Castelsardo: The Most Beautiful Borough In Italy 0 Comments

About two hours by car, 113 km away from Gabbiano Azzurro Hotel & Suites, Castel Sardo is a place worth to visit. It is in fact included among "The most beautiful borough in Italy", "Les Plus Beaux Villages de la Terre", "The seven royal cities", and the "Permanent Conference of the Historical Cities of the Mediterranean".

The borough’s history starts with the castle founded by the Genoese Doria family, who named it Castel Genovese, presumably in 1270, during which time most of the feudal fortifications of Northern Sardinia were built. The inhabitants of the area gradually began to populate the Castle complex, which had an autonomous port and several water-collection tanks; with the addition of the influx of groups from Corsica and Liguria, the village named after the castle was definitely born. It was the residence of the Doria and the Judges of Arborea and Eleonora D'Arborea, wed to Brancaleone Doria, lived there for a long time. Castelsardo was named the "Città Regia" (Royal city) in 1448, when it was united to the Aragonese Kingdom of Sardinia.

During the reign of Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy, in 1767, it took the final name of Castelsardo, but instead of replacing its emblem with the cross of the Savoy, kept the bars of Aragon.

Castelsardo is at the centre of the Gulf of Asinara, and enjoys a fantastic panorama that includes both the coasts of the gulf and those of the south-east of Corsica.

A visit to the Castle is recommended, where a modern museographic exhibition is visited by over 120,000 tourists per year. Inside, there is the "Museo dell'Intreccio Mediterraneo" dedicated to handicrafts produced by weaving Sardinian vegetable fibres (read about the art of Basketry: The Sardinian Baskets).

Also interesting are the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie from the Middle Ages, with its renowned Crucifix of the Black Christ, and the Cathedral of St. Anthony the Abbot in late Aragonese Gothic style. A few kilometres away is the Church of Our Lady of Tergu, which was a Benedictine abbey of 1117, an important example of Romanesque-Pisan architecture in Sardinia and the Church of S. Pietro di Simbranos, with a façade with alternating bands in red trachyte and white limestone.

Nearby the Elephant Rock, resembling a pachyderm, is superb.

The Castelsardo’s craftsmanship is well known all over the world for the particular processing of the dwarf palm leaves. Walking through the streets of the village you can find corners where the women of the village create beautiful baskets weaving such leaves.

In addition to weaving, you can find all the quality Sardinian Craftmanship: coral, gold filigree, Sardinian ceramic, "a pibiones" weaving, wood decorated with traditional geometric or naturalistic patterns, Sardinian cutlery iron renowned around the world.

The beauty of Castelsardo’s borough has it selected to participate on June 23rd, with the villages of Posada and Atzara, to "The Romantic Night of the most beautiful villages in Italy - the white night of lovers", which involves the historical centres of 200 most beautiful boroughs in Italy, rich in natural, historical, artistic and cultural wealth. An evening dedicated to feelings and emotions.

“There is not in Italy what there is in Sardinia, nor in Sardinia what there is in Italy” (Francesco Cetti)

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Written by Daniela Toti