A spin around the island of San Pietro
San Pietro island is literally an island outside of an island (Sardinia), on the South West coast of Sardinia.
The island is a 40 minute ferry ride from Portovesme in Portoscuso (run by Delcomar) running several times a day, particularly in the busy season.
The ferry’s lounge greets its visitors with a cheerful patterned carpet. The lounge also has a super, 270 degree view through large windows, although I can’t help thinking it must be a stuffy place in the summer (unless it’s air-conditioned…)
Colourful, colonial Carloforte
The ferry disembarks in Carloforte which means that if you’re only there for the town there’s actually no need to bring the car as you can easily just walk.
The architecture of Carloforte is slightly different than the rest of Sardinia, like colonial style (made me think of Cuba, cigars and big American cars, although I did not see any). But it certainly gives you a feeling of being set back in time and place a little bit.
The town has tall, colourful houses and narrow streets. The town square (Piazza Repubblica) has 4 large ficus trees with a circular bench under under each of them. This is the place to hide from the sun and listen to some town gossip.
Postcard picture place for photographs
The most photographed item in Carloforte must surely be the stairs and arch going between two houses. This is where everybody takes pictures – understandably, it is a postcard picture of the Mediterranean. Complete with Mediterranean colours and flowers in flowerpots.
After strolling around and exploring the secrets of Carloforte’s little lanes, road trippin’ continues. Leaving Carloforte past the old salt marches at the South end of the town. Once a place where salt was collected, now a place where wading birds have moved in. The shy, pink flamingoes can sometimes be seen shifting through the water looking for tasty treats.
Cala Mezzaluna
The coast line changes into steep, cliffs and I’m kind of glad the road does not go along there. Although, a short stroll takes us to the edge of Cala Mezzaluna (Half Moon bay). Me standing far from the edge, behind some shrubs for added safety, but close enough to see the impressive, steep cliffs in parts of this half moon shaped bay.
Continuing along the main road the next stop is the beach of La Caletta. Another of the white sand and crystalline water beaches Sardinia is so famous for. Although this year heavy rain showers have made a dig in the sand from the back of the beach leaving rough stones in its wake. But there’s still plenty enough of white sand left to enjoy.
The road takes you through the rocky landscape, winding up and down the hills. Mediterranean shrubs growing all around while the central area is dense with pines.
Capo Sandalo, lighthouse and a view to the West
Capo Sandalo, on the island’s West coast, is a natural stop (also because the road goes no further here). It’s a good place to get a view over the sea and the rocky coastline. The large lighthouse (Italy’s westernmost lighthouse, now automated) is overlooking the area, making sure ships stay far off this rocky stretch of land.
Close by is a small little bay, Cala Fico. It’s not exactly a beach, with huge pebbles and rocks. It is enclosed by cliffs and steep rocky hills, making it a little wild and untouched.
We crack on with our road trip and head for the North tip of San Pietro. A place where there’s traces of the great tuna fishing industry. The old tuna fishery sits there like a giant from the past, now looking a little crumbled and forlorn. Just outside at sea is the small island of Piana (Isola Piana), in it’s heyday a thriving tuna fishery, now a privately owned holiday resort.
Fillin’ up on dainty cakes
After all this trippin’ it’s time for Merenda (Italian for ‘afternoon snack’). Colourful Carloforte has many cafés and restaurants along the sea front so there’s lots to choose from. We find one with a large selection of ‘dainty cakes’, decadent pastries galore in there for sure.
The cakes and a good cup of tea are enjoyed outside, under the shadow of the big trees lining the Carloforte waterfront.
A time for tea, cakes, calm and impressions to settle while we wait for the ferry with the colourful carpet to take us back to ‘mainland’ Sardinia.
Staying out on the top deck of the ferry as it leaves Carloforte and the sun sets in the ocean is a magical moment. The sun bathing Carloforte and the sea in a pink light. A fitting end to a magical day on San Pietro.
Lots of love,
Bee
⚓️
🐳
Some facts:
The Romans called San Pietro The Island of the Hawks (“Accipitrum Insula”) because of the presence of the Falcus Eleonorae birds living there.
San Pietro island was uninhabited until the early 1700s when several coral fishermen with families moved there from the Island of Tabarka in Tunisia. They were originally from Genoa and to this day a variant of this is spoken on the island.
In the last years of the 1700s there were invasions by Tunisian pirates who kidnapped and made slaves of almost a thousand people from Carloforte. (freed 5 years later after hard, international negotiations). Due to raids like this, a city wall was built around Carloforte (parts of it still remains).
The San Pietro islanders were good navigators and sailors. Because of this they were chose to by the industrial mining development on the South West of Sardinia for transport of minerals. Carloforte became a commercial port for the mining industry.
Carloforte also became an important place for the tuna fishing industry when it started to flourish. The old tuna fishery on San Pietro island is now abandoned.
The back bone industry of the island has always been tuna. The fishing period (Mattanza) still takes place every year and tuna is an ingredient in the islands traditional dishes. There’s even a yearly four-day tuna festival at the end of May (Girotonno).
To get to the island you take a ferry from Portovesme or from the nearby island of Sant’Antioco.
The falcons
The falcons on San Pietro are called Falco della Regina or Falcus Eleonorae. They live among the cliffs of San Pietro. The name comes from Eleonora d’Arborea who was Giudicessa (judge/magistrate/ruler) on Sardinia in the fourteenth century and who was the first to try to protect these birds.
The falcons are a migratory species and are therefore great travellers. The LIPU (Italian Bird Protection League) has been observing and protecting these birds since 1980 as these birds have always been prey to poachers and collectors. First by creating a permanent observatory which later this became an oasis on the island of San Pietro