Discover Tortoli: Coast, Archaeology and Culture
Accommodation in Tortoli
Tortoli between Coast and History
Tortoli combines a diverse landscape with distinctive coastal and cultural sites. The area includes beaches, forests, Mediterranean maquis, plains, ponds and cultivated hills. Cala Moresca is a small, sheltered bay with emerald-green water and reddish rocks. In Arbatax, Rocce Rosse rises as a red porphyry cliff approximately 15 metres above the sea. The sheltered bay and the red porphyry cliff represent two clearly different coastal forms. The landscape therefore ranges from sheltered bays to distinctly shaped coastal rock formations.
File:San Gemiliano hispanic tower seen from the beach, Tortolì, Sardinia, Italy.jpg
Photo: Fabio Pani via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Archaeology with a Detour from the Cycling Route
At one section of the cycling route, you can reach and visit the S’Ortali ’e su Monti archaeological site via a detour of approximately 400 metres. The site includes a Domus de Janas carved into the rock during the Late Neolithic period. The Nuragic complex comprises a central tholos tower, a fortification wall, three smaller towers and the foundations of approximately ten ancient huts. S’Ortali ’e su Monti also houses Sardinia’s largest Nuragic granary, with ten underground silos. Those planning this section of the route can consider the detour as a separate archaeological point of interest. The ten underground silos add another part of the site to the towers, fortification wall and hut foundations.
Arbatax: Towers and Defence History
The Tower of San Gemiliano was built at the beginning of the 17th century and, from a position 42 metres above sea level, dominated the beaches of Orrì and Cea. In Parco Batteria, thirteen casemates preserve the site; during the Second World War, they housed soldiers protecting the strategically important port of Arbatax. The park also includes a nature trail and offers panoramic views of the town. For the Tower, the historical details refer to the beaches of Orrì and Cea; Parco Batteria concerns the strategically important port of Arbatax, the nature trail and the view of the town.
Historic Buildings in the Town
The former tobacco factory was founded at the beginning of the 1920s by Bishop Virgilio of Tortolì to provide young women with limited employment opportunities with permanent work. Until the 1960s, this building was the local tobacco factory. The former Cathedral of Sant’Andrea is an 18th-century Neoclassical church and features a magnificent polychrome marble altar. The factory’s history thus combines social work with a use that continued until the 1960s.
Festivals and Local Cuisine
The Stella Maris festival takes place every year on the third Sunday in July, lasts three days and culminates in a procession at sea. Handmade culurgiones are part of the local culinary offerings in Tortolì and Arbatax. The festival date and its three-day duration provide a clear time frame; culurgiones connect Tortolì and Arbatax through their cuisine.
Further Places for Orientation
Girasole, Jerzu, Gairo Sant'Elena, Elini, Torre di Bari, Lanusei, Villagrande Strisaili and Urzulei
For the overarching travel overview: Ogliastra.
