Castelsardo, Sardinia

View of the town and port from the castle

7^th June A four hour motorsail from Stintino has brought us to Castelsardo, a medieval town set above a rocky promontory with a castle at its summit. After a lazy lunch on deck we decide to go and explore the town and castle, but are not looking forward to the two kilometre walk from the port in the early afternoon sun. Luckily, as we get to the port office a bus pulls in, and we hop on. This not only saves us the walk into town, but also takes us all the way up the steep hill to the stop right below the castle.

 

Reed boats in the museum

The narrow medieval streets are picturesque and the views are stunning. This area is known for its basket weaving and we find that the castle itself is now given over to a museum dedicated to Sardinia’s basket and wicker weaving traditions.  This turns out to be more interesting than it sounds, as we discover how they used reed and wicker to make all sorts of household utensils. But the most fascinating exhibit for us are the reed boats that were traditionally used for fishing. They remind us of miniature versions of Thor Heyadahl’s boats Ra and Ra 11 which were built from Papyrus and used to cross the Atlantic.  

The battering ram

Outside in the castle courtyard a strange contraption catches my eye, it’s like a wooden swing on a frame with a ram’s head at one end of it. Cliff is quick to recognise that it’s not a swing, but, literally,  a battering ram!

Cliff side walk at Castelsardo

We walk back down to the port in the late afternoon sun, following a cliff side path edged with wild flowers. It’s a slow process as we keep stopping to take in the views. Back in port it's barbecue time and as the sun sets we enjoy local fish washed down with an excellent local red wine.