Leaving behind the promontory of Capo dell' Argentiera you will reach the beautiful small bay of Porto Ferro with its reddish beach whose ends are bordered by the impressive Torre Negra (Negra Tower) and Torre di Bantine (Tower of Bantine). Going on down south there is the Torre del Porticciolo (Tower of Porticciolo) rising on a rocky spur which shelters the marvellous Cala Viola from the open sea. From here on begins the rocky coast, formed by the promontory of Capo Caccia on whose side you can see the beautiful Grotte di Nettuno (Neptune' s Caves). On the other side of the headland the coast is less rough and leads

to the quite bay of Porto Conte. On the way to Alghero we suggest visiting the two pleasant beaches of Lazzaretto and Bombarde. Along the roads of Alghero there is Lido S. Giovanni, which has pure white sand grains and is bordered by a thick pine forest.

There is no road running along the far western coast so it is impossible to see its suggestive wild landscape. Its high rocky cliffs are similar to the cliffs of Capo Falcone. The wild beauty of this area is enhanched by the complete lack of any interference by man. The total still of the coast can only be broken by some casual bird' s cry which echoes all around until is lost in the sky.

The coast affords some scattered beaches from Punta del Francese to Coda della Carasarta and the island of Porri to Punta Furana, Punta de lu Nibaru to Capo Mannu and so on up to Porto Palmas.

Punta Li Canneddi the ample and pleasant inlet of Cala Falza opens on to ours eyes, ending where are placed the houses of the fishermen village, whose name derives from the rocky and dry islet standing some hundred meters off the coast: Isola Rossa. Not considering the beautiful beach and the pictoresque cliffs, the spot is renowned for the excellente cooking, handed down from

generations of Ponza fishermen, who lived there for centuries. To go on it' s necessary, since the street doesn' t follow the coastline, to drive for about four kilometers to the houses of Paduledda and then turn to the right. After five kilometers drive you' ll find a cross-road and you turn right to go down again towards the sea. In this spot the coast changes, as you see an immense extend of sand, the beautiful beach of Badesi Mare.

Porto Torres is connected to Stintino by a 30 kilometers uncomfortable and bumpy road. Only the beauty of the landscape repays for the uncomfortable drive along this narrow winding road. The village stands on a headland and has a well-sheltered small harbour in its southern inlet. The Spiaggia della Pelosa is four kilometers far from village and has soft impalpable sand grains. It is surely the most beautiful beach of the island. Turquoise and blue are the prevailing colours of the sea but there is a myriad of other shades. The landscape is really marvellous: on the left the dark coasts of schist of Capo Falcone become high near rhe beautiful Torre Pelosa (Pelosa Tower), which stands on a rocky spur in the middle of the sea and, in the end, the visible low profile of the island Piana and the higher one of the Asinara.

The Torre di Abbacurrente (Tower of Abbacurrente) marks the end of the large beach of Platamona and the beginning of a high coast formed by yellow tufa which provides a terrific view of the Golfo dell' Asinara (Gulf of Asinara). Apart from the cave of Inferno and the nice beach of S. Gavino the coast does not offer much more. But to make up for it Porto Torres gives the cue for several interesting archeological excursions.

After some kilometers on the truck road to Sassari you will see the megalitic altar of Monte d' Accordi, the only example in the whole Sardinia. Once you are in the city, we suggest visiting the ruins of Palazzo di Re Barbaro (King Barbarian' s Palace), which is a big thermal building dating back to the I century, a nice Roman Bridge and the beautiful basilica of S. Gavino which is the biggest Romanesque church in Sardinia.