8. Sardinia - the South Coast & Central West Regions

After spending 3 days in Cagliari we rented a car to travel around Sardinia, because it's difficult to reach a lot of places by public transport. 

So last Wednesday (21 June) we headed south from Cagliari along the coast and spent the first night in Calasetta on Sant'Antioco island on the south west coast.  We then went inland from the west coast to visit the Nuraghe Su Nuraxi ruins near Barumini and stayed overnight at the small hilltop town of Villanovaforru.

NORA

A complex of ruins of a city that was originally founded by the Phoenicians in the 8th-9th century BC and later invaded by other groups, including the Romans in the 3rd century AD - they made it their capital in Sardinia. The city was finally abandoned in the 8th century AD.

Nora city ruins in the foreground, with the17th century Cotelazzo watchtower (built by the Spanish) in the background:

Columns remaining from a Roman building:

Remains of a Roman amphitheatre:

Some other Roman ruins, including mosaic floors:

Closer view of the Spanish watchtower:

View over the Nora ruins from the watchtower:

The beach at Nora:

COSTA DEL SUD

We drove the hilly & winding road around the coast and saw lots of great scenery, but there were few opportunities to stop & take photos, so this is the best I managed:

CALASETTA

Unfortunately we have no photos of the lovely beach and marina at Calasetta - we didn't take our cameras to the beach when going for a swim in the late afternoon and ended up dining near the marina before we went back to the hotel after sunset.

NURAGHE SU NURAXI (near Baramini)

Commenced in 1500 BC, this is the most famous of the 7000 nuraghe sites in Sardinia - archeologists don't know whether the nuraghe structures are defensive watchtowers, sacred ritual sites or prehistoric community centres.

The nuraghe su nuraxi tower from a distance - it's a series of interlocking dry stone conical towers that was originally 3 storeys 18.6m height, with housing structures in front:

Scenes from inside the towers:

Scenes of structures outside the towers:

View from the tower of a hill in the distance that has the ruins of a medieval castle on top:

VILLANOVAFORRU

Museum & fountain in the central piazza (where we had a few beers after arriving late in the day):