The Archipelago of La Maddalena, Sardinia
Thirteen Islands make up the Archipelago of La Maddalena. The largest of those is La Maddalena. A ferry boat connects tourists and residents in 15 minutes to Palau, a resort on the northern Sardinian coast. The island has nearly 45 kilometres of high coasts and berry trees.
The reddish color of the rocks, blue riffs and and crystal clear waters give the island a fascinating contrast of colors. Spalmatore, Baia Trinita and Cala Francese are only a few of the popular beaches. La Maddalena is a town and island of 12,000 inhabitants and in the summer time it grows double its size. La Maddalena derives its income from tourism and the US Navy which has a ship stationed on the Island of Santo Stefano. After the month of September most of the businesses close down for the season and the owners return back to the mainland, just to return the next year in April to do it all over for the summer.
The highest point of the island is Guardia Monte Vecchia a amazing 156 metres, which offers an excellent view of the island and all surrounding islands.
The most important island of the Archipelago for the United States Navy is Santo Stefano. It is the home of the USS Emory S.Land one of the two Submarine Tenders left in the US Navy. The island is closed for the public and access is only granted to Military Members and Italians that work on the island. Santo Stefano can only be reached by ferries that take 15 minutes from La Maddalena and 30 minutes from Palau.
Caprera is one of the most important islands of the Archipelago and for the Italian people. It was the home of Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian patriot and fighter and one of the fathers of the Italian independence.
His former house is now a museum and a memorial chapel, the island is a national monument. It is open to the general public. It is the second island in size and has a coastline of 45 kilometres and a surface of 16 square kilometres. There are no hotels on this island but only a resort with bungalows. The island has a wide natural reserve for certain species of seabirds. Caprera is linked to La Maddalena by a street built on a damn that is 600 metres long.
Monte Tejalone with 212 metres is the islands highest point. The island is perfect for sailing and can also be reached by boat. The seabeds are a most for all archaeology fans with all the corals and the beauties of the island to be discovered.
Spargi is the third island in size and the most isolated. The Island can be reached by boat. Spargi is inhabited in the summer by shepherds and doesn’t have no hotels or tourist facilities. The highest point is Monte Guardia Preposti with 155 metres.
Budelli is famous for its pink sand that is produced by coral shattered by the raging sea. The island has a nine kilometre coastline and a surface of 1.74 square kilometres and its mostly populated by wild rabbits living on the highest point, which is Monte Budello 88 metres high. The island is best know for its Spaggia Rose (Pink Beach) and Cala d’Arena. Spargi can be riched from close La Maddalena with rented boats and with organized tours.
Razzoli is the island that is closest to the french island of Corsica and it forms the lagoon of Porto Madonna with the islands Budelli and Santa Maria. It can be reached by rented boats. It has a coastline of over 12 kilometres and a surface of 1.54 square kilometres. Razzoli is seperated from the island of Santa Maria by a narrow passage. The island is known for its fish, bird species, dolphins, seals and turtles and its rocks and small bays.
Santa Maria is located north-west of La Maddalena and is seperated from Razzoli by the Passo degli Asinelli. Other then the other La Maddalena islands only a very small part of Santa Maria is of granite formation. It has a 10 kilometre coastline and a surface of 2.5 square kilometres and can be reached from La Maddalena by boat. There are wide areas that are flat with grapevine plants. Many bird species live in rosemary shrubs and the fauna living in the pond are especially interesting for tourists. There are only a few houses on the island so tourist wanting to stay on the island, should book well in advance.
Other not so famous islands that belong to the Archipelago of La Maddalena are Bisce, Capuccini, Molara, Mortorio, Piana and Soffi.
The Sardinian towns of the La Maddalena Archipelago have a tradition of fish, seafood and rich wines. A lot of inhabitants of those islands inhabitants specialize in the large fish industry. You can find them catch anything from squill, lobster, crab, prawns and especially scampi. Mussels are used in soups, spaghetti and pasta dishes. Mostly prepared with tomato sauce or cooked in olive oil, garlic and parsley. Fish is mostly cooked in white wine and covered in coarse salt or baked in the oven for a delicious taste. Other than in the United States, pizza is mostly only made with tomato sauce as topping, sometimes with cheese.
The people of Italy, especially Sardinia are very friendly towards Americans and all other tourists. If you plan to travel to Italy or especially Sardinia you might want to get a dictionary book and take some italian courses. Only a few italians actually speak english and will be able to understand you without problems most of them don’t. So to avoid those kind of communication problems it is wise to learn at least the most important sentences or words.
In the summer time it gets extremely humid somewhere between May and early September. It doesn’t snow on the Island of Sardinia but does get chilly during the winter months. Rain, accompanied by heavy winds are the most serios side effects of the winter.
