Sant'Antioco, Sardinia: what to see, festivals and where to stay

Sant'Antioco is the main town of the island of the same name, the largest in the Sulcis archipelago in south-western Sardinia. The island is joined to the mainland by an artificial isthmus and a bridge, and the town, facing the lagoon, is one of the oldest in Italy: it was the Phoenician and Punic Sulky, then the Roman Sulci, and it keeps a tophet, necropolises, Christian catacombs and one of Sardinia's oldest basilicas. Today Sant'Antioco is a lively, welcoming town, with a pleasant seafront, a tradition of fishing and sea silk weaving, and wild beaches and cliffs on the western side of the island.

History

Sulky was founded by the Phoenicians in the 8th century BC and is considered one of the oldest towns in Italy. Its position on the sea and near the Sulcis mines made it an important port, first Phoenician, then Punic and finally Roman, as Sulci, a thriving municipium in imperial times. With the spread of Christianity the town was linked to the cult of Sant'Antioco, a martyr physician who according to tradition was exiled to the island in the 2nd century and evangelised its people. In the Middle Ages Saracen raids emptied the town, which remained almost abandoned for a long time and only began to grow again in the 18th century. In the 20th century it became a centre of fishing, salt pans and industry, and today it also lives from tourism.

The basilica and catacombs

The basilica of Sant'Antioco Martire, in the old town, has early Christian origins and a Greek cross plan with a dome, altered over the centuries. Beneath the church are the catacombs, a complex of galleries and burial chambers cut into the rock, reusing Punic tombs, where according to tradition the saint was buried. They are one of the few examples of catacombs in Sardinia and are visited with a guide.

The tophet and museums

The tophet of Sulky, on the hill at the edge of town, was an open-air sanctuary where Phoenicians and Punics placed urns with the ashes of children who died very young and of small animals, together with stone votive stelae. It is one of the most important tophets in the Mediterranean. The Ferruccio Barreca Archaeological Museum displays Phoenician, Punic and Roman finds from the town, with pottery, jewellery, statues and the tophet stelae. In the centre you can also visit the Punic necropolis, with rock-cut chamber tombs, and the cave village, where until a few decades ago poor families lived in the ancient tombs converted into homes, and the Savoy fort Su Pisu. The Su Magasinu 'e su Binu Ethnographic Museum tells the story of rural life on the island.

Sea silk

Sant'Antioco is one of the last places in the world where byssus, the silk of the sea, is worked: a precious fibre obtained from the filaments of the pinna nobilis, the large bivalve mollusc of the Mediterranean. Golden, very light fabrics were woven from it, known since antiquity. Today the pinna nobilis is protected and the tradition is kept alive by a few master weavers, who display their work in town.

The sea

The island has two faces. The eastern side, facing the lagoon and the Gulf of Palmas, is quieter, with Maladroxia beach, a bay of calm water with a thermal spring, and Coaquaddus, a long sandy beach. The western side is wild, with high cliffs and coves such as Cala Lunga, Cala della Signora and Capo Sperone at the southern tip. The sea is clear and the seabed rich, ideal for snorkelling and diving. Boat trips leave the port to sail around the island and to the island of San Pietro.

Festivals

The most important festival is that of Sant'Antioco, fifteen days after Easter, one of the oldest religious festivals in Sardinia, with the procession of the saint's statue, traditional costumes from all over the island, traccas carts and launeddas. In summer the seafront comes alive with concerts, food festivals and events.

Food

Sant'Antioco cooking is of the sea and lagoon: fish, grey mullet, bottarga, octopus, sea urchins and mussels, and land dishes such as maccarrones and traditional sweets. The wine is Carignano del Sulcis, made on the island's sands from bush vines, often ungrafted. Local wineries also make Vermentino and rosés.

Getting there

Sant'Antioco is reached by car from Cagliari in just over an hour, via Carbonia and San Giovanni Suergiu and across the isthmus. From the neighbouring town of Calasetta, at the northern tip of the island, ferries leave for Carloforte on the island of San Pietro. Sant'Antioco is a good base for the Sulcis, with Iglesias, Portoscuso, the mines and the beaches of Porto Pino and Chia.