11. Civitavecchia

We've been staying in Civitavecchia, the port of Rome, since Friday after catching the ferry here from Olbia in Sardinia.

Civitavecchia ('ancient town') is situated about 80km north west of Rome.  It's a major port and is visited by 500 cruise ships each year.  The town has a lot of history. It was an Etruscan settlement in ancient times.  The Romans built the original port between 107-110AD establishing it as the port of Rome, following which the city grew into an important centre.  There are various historic buildings, or remains thereof; some were rebuilt after the town was completely destroyed by bombing in WW2.

On Friday afternoon and Saturday we wandered around Civtavecchia and today we took the train to Rome for the day. 

We fly home from Rome late tomorrow (Monday) night, arriving early on Wednesday.

CIVITAVECCHIA

The huge Michealangelo Fortress, built in the early1500s

Remains of the Darsena Romanus (Roman Dock) from the second century AD:

Fishing trawlers in the harbour near the Roman dock:

Remains of medieval fortress at the harbour built around the year 1000:

View across the harbour to 3 cruise ships:

Baroque church domes:

Attractive bell tower:

Traiano Theatre:

At the markets, not far from our B&B:

The beaches:

ROME DAY TRIP

It was nice to do some shopping and also revisit some of the famous monuments and buildings.

Palazzo della Esposizioni, a neoclassical exhibition hall, cultural centre and museum:

The statues on top of the Vittorio Emanuel II monument seen over rooftops from 

Via Nazionale:

The Vittorio Emanuel II monument front on:

The church nearby:

Piazza Navona:

At the Colosseum:

10. Sardinia - North Coast

After leaving Alghero on the West Coast we headed north east to reach Sardinia's North Coast just east of Porto Torres, staying at lu Bagnu, Palau and Olbia. We are taking a ferry from Olbia tomorrow morning (Friday, 30 June) to Civitavecchia on the mainland north of Rome, where we will stay for 3 nights before flying home on Monday.

MARINA DI SORSO

Colourful beach umbrellas as far as the eye can see - in both directions:

LU BAGNU

On the beach again:

Toni briefly practicing some yoga:

We then had a few beers overlooking the beach:

CASTELSARDO

A castle overlooks the town:

View of the harbour from below the castle: 

Church bell tower near the cliff below the castle:

POLLO BEACH

A windsurfing & sailing beach about 7km west of Palau, our next stop:

PALAU

We stayed at Palau for two nights - this was the view across to the harbour from the balcony of our hotel room:

Taking tourists on boat tours around the nearby islands in the Maddalena Archipelago is big business in Palau; car ferries also run to the main Maddalena Island from Palau:

The harbour is very busy early and late in the day:

Our day trip into the Maddalena Islands was on a relatively small boat, carrying only a dozen tourists:

Several times during the trip we swam near the boat in stunning, azure coloured waters:

I managed to snap a shot of a herring gul flying near the boat at lunchtime

:
Enjoying time on the boat after a swim:

Sights on other parts of the trip through the islands:

A rock formation known as Bear Rock near Palau:

OLBIA

We are staying for two nights at Olbia prior to catching the ferry early tomorrow to Civitavecchia on the mainland, a trip of about 5.5 hours.

The view from the balcony of our hotel room:

A quiet piazza in the historic town centre:

The dome of the San Paolo church, taken from distance with the zoom:

A closer view of the dome & the church:

Some offshore islands near Olbia:

Looking across the harbour in the late evening light:

9. Sardinia - West Coast

We reached the West Coast again after going through Oristano to Tharros on the Sinis Peninsula, and then spent the next two nights further up the coast at Bosa Marina & Alghero. 

THARROS

Tharros has an archeological site with the ruins an ancient city originally established by the Phoenicians in 734 BC and, after other groups had invaded, it was taken by the Romans in the 3rd century AD, eventually being abandoned in 1070.

Some of the ruins:

The San Giovanni watchtower, built by the Spanish in the 16th century, overlooks the ruins and the beach:

The watchtower also overlooks Capo San Marco on the other side:

S'ARCHITTU

This small coastal resort north of the Sinis Peninsula has a large sea arch:

The size of the arch can be gauged from the figures of the swimmers about to jump in:

The beach at S'Archittu

A large stand of prickly pear cactus nearby (we have seen lots of this in Sardinia & Sicily, including entire fields of it in rows in Sicily, where the fruit is harvested for jam, & it is also used in home garden beds, plant pots, etc - it's obviously not regarded as invasive in Italy !):

BOSA MARINA:

The wide sandy beach at Bosa Marina (we had a few beers at a cafe overlooking the beach, followed by a swim in the late evening and then dinner at a restaurant that also overlooked the beach):

Nearby there is an unusual white rock platform:

BOSA:

The castle high above the historic town centre:

View of the Temo River at Bosa, from the castle (this is the only navigable river in Sardinia):

Rooftops in Bosa old town:

View of Bosa & Bosa Marina from the mountain pass behind:

ALGHERO

The sea wall & fortifications bordering the historic town centre:

18th century defences:

There are lots of attractive narrow streets in the old town:

Many restaurants & shops were still decked out with adornments celebrating the start of the 2017 Giro d'Itala ('Tour of Italy') professional cycling race in Alghero in early May (pink being the colour of the race leader's jersey; the race ran for 3 weeks, finishing in Milan):

The sea wall in the late Saturday evening light:

Another section of the sea wall at close to sunset:

:

Sunday morning at the beach:

The beach was crowded at 10:30 am:

A beach vendor's cart, offering swimwear, dresses, etc: