A small village on the northernmost tip of Gallura, a small settlement overlooking the strait of Bonifacio and characterized by a turquoise sea, coasts with rocks smoothed over time and coves with white sand, welcome to Santa Teresa di Gallura . Here, in this area there is a lot to see and discover.
What to see in Santa Teresa di Gallura
INDEX
1) SAINT TERESA OF GALLURA
If you find yourself in this small village it will be natural to turn around the historic center where you will find craft shops, fishmongers and souvenir shops. A "must" to admire in Santa Teresa di Gallura is the Capo Testa lighthouse , which is generally not open to the public but you can easily take some pictures from the outside. The lighthouse is very important for navigation in Sardinia, especially for its geographical position it is in fact visible from the island of Maddalena and from the coast of Corsica, while from the lighthouse you can see the old lighthouse, capo testa and also the stacks of Corsica in case of clear sky. Another location to discover is the Longosardo tower (or Spanish tower) which is part of the plan for the construction of towers on the Sardinian coast wanted by King Philip II and essential to cushion enemy attacks.
So what to see in Santa Teresa di Gallura? Besides the beauty of the tower itself, the view of the sea is fantastic, not only that, the whole area is pleasant to take an evening walk in the summer. It is also important to know that the port of Santa Teresa di Gallura plays an indispensable role in transport since it connects Corsica with Sardinia on a daily basis as well as ensuring the departure for ferries towards the Maddalena Archipelago.
2) THE BEACHES IN THE AREA
What to see and which beaches to admire in Santa Teresa di Gallura? This is certainly one of the most requested parts in our tailor-made itineraries, namely the beaches. One of the beaches to be seen absolutely is the city one, that is Rena Bianca , characterized by a golden sand that is tinged with pink due to the fragments of unicellular organisms and decorated with beautiful dunes positioned behind it. This beach is of rare beauty considering that it is located in the city and a short walk from the historic center.
Moving east we recommend a visit to La Marmorata , divided into 2 due to the exclusive use of a part of the beach by the Hotel of the same name. In the western part of Santa Teresa we find 2 respectable beaches very similar to each other in terms of sand coloring and conformation of the bay, Rena Majori and Santa Reparata (recommended by many for snorkeling). Moving instead towards Capo Testa, the first two beaches that are found are those present on the isthmus and positioned on the sides of the same: Rena di Levante and Rena di Ponente , to be admired absolutely and think that the first has also earned the blue flag several times thanks to the crystal clear waters.
These beaches just mentioned are not the only ones, on the contrary, they are the most popular. Below you will see a sequence of remote beaches that can be reached by car or by trekking and which are located in the immediate vicinity of Santa Teresa Di Gallura. Don't forget us travel planner we absolutely encourage the discovery of remote and off the beaten track areas, but not only that, we also recommend choosing a beach based on the weather condition (may or may not be exposed to winds), based on kind of travellers (perhaps if you are a family I would prefer to recommend a beach with services rather than a remote one that can be reached after 50 minutes of trekking) and at your needs and passions.
3) WHAT TO DO (OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES)
In every coastal city in Sardinia there are many outdoor activities. Considering that the dominant wind is the mistral and that the position of Santa Teresa di Gallura is subject to strong gusts, we can deduce that one of the outdoor activities at sea is surfing , kite-surfing and wind-surfing . Rubber dinghy excursions and boat trips are also quite popular both in coastal areas and those directed to the Maddalena archipelago (we will talk about them in the section dedicated to Palau). Diving and snorkeling is also quite common, especially in the mainly rocky areas of Capo Testa. Many sports are practiced by land including trekking , hiking , bicycle rental (it is easy to get to Capo Testa or in the eastern part of the city) and quad tours .
4) HISTORY AND TRADITION
In Santa Teresa di Gallura we had the opportunity to visit and see also the most important archaeological site in the area, Lu Brandali . It is a large nuragic site including the Nuraghe (which was originally protected by several towers and a bastion), the Tomb of Giants and the Village made up of various huts. Currently only the nuraghe is not accessible and it is very easy to get to the site directly from the city, but pay attention to the period since it is only open from April to October. Santa Teresa di Gallura was, in Roman and later medieval times, also an important center for the extraction of granite and the Cava Romana (another site to visit) is proof of this as it still has clear signs of intense mining activity.
5) TYPICAL DISHES
Santa Teresa di Gallura is not only seeing but also tasting, this village offers a vast amount of typical dishes, not only from the sea but also from the land and the latter come directly from the culture of rural areas. Definitely a plate of earth are the closures (similar to malloreddus) gallurese style with pork sauce, the pulicioni (ricotta ravioli with lemon zest) with simple tomato sauce, the panedda (an aged cheese made with only Sardinian milk) with hot bread croutons and clearly everything related to meat sausages. As for fish-based dishes, on the other hand, zimino is certainly one of the most popular fish soups enjoyed by locals. However, there are special recipes with baked caponi and snapper , spaghetti with lobster and tomato, while local oysters are particularly tasty, produced in small quantities and to be eaten raw. Do not forget to taste a good Vermentino di Gallura and Li Cucciuleddi , a dessert with a filling of honey, breadcrumbs, chopped walnuts and almonds, orange peel, cinnamon, pepper and cloves.
