TEMPIO PAUSANIA & CASTELSARDO
- TEMPIO PAUSANIA & CASTELSARDO
- Full day excursion on request
In the heart of the Gallura, amidst impressive granite rocks, wild “macchia”, cork and Holm oaks, lies TEMPIO PAUSANIA. On a first visit to this city, the contrast between the loveliness of the landscape and the austerity of the granite buildings is striking. TEMPIO PAUSANIA was founded by the Romans, though the most ancient settlements date back to Nuraghi and pre-Nuraghi times (3000 B.C. to 1600 B.C.), with well-preserved examples including the Nuraghi Majori. The village is known for its superb chestnuts and vermentino wines, its mineral springs, and its pleasant climate. CASTELSARDO is a picturesque historic town on the northern coast of Sardinia. The old town, fortified with a castle, is an interesting and atmospheric place to visit for a very special day out. There are attractive restaurant tables in historic lanes, and shops selling all kinds of Sardinian handicrafts and other souvenirs. CASTELSARDO’s castle, the Castello dei Doria, houses the Museo dell’Intreccio del Mediterraneo, a museum of basket-weaving, an important local handicraft. Around the various rooms and halls of the castle are cases containing all sorts of local woven products, from fishing nets to grain storage vessels. The castle was built by the Doria family of Genoa, and for several years in the fourteenth century Castelsardo, then called Castelgenovese, was the home of a Doria bride: the Sardinian heroine Eleanora d’Arborea.