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The La Maddalena Archipelago National Park includes all the islands of the municipality of La Maddalena, as well as the waters of the international marine reserve Bocche di Bonifacio. It is the only protected area in Italy managed by municipal authorities and is also the first nature reserve created in Sardinia. You can get here by ferry from nearby Palau.

The largest island of the archipelago is Isola Maddalena. Its largest city, La Maddalena, is also located on it. Other smaller islands are Caprera, Spraghi, Santo Stefano, Santa Maria, Budelli and Razzoli. Of all, only Maddalena, Caprera and Santo Stefano are inhabited, and only the first two have roads.

Since the archipelago lies in close proximity to the famous tourist resort of Costa Smeralda, it boasts the same crystal clear waters and granite-cut coastline. This is a very popular holiday destination, especially among boating enthusiasts. But among other things, it is also a real paradise for wildlife lovers: numerous representatives of flora and fauna here are protected at the state level, since, as mentioned above, the archipelago is part of a national park. In 2006, La Maddalena was included in the list of candidates for UNESCO World Natural Heritage status.

The islands of the archipelago have been inhabited since prehistoric times. The Romans called them Cunicularia - in the 2nd-1st centuries BC. it was an important shipping area. La Maddalena's strategic location has always attracted the attention of its larger neighbors - in the 13th century, control of the archipelago was the subject of a dispute between the powerful maritime republics of Pisa and Genoa. They were then colonized by shepherds from nearby Corsica, and in the 16th century the first settlers from Sardinia settled here. Napoleon Bonaparte, Admiral Nelson and especially Giuseppe Garibaldi all had historical ties to these beautiful islands. In particular, the latter lived on Caprera from 1856 to 1882, and died there. He planted the first pine trees here, which now cover the entire island. Today, Garibaldi’s house has been turned into a museum, a memorial chapel in memory of the “father of Italian independence” has been built here, and the island of Caprera itself has been declared a national monument. It is connected to the island of Maddalena by a 600-meter dam.

In general, Caprera is the second largest island of the archipelago. Its area is 15.7 sq. km., and the length of the coastline is 45 km. The name of the island probably comes from the population of goats ("capra" in Italian) that live there. In the southwestern part of Caprera there is a very important nautical area with numerous coves and anchorages. The island itself is ecologically important due to the seabirds that inhabit its shores in abundance - gulls, cormorants and peregrine falcons can be seen here.

The island of Maddalena, the largest in the entire archipelago, is famous for its beautiful beaches, the most popular of which are Spalmatore and Bassa Trinita. It is also notable for its granite rock formations and ancient fortifications.

Until 2008, the island of Santo Stefano was home to a NATO naval base where US nuclear submarines were based. In 2003, one of these submarines ran aground while performing maneuvers, which became the subject of international debate. Today there is a tourist resort on the island called Club Valtur, especially popular in the summer months.

The small island of Budelli with an area of ​​only 1.6 sq. km. located a few hundred meters from the other islands of the archipelago - Razzoli and Santa Maria. But it is he who is considered one of the most beautiful in the entire Mediterranean Sea. Particularly famous is Spiaggia Rosa, a pink beach located in the southeastern part of the island, which gets its color from microscopic particles of coral and shells.

The islands are rocky, but have beautiful sandy beaches.

The islands contain the La Maddalena National Park. The islands of La Maddalena and Caprera are connected by a bridge.

Story

The main town of La Maddalena, on the island of the same name, was founded by Corsican sheep farmers. The local spoken dialect, "Isulanu", is a mixture of Corsican and Sardinian, with the addition of the Genoese dialect of Ligurian. The archipelago traditionally belonged to Corsica, until it was captured by the Sardinian king Charles Emmanuel III during the Corsican Revolution.

For a long time there was a base for the Italian Navy at La Maddalena; it is partially used by the fleet to this day - it is located here Naval Junior Officers' School. In 1793, a naval battle took place here (the Battle of La Maddalena), in which the ships of the French fleet and the troops they landed (one of the commanders of which was Napoleon Bonaparte) were defeated by the combined forces of local residents - sailors and peasants, under the command of non-commissioned officer Dominico Millilere.

On the island of Caprera, which belonged to G. Garibaldi, the last years of the life of this Italian revolutionary passed; This is where he is buried.

From 1972 to 2008, there was an American nuclear submarine base on the island of Santo Stefano.

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Excerpt characterizing La Maddalena (archipelago)

The La Maddalena archipelago, located near the Costa Smeralda, the northeastern coast of Sardinia, was until recently completely closed to tourists. This amazing place, consisting of many islands, with turquoise sea and golden sand beaches, is a calm and quiet resort for a secluded holiday.

The clear coastal waters of the La Maddalena archipelago make you forget that this sea is the Mediterranean. It seems that you are at least somewhere in the Caribbean. Located between Sardinia and Corsica, La Maddalena consists of 7 large islands and 55 small ones, called by locals isolotti. It is here that the best, most beautiful and cleanest in the whole country are found.

Relatively recently, the islands were opened for tourist visits. Until this time, a huge NATO naval base was located on the main island of the archipelago of the same name. This created jobs for many Maddalenians, and also brought some “dollar” income to local residents from officers and sailors who needed somewhere to eat and drink, as well as buy clothes and souvenirs.

The archipelago was also well known among Costa Smeralda yachtsmen, who during their excursions often stopped for lunch at coastal trattorias. There were also several hotels, boarding houses and cozy resort complexes, catering mainly to an Italian clientele. But this was a drop in the bucket compared to the income that the NATO naval base brought to the local population. With its closure in 2008, La Maddalena's economy literally exploded.

Hope for the islanders was the selection of La Maddalena as the base for the G8 summit in 2009, people believed that the influx of funds would stop the decline of the economy. Grand projects were launched, such as converting an old hospital into a luxury hotel, the first visitors of which would be the summit delegates. But a few months before the upcoming event, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced that the venue for the summit would be moved to L'Aquila.

L'Aquila was hit by an earthquake and needed urgent funding, which came from the G8 summit. Many have long remembered the comment of the mayor of La Maddalena, Angelo Comiti, who noted with bitterness that Berlusconi had literally added one earthquake to another.

Work to bring the projects to life has stalled, and today an unfinished hotel in a former hospital stands alone like a white elephant. Its only resident is a guard who tries to prevent local beggars from settling here and vandals from destroying it.

But there are also undoubted advantages in the fact that the island’s tourist infrastructure is developing much more slowly than expected. The rather fragile ecological situation of La Maddalena now needs slow and careful restoration. After the three-day frenzy of the summit, had it been held here, the decline of the island's economy would have been even more precipitous. Now there is a chance to develop the tourism industry gradually, gain momentum and strengthen each of its achievements.

Visitors to this island will be pleasantly surprised by the hospitality and obvious desire to please local restaurateurs, hoteliers and shops. A plus will also be a high level of English, as a result of many years of coexistence with the Americans at a NATO naval base - this is such a rare phenomenon in Italy.

The first thing that strikes you about La Maddalena is the city's importance as a Mediterranean port. However, precisely because the city is a transit point for many goods and people, it has shaped its character not by belonging to Italy, but by the abundance of these contacts with other nationalities. This feature is common to all the islands of the archipelago.

The islands of the La Maddalena archipelago are just 20 minutes by ferry from Pallau, a port in Sardinia. Geologically speaking, the pink granite soil of the island belongs to the area of ​​Gallura in northwestern Sardinia. However, the dialect of the local language is closer to the dialect of the Corsicans than the Sardinians.

The Maddalenians themselves have always considered themselves a separate nation, if not a race, distinct from the population of Sardinia, while the latter also consider themselves distinct from the rest of Italy.

All this has historical reasons. The first inhabitants of the islands of the La Maddalena archipelago were Corsican shepherds who crossed the strait with their flocks in search of pastures. They began to live and build here, and no one could tax them. In 1720, when Sardinia was given to the Savoy dynasty by the Treaty of The Hague, the La Maddalena archipelago was simply forgotten. The Genoese Republic had enough other problems, in particular, unrest in Corsica. As a result of this, La Maddalena, due to its uncertain territorial affiliation, became a refuge for smugglers.

When the Savoy dynasty finally decided to take over the islands in 1767, the Maddalenians had already formed their own style: business acumen combined with openness to foreigners.

The “unofficial” head of the island, Pietro Millelire, agreed to join Sardinia under certain conditions. Firstly, the Savoyard government had to allegedly “seize” the island - to preserve its reputation in front of the guests of the island and neighboring Corsica. Secondly, a number of competent trade and economic demands were put forward, which Sardinia promised to satisfy. After several demonstration cannon fires, the Savoyard authorities landed on the island and were greeted with loud "Long live the winners!".

Napoleon at one time, when trying to capture the island, suffered his first defeat here, thanks to the courage of another Millelire - Domenico, who successfully defended the main fort of La Maddalena. Admiral Nelson visited the waters of the archipelago three times, but never landed on shore, although he presented a valuable silver crucifix to the local church. Today this relic is proudly displayed in the small diocesan museum, with Nelson's letter attached.

But the closest connection was with the islands of another valiant military leader - Giuseppe Garibaldi. He lived on the wild island of Caprera, connected to La Maddalena by a bridge and causeway, for the last 27 years of his life. In 1849, Garibaldi was exiled to Caprera and liked it so much that he returned in 1855 and purchased land on the island. This is not surprising, because Caprera is a picturesque island made of beautiful pink granite, with clean sandy beaches and shady pine forests.

The Garibaldi House is the central element of the memorial complex dedicated to the great military leader. This museum has been perfectly preserved, despite (or perhaps because of) bored guides and constant excursions by groups of schoolchildren.

Interesting exhibits in the museum include three-wheeled sitz baths, English antique furniture, some documents of a military leader and locks of hair. The most impressive exhibit is the narrow bed on which Garibaldi ended his days. It was raised on a pedestal that reached to the window, from where a view of the coast of Corsica opened, so reminiscent of Giuseppe’s native Nice.

Swimming, sailing and long walks are by default the main activities in the archipelago. At the end of the day, after long excursions and walks, you return home to La Maddalena, this amazing city, large and complex, bustling with many bars and restaurants, shops and cinemas. Due to the fact that most developments are concentrated in the city, the island itself has its own secluded corners that are worth exploring.

Cala dei Francesi on the west coast is reminiscent of the industrial Pompeii: a huge quarry dug in the 19th century looks as if it was abandoned just yesterday. Rusty carts still sit on the railroad tracks, a huge three-legged machine looks like a Richard Serra sculpture, and the steel blocks are barely visible because of the weeds.

Bassa Trinita – north coast beach – has picturesque sand dunes, and the sea and sand are reminiscent of the tropics (however, algae can be a slight problem).

To see the most beautiful, breathtaking landscapes of the sea and the archipelago, you need a boat. Spargi - a real uninhabited island, there are fewer human traces here than on the island of Robinson Crusoe, and the amazing aroma of mastic and pistachio trees fills the air.

Three northern islands - Budelli , Razolli And Santa Maria - as if they were specially designed for shipwrecked people. On the island of Santa Maria there is a bar-restaurant and several simple houses, which are constantly sold from hand to hand at exorbitant prices. One of the cottages belongs to the famous actor and director Roberto Benigni, whose latest film is related to the theme of these islands.

On the island Razolli , uninhabited since 1969, when the last lighthouse was moved from here, pink granite rocks resemble the fossilized muscular arms of giants.

Budelli is a much more cozy place, there is an abundance of greenery, as well as the most famous beach of Spiaggia Rosa, which appeared in Antonioni’s first color film, “The Red Desert”. “Pink Beach” is so named because of the microorganisms that live in the algae, which gives the sand its reddish color. At least the sand was pink before.

After several years of invasions by tourists who bottled the sand as souvenirs, its color became much paler. Finally, in 1993, the beach became a protected area and it is now only possible to walk on the paths, not on the sand. Regardless of the color, this beach is still considered one of the most beautiful places in the archipelago.

The island of Budelli also has its own Robinson - Mauro, a strong and darkly tanned 71-year-old man, the island's guard, who lives in a shack on the beach of Spiaggia Rosa. A former physical education teacher from Modena, he moved here in 1989 when he retired. He spends ten months of the year on the island, using a small generator to power a few lights in his hut and solar panels to heat the water in his shower. He spends most of his time making furniture from juniper wood; some pieces are quite successfully sold through galleries in Milan.

In the summer, friends and relatives constantly visit him, tour guides bring curious tourists - and this is endless. But in winter, strong winds make crossing the strait by boat quite dangerous, and then Mauro whiles away the time alone. “One day,” he says, “I was stuck here for 40 days, eating canned food. But this was not a big problem for me. But I read a lot of books during this time!”

In the northern part of Sardinia there is the Maddalena National Park - an archipelago consisting of seven large islands and a whole scattering of small ones (55 small islands). This is the first reserve created in Sardinia: it includes the entire Maddalena archipelago and the waters of the Bocco di Boniface marine reserve.

A little history

The archipelago has been known since ancient times– this is evidenced by numerous traces of buildings from the ancient Roman era. For the Romans, this archipelago - and the Romans called these areas Cunicularia - was an important point in terms of navigation.

Due to their convenient location, the islands have more than once become the subject of dispute between and. In the 1st-2nd centuries, pirates dominated here, raiding neighboring territories and hiding from persecution in the quaint and inaccessible bays of the water area.

In the 13th century, these regions were chosen by Corsican shepherds- fortunately, there was plenty of space for pastures here (besides, the absence of taxes was a definite plus), and in the 16th century the residents moved here.

In 1720, Sardinia came under the jurisdiction of the Savoy dynasty., and they forgot a little about the islands: there were more serious problems then - for example, unrest in Corsica. As a result, the archipelago became virtually ownerless, and smugglers reappeared in the region. In 1767, the Maddalena authorities, on certain and extremely favorable terms, agreed to become part of Sardinia.

The first permanent settlements appeared on the islands in 1770.

Until recently, this piece of paradise was completely closed to the public., and only a few years ago it was partially open to tourists (until 2008, Santo Stefano hosted an American military base for the NATO Navy and an Italian naval base). There is no base on the archipelago now, but La Maddalena is still partially used by the Italian fleet: the School of Junior Officers of the Italian Navy is located here.

Only three large islands are inhabited– Santo Stefano, Caprera and Maddalena.

In 1996, the archipelago was declared a specially protected natural area.

In 2008, the Maddalena National Park was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Tourist infrastructure is developing quite slowly in these parts, but only in order to preserve the fragile natural balance and not harm the unique natural environment.

On the pages of our website you will also learn about. We invite you to familiarize yourself with detailed information for a more comfortable trip!

Islands

The total length of the coastline is 180 km. The largest island of the Sardinian archipelago is La Maddalena.

The waters of the islands today are an attractive holiday destination for divers– underwater beauties, unexplored grottoes and caves, the wealth of marine flora and fauna attract new tourists every year.

• La Maddalena. The island itself is hilly, but the coastline is quite intricately cut by waves, and getting to the shores is not so easy. Guests of the resort can enjoy wonderful walks along the cobbled streets of the historical center, where you can see houses built in the 13th century and the ancient church of Santa Maria Maddalena.

  

  The number of inhabitants on the island does not exceed 12 thousand people. The island itself stands out from all others with its unusual color: the rocks have a red-ocher tint, and the sands of the coastal strip are white.

• Caprera- the second most important and largest island after La Maddalena. It got its name because of its large population of goats (from the Italian capra - “goat”). The island is famous for the fact that there is a house-museum of the famous “father of Italian independence” Giuseppe Garibaldi, who lived in these parts for 26 years. At the entrance to the house you can see a bust of a freedom fighter, and behind the house, a little further, there is a family cemetery of the Garibaldi family and a small chapel.

  

  The eastern part of Caprera is the so-called “zone A”- a completely protected natural area, fishing is even completely prohibited here, and you can travel by car only in winter (vehicle traffic is limited in summer).

• Santo Stefano (San Stefano) is of mostly historical interest to tourists: walking here, you can easily imagine what the archipelago looked like in ancient times.

  

  Numerous Neolithic caves, ancient buildings and granite quarries remain on the island.

• Budelli famous for its unique pink beach. It is called pink because of the color of the sand, which consists of pieces of mollusk shells, corals and granite chips (this combination together gives a soft pink color). In recent years, it has been allowed to walk here only on specially laid paths, but not on sand.

  

  This was done due to the fact that tourists began to collect sand in containers and take it with them as a souvenir. There is also a famous personality, the local “Robinson” - a former teacher from Modena, who retired in 1989 and moved to live on Budelli. He spends 10 months of the year here, in a local fishing shack equipped with a generator, makes custom wicker furniture and receives rare tourists.

• Razzoli It has been uninhabited since 1969, when the last residents left and the lighthouse on the island was dismantled and moved to another location.



• Santa Maria and Spargi are relatively small islands without any special attractions.

  

  Caprera and La Maddalena are the only islands of the archipelago connected by road, all the others are isolated from each other.

Excursions and entertainment

The islands of the archipelago do not have extensive and developed infrastructure. If you come here for a few days, you can only stay on the main island - La Maddalena: there are several small hotels for tourists. You can negotiate with local residents and rent a room or guest house for a day or two.

On Caprera you can stay in a small tourist village with bungalows. But mostly tourists visit La Maddalena on a sightseeing cruise tour of Sardinia, visiting the islands for just a few hours.