Sardinia: Castelsardo

On Holy Monday we headed to Castelsardo, another town founded by the Genoese as Castelgenevese. Its dramatic hilltop setting rivals (or surpasses) Bosa.

Castelsardo is famed for its Holy Monday procession, lit only by candles. Because it was rather windy, instead of waiting outside, we found ourselves inside the cathedral, which was rather dumb luck. We got to see how the procession is really made up with pods of a handful of people, dozens meters apart, as the historic center consists of tiny streets and cannot really handle processions and spectators crosswise, only lengthwise. Some groups of the procession performed polyphonic singing inside the cathedral and along the route. It was quite an experience.

View of Castelsardo from the bus.


View of the Lower Town from the Castelo.


Heading up to the Castelo for the procession.






The procession starts at the Cathedral of Sant'Antonio Abate. First, is a man with a big glove which represents the physical abuse and humiliation Christ endured.


Man with Chains.


Man with Spearpoints.


Procession.






Polyphonic Singing Videos.




Night view of the Lower Town.


Blue Moon


A video of the Castelsardo on the windy day we left for Sassari.

Sardinia: Bosa

Another daytrip from Alghero is to the town of Bosa. The bus went on a coastal road that is regarded as the most scenic road in Sardinia. There isn't even a single village along the road.

Bosa is yet another hilltop town topped with a castle, and particularly photogenetic. It was bigger than we had expected, until we read that it used to be the leather capital of Italy.

The views of the coastal road.




Our first stop was San Pietro Romanesque Church, about 1 km west of town, with great views on the walk back.






Next, to a view point that directly faces the Castelo.


The Temo River meets the Mediterranean at Bosa. On the far left, first below, are the "now unused" tanneries that supplied leather to the rest of Italy.




We walked through the narrow, uphill, medieval streets to the base of the Castelo. More views.






And the scenic coastal road in the reverse direction.

Sardinia: Capo Caccia

From Alghero, we managed to use the not so frequent off-season buses to make an outing to Capo Caccia. We first took the bus to its final stop at the end of Capo Caccia, then walked up to Neptune's Grotto, caught the bus back toward Alghero (at Dragunara) to visit the prehistoric site of Nurghe Palmavera from the 12th century BCE!. Both Sardinia and Corsica are dotted with such sites. They are either insignificant or difficult to visit by public transport. We finally managed to score one.

The bus ride from Algher to the Capo Caccia Lighthouse took about 30 minutes. We took a quick look in the direction of the lighthouse and then immediately headed to the Torre del Bolo.








Then up to Neptune's Grotto.






We caught the last and only return bus towards Alghero at 12:04, and jumped off at Lazzaretto Beach, from where it's a 30 minute walk along the olive groves to the Nuraghe Palmavera Archaeological Site.




The Nuraghe Palmavera Archaeological Site was fascinating: Twin Towers + it's 12th-Century BCE!




In these two photos you can catch a glimpse of the Sea in the distance.




Site Plan.


Photos of the interior of the twin towers.






Before catching the return bus to Alghero we walked over to Porto Conte with its tower and lighthouse (3rd below), and a glistening view back to Capo Caccia (4th below).