Maddalena National Park

Source: www.latuaitalia.ru

La Maddalena Archipelago consists of 60 islands and islets north-east of Sardinia. The region's first national park has been operating here since 1996. The granite and schist islands of the archipelago have particularly favorable geological and marine natural conditions, also because human intervention in the natural kingdom has remained minimal over the centuries.
The park is spread over 50 km2 and the total length of its coastline is 180 km. The archipelago has the same name as its main island, La Maddalena, where the first settlements appeared in 1770. Other important islands are Caprera, connected to La Maddalena by a bridge over the isthmus of Passo della Moneta, as well as Budelli, Razzoli, Santa Maria in the north and Spargi in the south.

These islands vary in size and ancient origin. On St. Stephen's Island, for example, traces of Neolithic settlements (2500-2000 BC) have been discovered. The islands can be visited thanks to the numerous short cruises that are organized almost all year round. In addition, the fortified town of La Maddalena offers its guests a view of the entire archipelago at any time of the year. For a long time the island was the base of the Italian Navy. Due to its strategically important position in the Mediterranean, the archipelago once attracted the attention of Napoleon and Admiral Nelson. Giuseppe Garibaldi ("hero of two continents") also moored there. He arrived on Caprera Island and lived there until his death in 1882.

La Maddalena Island

La Maddalena is the largest of the islands that make up the archipelago of the same name off the coast of Gallura. The high content of granite and porphyry has determined the rugged coastline of the island, which is often difficult to reach. However, it is in these complex shapes that much of its beauty lies: curves and bays that offer breathtaking panoramas. You can also enjoy the magnificent scenery along the 20 km long Spalmatore road, which allows you to drive around the perimeter of the island and, gazing at the horizon from one point or another, see the coasts of the archipelago itself, Sardinia and Corsica.

The interior of the island is characterized by a mild hilly terrain, the highest point of which is the Guardia Vecchia hill (146 m). La Maddalena charms its visitors with amazing natural beauty and a picturesque town. Here you can wander through the narrow cobbled streets, among the houses of the XVIII century, or walk through the historic center, which is decorated by the parish church of Santa Maria Maddalena. It is also possible to visit the tourist port of Cala Gavetta, located to the west, near which there is a granite column depicting Giuseppe Garibaldi made in the early 20th century.

Cala Garibaldi Cove

Cala Garibaldi Cove is located on the north-west coast of the island of Caprera, south-east of Giardinelli and the Italian Islands. The beach, located near the Passo della Moneta bridge, is covered with fine, light-colored sand and washed by a surprisingly clean and transparent sea. The beach is surrounded by massive light-colored rocks covered with Mediterranean shrubs that create interesting color effects. To the north of the beach are located two cozy coves of Cala Serena, protected from the winds by pinkish colored rocks.

Caprera Island

The island of Caprera is located in the eastern part of the La Maddalena archipelago and its coastline is very rugged. The eastern part of the coast is particularly difficult to reach, as it is blocked by a small ridge of pink granite. This coast is very steep and partially covered with vegetation: juniper, mastic and other typical Mediterranean shrubs. On the west coast, the sharp relief gives way to flat areas covered with the same vegetation; there is also an extensive pine grove. The wild and unspoiled nature of the island has been protected since 1982, when a nature reserve was established here. Subsequently it became part of the La Maddalena National Park.

The island's natural treasures and environment are of particular value due to the fact that most of the eastern coastal area, known as Zone A, is fully protected, including a prohibition on fishing in Cala Coticcio Bay, east of Cape Punta Rossa and Pecora Island. You can drive here by car in winter, but in summer you need a special permit from the municipality and the park administration for it.

Caprera's natural charms can be experienced to the fullest in the area of Cape Punta Rossa, the southernmost point of the island, where the strictest environmental regulations apply. To the west of the cape, about 500 meters away, is the granite islet Isolotto del Porco, and about 200 meters to the east is Isola della Pecora, made up of the oldest rocks on the planet, gneiss and mica schist. The lush vegetation makes the local nature look like a paradise, the center of which is the moon-shaped beach in the bay of Cala Andreani, with its coarse white sand and pink granite rocks, and the beach of del Relitto.

The island of Caprera is not only known for its natural beauty, but also for the Garibaldi Complex, where you can visit Garibaldi's tomb and the house where he lived until his death.

Caprera is connected to the island of La Maddalena by a 600 meter long dumba bridge, built in 1958 and named Passo della Moneta.

The beach in the bay of Cala Coticcio

The beach at Cala Coticcio, on the east coast of Caprera, is covered with fine white sand and washed by a sea of all shades of turquoise. It is sheltered from the winds by magnificent pinkish cliffs overgrown with juniper, erica, frankincense and mastic. The beach is nicknamed Tahiti for its incredible beauty and exoticism.

Nearby are the Monachy Islands (Isolotti dei Monachy), also known as the Islands of the Lost. The cove is subject to the strictest environmental regulations, like the rest of the A zone of La Maddalena Park: you can swim here, but fishing is prohibited.

Pirates Bay

Pirates Bay (Cala Corsara) is part of La Maddalena National Park. It is located on the south coast of Sparji Island and can be reached only from the sea.

The bay's coastline is formed by four small beaches, framed to the east by low sand dunes covered with rare plants and endemics of the area, such as wild rose and sea pancracium. Their flavors are mixed with the smell of juniper, rockwood and frankincense. On the west side, the sea, wind and time have given a fantastic shape to the granite cliffs. The sea strikes the imagination with its bright colors ranging from turquoise to emerald and the transparency of its waters. The incomparable beauty of this beach attracts many tourists, and the depths of the sea are a welcome destination for lovers of underwater sports to discover their mysterious and unexpected world.

Cala Corsara is accessible by ferry, which runs between the islands of the La Maddalena archipelago for most of the year.

Santo Stefano Island

The island of Santo Stefano, with an area of 3 km2, is the fourth largest of the islands of the La Maddalena archipelago. It is hilly. The highest point, Monte Zucchero, reaches 101 meters above sea level.

The island of Santo Stefano gives you an idea of what the archipelago probably looked like before the arrival of many tourists. There are many caves where people hid in the Neolithic period, as well as granite quarries, such as the Villamarina quarry, which was in use until the Second World War. Here you can still see half-finished stone blocks, including a colossal bust of the fascist military officer and politician Costanzo Chano, a true monument to the short-lived nature of power.

Among the few buildings on the island of Santo Stefano is the Fort of San Giorgio (1773), also known as Napoleon's Fort, since it was from here that the French general shelled the town of La Maddalena during his attack on the archipelago on February 23, 1793.