zeno, €3); San Miniato al Monte Florence (11th-century Romanesque, the tomb of San Miniato, free); the Cripta di San Gennaro Naples (the saint's tomb in the Naples Duomo, the most emotionally charged Italian crypt, combined with the blood liquefaction calendar; the Catacombe di San Gennaro above ground); and the San Francesco d'Assisi Lower Basilica crypt (Assisi — the tomb of St. Francis in the crypt below the lower basilica, accessible daily, €3). The most historically specific: the Bocca della Verità (Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome) crypt — the underground church preserving the 8th-century Carolingian frescoes below the more famous upper church, rarely visited because the Bocca della Verità mouth draws all visitor attention to the portico. Related: Italy sacred sites guide.
Italy has surviving salt production salterns (saline) that are simultaneously extraordinary landscapes, working historical industrial heritage, and important bird habitats:
Saline di Trapani e Paceco (northwest Sicily): The most extensive and most historically significant Italian salterns — 1,000+ hectares of evaporation ponds on the Sicilian coast between Trapani and Marsala, with the specific pink-to-white colour gradient of the salt crystallising in the ponds (the colour produced by the Halobacterium salinarium — the halophilic archaea that metabolise in the brine and produce the carotenoid pigments that colour the water orange-pink in specific concentration conditions). The Museo del Sale (the Salt Museum, Via Chiusa, Nubia locality — free entry, Tuesday–Sunday 9am–1pm and 3–7pm) documents the traditional Sicilian salt production in the windmill-driven pumping infrastructure. The windmills (the 400-year-old grinding and pumping windmills on the saltern causeways, partially restored and maintained as working heritage) are the most photographed Trapani landscape element. The flamingo colony (Phoenicopterus roseus — the greater flamingo, which has bred at the Saline di Trapani since 1996, the only Sicilian breeding flamingo colony) is present from March to October, visible at dawn from the causeway walking path. Saline di Cervia (Ravenna province, Emilia-Romagna): The most complete medieval-plan saltern in Italy — the Cervia salt pans have been continuously operated since the 10th century, with the specific San Vito layout (the grid of evaporation ponds extending inland from the Adriatic) preserved intact. The Cervia salt (Sale di Cervia — the most celebrated Italian artisan sea salt, harvested once per year in late August/September, unrefined, moist, the specific mineral composition of the Adriatic coastal brine — available at the Magazzino del Sale in Cervia at €4–8/kg) is the most specifically valued Italian culinary salt. The harvest period (August 25–September 10 approximately) is the most photographically and experientially rewarding visit window: the salt harvest combines the geological spectacle of the crystallised salt beds with the traditional equipment and the specific labour of the salters.
Italy's most significant salt flats: Saline di Trapani e Paceco (northwest Sicily — 1,000+ hectares, the most extensive, the flamingo colony, the windmill heritage, Museo del Sale free, the most photogenic Italian saltern); Saline di Cervia (Romagna Adriatic — medieval-plan salterns, the most celebrated Italian artisan salt, harvest festival late August, Magazzino del Sale shop); Laguna di Orbetello (Tuscany Maremma — the coastal lagoon with salt flats and flamingos, the Maremma nature reserve birds, accessible from Albinia); and the Saline di Margherita di Savoia (Puglia Adriatic — the most productive Italian saltern, 3,800 hectares, the largest saltern in Europe by area, the pink flamingo colony, the salt museum, accessible from Foggia). All are accessible by car; most have free public walking access to the perimeter causeways.
Italy's lighthouse heritage (fari — the coastal lighthouses, built primarily in the 19th century under the unified Italian state's coastal navigation programme) includes some of the most dramatically positioned coastal structures in the country, most of them still operational:
Faro di Capo Spartivento, Sardinia (Chia): The most visually isolated lighthouse on the Sardinian south coast — a 19th-century stone tower on the headland above the Chia beaches, 45m above the sea, with the Tyrrhenian to the west and the lighthouse garden as the most secluded elevated position on the south coast. The lighthouse is now a boutique accommodation property (Faro di Capo Spartivento, farocapospartivento.com — the most extraordinary Italian lighthouse hotel conversion, from €400/night); the exterior is accessible on foot from the Chia beach car park (30-minute walk). Faro della Guardia, Capri: The Guardia lighthouse at the south tip of Capri (accessible on the 2-hour coastal walk from Anacapri — the most remote Capri point, past the Villa Damecuta Roman ruins) is the most dramatically positioned Italian lighthouse visible from the sea. Not accessible to the public at the tower itself (active lighthouse, Italian lighthouse authority management), but the approach walk provides the finest Capri cliff experience available without a boat. Faro di Punta Carena, Elba: The most visited lighthouse on Elba — the Punta Carena lighthouse at the southwest cape is accessible by road and provides the most dramatic Elba headland swimming at its base (the lighthouse rocks below Punta Carena, described in the best beaches Elba guide, are accessible by the concrete path from the lighthouse car park). The lighthouse restaurant (adjacent to the tower) serves the freshest fish on Elba at specific tables on the rock platform above the sea. The sunset at Punta Carena (facing west — the sun descending into the Tyrrhenian, the Corsica silhouette visible on clear days, approximately 35 minutes of golden hour from the lighthouse platform) is the most celebrated Elba evening event. Open daily from 7pm in summer; arrive by 7:30pm for table availability.
Italian lighthouse access varies: most active Italian lighthouses (fari attivi, managed by the Marina Militare lighthouse authority — www.marina.difesa.it/fari) are not publicly accessible at the tower itself. The lighthouse grounds and the coastal approach paths are typically publicly accessible. Some Italian lighthouses have been converted to accommodation (Faro di Capo Spartivento Sardinia; Faro di Bibione Veneto; Faro di San Vito lo Capo Sicily — all boutique hotels with lighthouse character). The most dramatic publicly accessible lighthouse viewpoints: Punta Carena lighthouse Elba (restaurant on the rock platform, the best Elba sunset, accessible by road); Capo Testa lighthouse Santa Teresa Gallura Sardinia (30-minute walking trail from the Capo Testa car park, the most extraordinary north Sardinia granite landscape); and the Capo Colonna lighthouse near Crotone, Calabria (the most historically significant – on the headland where the Temple of Hera Lacinia stood, one column still standing adjacent to the lighthouse site).