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Discovering
the Island
Main Attractions Edition
The first scratch map of Sardinia, you will discover 40 attractions of the Island. Each of them will make you know more local elements.
37 - TORRE DI
PORTO GIUNCO
Villasimius is a village of about 4,000 inhabitants located on the south-east coast of Sardinia. It is one of the main tourist centers of southern Sardinia, known for its crystal clear waters and light sand dunes. Every year in spring and summer it attracts tens of thousands of visitors.
There are traces of anthropization since the second millennium BC. In the territory of Villasimius you can admire the nuragic remains of the Cuccureddus site, the necropolis of Accu Is Traias and Cruccuris and those of the Roman baths of Santa Maria. Some of the artifacts recovered in these places can be seen in the Archaeological Museum of Villasimius.
Like the entire southern coast of Sardinia, during the Middle Ages Villasimius was prey to frequent raids by Saracen corsairs. This phenomenon could also be linked to the etymology of the name of the village. The ancient name of the village, Simius, would derive from the Latin Semus (disappeared), and referred to the progressive abandonment of the village by the population precisely because of the continuous pirate raids.
In order to face the continuous threat represented by the Saracens, during the Spanish domination, between the XVI and the XVII century, a system of coastal towers was built, involving the whole coast from Cagliari to Castiadas. The purpose of these towers was to sight, signal and defend the coast. From each tower you had to see the previous and the next one, so that you could communicate through lights and signals.
One of the most famous is the Tower of Porto Giunco, located on the east side of the promontory of Capo Carbonara. It is a construction with a truncated cone shape and dates back to the end of '500. Made of local granite, it is 9 meters high and originally had a domed vault. The top of the tower can be reached through a spiral staircase. From the top of the tower you can dominate the whole gulf, and this allows you to enjoy the exceptional panorama.
On the bottom of Isola dei Cavoli, off Villasimius, there is a statue of the Virgin of the Sea, created by the artist Pinuccio Sciola. The sculpture, placed on the bottom of 11 meters, is in red trachyte by Ozieri. It is 3 meters high and was placed on the seabed on July 8, 1979. In her honour, every year on the third weekend of July, the feast of the Madonna del Naufragio (Our Lady of the Shipwreck) takes place, with religious celebrations and an evocative procession to the sea.
Villasimius boasts a whole series of attractions, among which:
- Porto sa Ruxi beach;
- Rice beach;
- Sea Museum of Villasimius;
- Old Fortress;
- Marine Protected Area of Capo Carbonara.
