Must-see attractions in Western Sardinia

  • Area Archeologica di Tharros

    Western Sardinia

    The choppy blue waters of the Golfo di Oristano provide a magnificent backdrop to the ruins of ancient Tharros. Founded by the Phoenicians in the 8th…

  • Nuraghe di Santa Cristina

    Western Sardinia

    Just off the SS131 north of Oristano, the sanctuary at Santa Cristina is an important nuraghic complex. The nuraghic village's extraordinary Bronze Age…

  • Italy, Sardinia, Western Sardinia, Bosa, town view with Castello Malaspina, sunset

    Castello Malaspina

    Bosa

    Commanding huge views, this hilltop castle was built in the 12th and 13th centuries by the Tuscan Malaspina family. Little remains of the original…

  • Piazza Eleonora d’Arborea

    Oristano

    Oristano’s elegant outdoor salon sits at the southern end of pedestrianised Corso Umberto I. An impressive, rectangular space, it comes to life on summer…

  • Museo Casa Deriu

    Bosa

    Housed in an elegant 19th-century townhouse, Bosa's main museum showcases local arts and artisanal crafts. Each of the three floors has a different theme…

  • Basilica di Santa Giusta

    Western Sardinia

    This landmark Romanesque church is one of Sardinia's architectural jewels. Dating to the early 12th century, it sports a severe sandstone exterior…

  • Museo Civico

    Western Sardinia

    Cabras' cultural highlight is the Museo Civico, and the real superstars here are the so-called Giants of Monte Prama, a series of towering nuraghic…

  • Chiesa di Nostra Signora di Regnos Altos

    Bosa

    Enclosed within the walls of the Castello Malaspina, this humble but hallowed 14th-century chapel is decorated with an extraordinary 14th-century fresco…

  • Aerial view of the beautiful village of Bosa with colored houses and a medieval castle. Bosa is located in the north-wesh of Sardinia, Italy. Aerial view of colorful houses in Bosa village, Sardegna.
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    Ponte Vecchio

    Bosa

    Spanning the Temo River near the heart of the old town, Bosa's main bridge is a handsome three-arched affair, built from the region's characteristic red…

  • Museo Archeologico Antiquarium Arborense

    Oristano

    Oristano’s principal museum has one of the island’s major archaeological collections, with prehistoric artefacts from the Sinis Peninsula and finds from…

  • Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

    Oristano

    Lording it over Oristano’s skyline, the Duomo's onion-domed bell tower is one of the few remaining elements of the original 14th-century cathedral, itself…

  • Nuraghe Losa

    Western Sardinia

    Off the SS131 just north of Paulilatino, the Nuraghe Losa is one of Sardinia's most impressive nuraghi. The site’s centrepiece is a three-sided keep…

  • Palazzo Boyl

    Western Sardinia

    A fine example of Piedmontese neoclassicism, 18th-century Palazzo Boyl dominates Milis' manicured village centre. Originally a summer residence for the…

  • Museo della Tecnologia Contadina

    Western Sardinia

    Santu Lussurgiu has long been known for its crafts and remains a production centre for ironwork, woodwork and leatherwork. Explore the town's rural…

  • Chiesa di San Francesco

    Oristano

    The 14th-century Crocifisso di Nicodemo, considered one of Sardinia’s most precious carvings, is the highlight of this 19th-century neoclassical church…

  • Isola di Mal di Ventre

    Western Sardinia

    This bare, rocky island 10km off the coast owes its strange name (Stomach-ache Island) to the seasickness that sailors often suffered while navigating its…

  • Chiesa di San Giovanni di Sinis

    Western Sardinia

    Built from softly worn sandstone, Chiesa di San Giovanni di Sinis is one of the two oldest churches in Sardinia (Cagliari’s Basilica di San Saturnino is…

  • Chiesa di San Leonardo de Siete Fuentes

    Western Sardinia

    This charming 12th-century Romanesque church, which once belonged to the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, forms the centrepiece of the tiny woodland…

  • Centro di Documentazione sulla Sartiglia

    Oristano

    For a visceral taste of Oristano's headline festival, Sa Sartiglia, pop into this free museum adjacent to the city's Pinacoteca. Look out for various…

  • Basilica di Santa Maria della Neve

    Western Sardinia

    A landmark for miles around, the hulking, silver-domed Basilica di Santa Maria della Neve marks the high point of the village. According to local…

  • Is Aruttas

    Western Sardinia

    One of the peninsula's most famous beaches, Is Aruttas is a pristine arc of white sand fronted by translucent aquamarine waters. For years its quartz sand…

  • Museo S’Omo ‘e sa Majarza

    Western Sardinia

    This creepy museum, signposted as the Museo del Territorio, is dedicated to witches and local folklore and features the reconstruction of a 16th-century…

  • MUB Museo della Bonifica

    Western Sardinia

    Housed in a renovated mill, this civic museum charts Arborea's Mussolini-era origins, including its architectural planning, the influx of new residents…

  • Putzu Idu

    Western Sardinia

    Backed by a motley set of holiday homes and beach bars, Putzu Idu's beach sits in the north of the peninsula. It's a picturesque strip of sand that's…

  • Chiesa di San Salvatore

    Western Sardinia

    In the centre of the village, the 17th-century Chiesa di San Salvatore stands over a stone ipogeo (underground vault) dating to the nuraghic period. This…

  • Terme Romane

    Western Sardinia

    The impressive remains of Fordongianus' 1st-century Terme Romane sit on the banks of the river Tirso. In the centre of the complex you’ll see a…

  • Casa Aragonese

    Western Sardinia

    A characteristic of Fordongianus is the rusty-red trachyte stone of which so many of its buildings are made. As red as the rest is the lovely late-16th…

  • Museo Delle Conce

    Bosa

    On the south bank of the river, this museum occupies Bosa's former tanneries, which remained in business until after WWII. On the ground floor you can see…

  • Oasi di Seu

    Western Sardinia

    A few kilometres out of Tharros, and signposted off the main road, the Oasi di Seu is a veritable Eden of Mediterranean flora. Once you’ve navigated the…

  • Casa Museo di Antonio Gramsci

    Western Sardinia

    In Ghilarza is the house where the famous early 20th-century political thinker Antonio Gramsci lived between 1898 and 1911. The small collection of photos…

  • Piazza Maria Ausiliatrice

    Western Sardinia

    Arborea's showcase square, Piazza Maria Ausiliatrice is a beautifully tended space that wouldn’t look out of place in a Swiss alpine village. Overlooking…

  • Statue of Eleonora

    Oristano

    Piazza Eleonora d'Arborea became the city's central square through 19th-century urban reforms. Today it is a quiet spot where you can sit beneath the…

  • Cattedrale di San Pietro Extramuros

    Bosa

    Two kilometres upstream from the Chiesa di Sant’ Antonio Abate is this 11th-century cathedral, said to be the oldest Romanesque church in Sardinia…

  • Torre di San Giovanni Watchtower

    Western Sardinia

    For a bird’s-eye view of Tharros, head up to the late-16th-century Torre di San Giovanni watchtower, occasionally used for exhibitions. Here you can look…

  • Cattedrale dell’Immacolata

    Bosa

    Bosa's cathedral dates to the early 19th century when it was built over an earlier Romanesque church. A rare, if not overly riveting, example of rococo …

  • Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Abate

    Bosa

    A short walk from Ponte Vecchio on the southern side of the river is the little Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Abate. Featuring a 16th-century Gothic facade in…

  • Torre di Mariano II

    Oristano

    Little survives of the medieval walled town except for a pair of towers. This 13th-century beauty, known also as the Torre di Cristoforo, was the town’s…

  • Torre dell’Isola Rossa

    Bosa

    This tower overlooking the beach at Bosa Marina is one of the largest in a series of defensive towers built by the island's Aragonese rulers in the 16th…