Treasure Tour

DAY 1   VILLANOVAFORRU / ALES /MORGONGIORI / PAU

Meeting with our representative at chosen port/airport. Departure for Villanovaforru, arrival at hotel and accommodation in reserved rooms, lunch. Afternoon visit to delightful villages in the Marmilla region at the foot of Mount Arci: Ales, visit to the Toy Museum and the Beautiful 11th century Catherdal of San Pietro e Paolo, restored by the Genoan masterbuilder Domenico Spotorno, visit to the torrone shop where they explain the ancient working methods today still using the recipes passed down from generation to generation; Pau a town famous for the creation of genuine works of art in obsidian; Morgongiori rather, is famous for its tipical pasta, the “lorighittas”, for the Museo Vivente of Woven Art, where fine rugs are created, and for the Center for the Environmental Records of the Mount Arci Park. Evening return to hotel, dinner and overnight.

DAY 2   FORDONGIANUS / ORISTANO / THARROS

Breakfast in hotel. Departure for guided visit of  Fordogianus (Forum Traiani), the remains of the ancient Roman baths built in the 1st century  A.C. and later enlarged, with hyperthermal (55C) mineral waters used in curative baths to treat various ail-ments. On to Oristano, brief visit to old town, lunch in restaurant. Departure for Tharros, important Phoenician-Punic archeological area, later Roman, located on the Sinis peninsula, of great interest for the evocative atmosphere of solitary beauty.  A short distance from the ruins rises the church of San Giovanni in Sinis dating from the 6th century. Evening return to hotel, dinner and overnight.

DAY 3    S.GIOVANNI / S.ANTIOCO / CARLOFORTE

Breakfast in hotel. Departure for S. Giovanni and visit to the Santa Barbara grotto, discovered by chance in April, 1952 during some excavations. On to S. Antioco, visit to the old town. Farmhouse lunch. Departure for Porto Vesme and embarcation for Carloforte. Visit to this picturesque town of Ligurean coral fishers who moved here in the early decades of the 18th Century, and the parish of S. Carlo, free time for a stroll by the old walls. Boarding for Porto Vesme. Return to hotel, dinner and overnight.

DAY 4   PARCO DELLA GIARA / BARUMINI / SANLURI

Breakfast in hotel. Departure for guided visit to the Parco della Giara the realm of the ponies, around five hundred now, on the Upland, smaller in size than traditional horses, very gracefully proportioned. The scenery is rich in woodlands, perfumed plants. Strange animals, varicolored birds, bubbling springs, the Spectacular “Paulis” and the typical “Pinnettas”. Lunch. Departure for Barumini, visit to the famous Nuragic Village “Su Nuraxi” the best preserved on the island. Return to hotel. Free time. Special evening: transfer to the medieval Sanluri Castle. Short introduction to the castle with historical notes, moving into the interior court for a display of archery, fencing and medieval dancing. Meal served by staff in period costumes to reevoke the atmosphere of the past, presentation of the dishes and explanation of the medieval diet. Evening return to hotel for the night.

DAY 5   CAGLIARI

Breakfast in hotel. Departure for Cagliari. Guided visit of the Castle area, the Roman amphitheatre, and a walk in the Poetto (the civic beach). Restaurant lunch. Afternoon visit to the museum area, the Archeological Museum, the Art Gallery and the artisan craft shops for small bronze nuragic works. Evening return to hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 6   CAGLIARI

Breakfast in hotel. Transfer to chosen port/airport, and the end of our tour.