Rounded hills cloaked in Mediterranean green, local breeds such as the white donkey, and the thousand colours of the sea. Asinara, over 50km2 within the territory of Porto Torres, separated from the mainland by Piana Island and the road through Fornelli, was designated a national park in 1997 and protected marine area in 2002.
The earliest traces of human activity is the Domus de Janas in Campu Perdu. The medieval period is represented by the ruins of the Camedolese Convent of Sant'Andrea and the Castellaccio set on a hilltop with a path leading up to it. From around 1600, the island was settled by a fishing and farming community. Asinara remained isolated for more than a century, and even more so when the maximum security prison was built in 1975.
The coastline runs for 110km. The western side plunges into the sea from steep cliffs, while the eastern shore is sandy with rocks emerging from the sea and crystalline: here there are Cala Sant'Andrea and Cala d'Arena and Cala dei Ponzesi. The surrounding waters are home to marine mammals and hide shipwrecks, one of which is right in front of the Cala Reale docks.
The cove shelters a late-19th century village, which used to host a lazaretto and the royal residence of the Savoy family. The old town of Cala d'Oliva with its low-built, white houses, where the commander of the penal colony and the guards' families lived, also bears witness to the past.
Fondazione Sardegna Film Commission
Via Malta 63 — 09124 Cagliari
Phone: +39 070 2041961
Email: filmcommission@regione.sardegna.it
