WESTWARD BOUND

See the very best of the west on this full-day excursion from Alghero. Your private guide and chauffeur will meet you at your accommodation and drive you to the delightful Bosa. As you approach the town with its colour-splashed buildings you might well be reminded of a painting by Paul Klee and feel the hypnotic effect of his vibrant brushstrokes. A cluster of rainbow-hued houses clings to the foot of the Serravalle hill, proudly overlooked by a 12th century stone castle. In the foreground fishing boats bob on the shimmering waters of the River Temo bordered by elegant palm trees.

As you inspect the details of this life-size canvas, your guide will tell you the history of Bosa, focusing on its medieval heyday, under the domination of the wealthy Malaspina family and Aragonese rulers, when the town’s major monuments were built. You will enjoy a pleasant stroll along the river to see the abandoned tanneries and down the main thoroughfare of Corso Vittorio Emanuele, stopping to take in the monumental fountain in Piazza Costituzione and the Late Baroque Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. You will then make your way through the medieval quarter’s narrow alleys and sloping steps up to the ruins of the old fortress. From here, 81 metres above sea level, the panoramic views of the surrounding landscape and the town below are simply amazing. Not to be missed is a visit to the small Church of Our Lady de Sos Regnos Altos, which is built within the walls of this castle and once served as palatine church. Inside, on the walls and counter-facade, you can admire precious fragments of 14th century frescoes depicting the Madonna, saints and scenes from the New Testament.

After some free time for lunch, rejoin your guide and driver and reach one of the region’s most fascinating archaeological sites, stunningly located on the southern tip of the Sinis Peninsula. The ruins of the once glorious city of Tharros have lain deserted along this stretch of coastline for hundreds of years, ever since the local population fled for good from the treacherous western shores and took refuge further inland. Here visitors will turn the clock back in time and gain insight into Sardinia’s seafaring past as well as an understanding of the island’s prime position at the heart of the Mediterranean and the crossroads of cultures. Founded by the Phoenicians in the 8th century BC, on an area previously occupied by a Bronze Age settlement, Tharros blossomed into a thriving commercial hub during the Punic domination and was later conquered by the invincible Romans. During the Middle Ages repeated incursions at the hands of Saracen pirates led to a period of decline, urging the terrified population to desert the site in the 11th century.

As you wander through the ruins, drinking in the unforgettable seascape views, your guide will point out features of particular significance and explain the legacy and traces left here by the successive waves of invaders who, in turn, occupied the site for two thousand years. Highlights include a necropolis dating to the Phoenician-Punic era, Roman remains of paved roads, sewer systems, thermal baths and temple foundations. Ancient homes and artisan shops that used to bustle with the activity of potters, wood workers and blacksmiths, offer an extraordinary glimpse into the workaday life of what must once have been the island’s most prosperous and powerful trading centre.

Before returning to Alghero, don’t forget to take a peek inside the bare, though beautifully preserved stone Church of San Giovanni di Sinis, one of Sardinia’s oldest religious buildings. Originally erected in the 500s, it can now be admired in its atmospheric Romanesque-Byzantine appearance, amazingly unchanged since the 10th century.