Intricate and steep cobbled streets are laid out amphitheatrically on a steeply sloping terrain: a town of just over ten thousand inhabitants that became the second most important centre in the north-west as early as the 18th century. An urban fabric dotted with small churches and enriched by pavements that open up into slarches, terraced squares and an urban area that becomes a market on two mornings a week. Here, you will not only find a few good restaurants where you can sample the region’s specialities, but also a lot of history and some of the greatest expressions of Sardinian Romanesque architecture: one above all, the majestic basilica of Sant’Antioco di Bisarcio.

The symbol of the Valley of the Nuraghi is an architectural masterpiece that has not bowed to the inexorable passage of millennia. The Nuraghe of Santu Antine, in the territory of Torralba, is one of the most majestic and best-preserved monuments in Sardinia. Built between the 16th and 9th centuries BC, and at the time one of the tallest megalithic structures in the Mediterranean after the Egyptian pyramids, the Santu Antine Nuraghe is today visited and admired by people from all over the world. From this site, reaching the medieval village of Rebeccu and the ancient necropolis of Sant’Andria Priu is a matter of minutes. Surrounding these remote areas are impressive Romanesque buildings such as the basilicas of Nostra Signora del Regno in the village of Ardara, Sant’Antioco di Bisarcio in Ozieri and the Basilica di Saccargia along the road to Sassari.

Here is the ‘city of stone’, with parks and springs, a place for relaxation and healthy mountain air. In the centre of Gallura, at the foot of the Limbara, Tempio Pausania is a small town of 14,000 inhabitants with a picturesque historic centre made up of buildings, granite pavements and tree-lined avenues. This small town leads the way to some of the most unique towns in Sardinia, such as Aggius, where you can visit the museum of banditry and the Olivia Carta Cannas ethnographic museum, and Luras, home of the Dolmen and centuries-old olive trees.

An enchanting village where tradition and modernity merge and infuse curiosity and charm. The first, indelible image of Bosa will be the historic district of sa Costa, made up of colourful houses climbing the slopes of the Serravalle hill, dominated by the Malaspina castle, dating back to the 12th century. You will reach it on foot and from here admire the panorama of the entire town. The poetic Lungotemo with the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) that straddles the Temo, the only navigable river in Sardinia, will accompany your walks to discover the ancient tanneries, which recall the roots of a centre famous in Italy from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s for the production of high quality leather.

A charming medieval village overlooking the sea, and an ancient fishing village, Castelsardo is most famous for its handicrafts. The town is also renowned for hosting one of Sardinia’s most exciting traditional festivals, the rites of Holy Week. Imposing bastions, steep stairs and narrow cobbled streets characterise the stronghold site of the Doria Castle, built in the 12th century, which houses the Museum of Mediterranean Interweaving. The Cathedral of St. Anthony, dating back to the 14th century, is also very beautiful, with the dome of the bell tower covered in polychrome majolica. The view of the coastline is exceptional. A must-visit destination in Sardinia, to be visited after a day spent at the beautiful beaches of Isola Rossa and Costa Paradiso.

Located along the north-western coast of Sardinia, Alghero is the queen of the Riviera del Corallo. This elegant, fortified maritime city, with its enviable Mediterranean climate, has a beautiful historic centre dominated by circular defensive towers built in the 1500s by the Aragonese and still retains a certain Catalan atmosphere, which lives on in the narrow streets lined with colourful historic palazzos and Sardinian craft shops. Around Alghero, there are many places of interest not to be missed: the cliffs of the Capo Caccia peninsula, the Le Bombarde beach, the Maria Pia coastline, the Nuraghe of Palmavera and the Grotta di Nettuno (Neptune’s Cave), one of the most evocative caves in Italy, which can be reached by boat or on foot, walking down the wonderful Cabriol staircase.

San Pantaleo, Porto cervo, Porto rotondo, the Cinta beach and Cala Brandinchi in San Teodoro, and then down to Posada, Orosei, Cala Gonone and the wonderful Cala Luna, Cala Mariolu, Cala Goloritzé. There is no end to the beaches and villages of Sardinia. There is always more crystal-clear water than the previous one, an even purer turquoise and an even more extraordinary and different landscape than any seen so far on this island where Nature never seems to cease to nurture its creativity.