Tortolì

Description

Tortolì, the port of Ogliastra, is the gateway to a varied and suprising landscape around the city.

The Rocce Rosse (red rocks), a natural monument in the Arbatax hamlet, sticks straight up out of the emerald blue sea along the shore offering a truly amazing colour contrast. Behind the Rocce Rosse is Cala Moresca, the city’s pride and joy, a beach of golden sand edged with granite boulders. A bit further south you’ll find the many shades of blue of Porto Frailis and the long Lido di Orrì beach: 16km of hidden coves and little beaches, including the lovely Cala Ginepro, blessed with fine sand, polished pebbles and a stand of juniper trees, and San Gemiliano. The red rocks also appear in the little slice of heaven that is Cea, 4km of soft white beaches. This spectacle of nature is complemented by lovely green areas: La Sughereta town’s park and Batteria park, perched on the top of a hill with views over the entire gulf.

There are more than 200 monuments here dating back to the Nuragic Age: the 7 hectares s’Ortali ‘e su Monti includes a Nuragic complex, a Giant’s Tomb, two menhirs, huts, a domu de Janas chamber tomb, a wall and the remains of another nuraghe. The port of Sulci Tirrenica was built to accommodate navigators with the arrival of the Phoenicians (VII century BCE) and the Punics. Traces of Punic settlement were found in the marshes of Tortolì, while vestiges of Roman domination take the form of shipwrecks in the depths of the gulf. The ancient control towers, like the torre di San Miguel, were built by the Spaniards. The city’s landmarks include the su Logu de s’Iscultura museum of modern art and the former Cathedral of Sant’Andrea.

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