What to see in La Maddalena and Caprera

La Maddalena is one of the flagships ofSardinia; it is an archipelago made up of the islands of Maddalena, Budelli (famous for its pink sand, now closed to the public), Spargi, Razzoli, Santa Maria, Santo Stefano and Caprera (which houses Giuseppe Garibaldi’s house).
My tour in Gallura started in the best possible way, with a dinghy ride to discover these wonders.
It goes without saying that the water of La Maddalena is wonderful, I won’t deny that even though we were in the low season the temptation to dive in was really great! In addition to the scenic beauty, however, we discovered some really interesting information, such as what the tafoni. You know that? These are cavities that are created from the bottom to the top of the rock, most likely also used as shelters.

Another characteristic of the area are the rock formations which, corroded by the wind, take on the most varied shapes… ranging from witch to bear and now all have been renamed. All this because it is a granite area, in fact there are several quarries where many stonemasons have found work. La Maddalena is connected to the island of Caprera by a bridge, therefore a once there, I recommend you visit them both. Do you know that it was precisely in this part of the globe that the Hero of the Two Worlds decided to spend the last years of his life? Already from the boat you can easily distinguish the large  White House, or the home of Giuseppe Garibaldi, in which he not only led a quiet life but in which he hosted and met several famous people. Today it has become a House-Museum, not far from which the Giuseppe Garibaldi Memorial stands. Personally, I really appreciated this museum, carefully set up, alternating multimedia projections with exhibitions that help the visitor retrace Garibaldi’s exploits.

Another gem of the island of Caprera is the Borgo di Stagnali – one of the few inhabited centres, if not the only one – which boasts a small church where many people from outside go to get married.After the historical stage also comes the sporting one; in fact, Caprera is home to the oldest sailing school in Italy, the Centro Velico di Caprera which organizes courses lasting several days to approach this beautiful sport in contact with the sea. I would say that starting in these waters is already something magnificent, what do you think?

Our car tour then continued to discover the wildest nature. In fact, we made a stop in a truly lush forest and then moved on to a panoramic point from which you can enjoy an exceptional view and at the same time you are surrounded by an infinite expanse of fuchsia flowers (also called Garibaldi flowers).

Returning to the center of La Maddalena we strolled through the streets admiring the particular wrought iron balconies and also saying hello to the statue of Garibaldi…..everything speaks of him.

After all these interesting discoveries we once again boarded the ferry which took us back to Palau in less than half an hour. The connections with Sardinia are in fact continuous. Having been there out of season I was able to appreciate the island in the moment of calm, without the extreme influx of tourists and I really appreciated it, so I advise you to also think about it for the spring and autumn seasons, excellent especially for trekking and walking enthusiasts. Obviously with the heat the activities are different, don’t miss a tour of the islands by dinghy or boat… if you don’t have your own, rely on Mjtours, Captain Marco will accompany you with the “City of Chiavari ” to discover the most beautiful corners of the La Maddalena archipelago. Now the time has come to move to Sardinia and discover the inland part… the journey continues, Gallura we are arriving. See you next adventures, Serial Traveler.

In collaboration with the Gallura Tourism Association 

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