Home

Catalogue

About us

Guestbook

Contacts

It is 104 km 2 wide, the biggest island around Sardinia , united to the mainland by an artificial isthmus. The first settlements in this area date back to the Third Millennium b.C. and it became a strategic colony in Phoenician times and, later, during Roman domination, when it was raised to municipium .

We'll begin our itinerary with an interesting talk about byssus (or sea-silk), a thin thread extracted from Pinna nobilis , the biggest bivalvular mollusk in the Mediterranean sea . Only one woman still makes byssus with the method which dates back to Ancient Egypt times: she lives in Sant'Antioco and she'll show us how she works, explaining the different phases and letting us admire her masterpieces.

We'll then stop at Sant'Antioco church (Fifth cent.) and the Catacombs which were excavated since Third century around the Saint's crypt.

In the afternoon we'll visit the Archaeological Museum and the Tophet , the biggest and most representative sacred place of the whole Phoenician-Punic civilization. Or, as an alternative during summertime, we may choose to sunbathe in one of the beautiful beaches around the town.