The Island of Sant'Antioco

Sant'Antioco is the island's main town of the same name connected to the mainland by an artificial isthmus, since Roman times there was an arched bridge of which only a few remains.
Founded by the Phoenicians in the eighth century BC as of Sulki, was one of the most important cities of the Mediterranean, passed through the port from which the minerals, including gold, Iglesiente extracts. For this plumbaria Ptolemy called the insula, the island's lead. At the time of the Second Punic War, the port was used as the basis of the Carthaginian fleet. The alliance later cost her the punishment by the Romans winners. This did not stop its expansion, which continued until the end of the Empire. In the Middle Ages to the continuous raids of the pirates led to a gradual abandonment.

Why visit Sant'Antioco

Beautiful coves and beaches more beautiful than the stunning, crystal clear water with endless variations of color, deserted corners of paradise ... if you seek peace and tranquility for rest and refreshment from the smog and the daily routine of the busy city you've found the right place for you, you can go to the most beautiful bays of the Island semi-desert, or if you like being surrounded by people you can opt for The most popular beaches on the island. In the evening at home can taste the local seafood and the many restaurants, trattorias, pizzerias, pubs and nightclubs and enjoy fun in addition, in a quiet tree-lined promenade and the beautiful waterfront city cradled by the soft sea breeze ...

... In addition to all these wonderful natural scenic beauty you can immerse yourself in history, culture and traditions of the island ...

The town stretches from the sea to the hills, with houses from the wrought iron balconies that make the urban characteristic of the country. To visit the Castle of Savoy is in the trachyte of the Punic city and the Acropolis. On a trachytic rock overlooking the sea there is the Tophet, the sanctuary where they were laid-burial of the ashes of the deceased or stillborn babies shortly after birth.

In the area of the Punic necropolis area, forty underground tombs used for depositions of family groups and then by the Romans to the deposition of lead or stone urns containing the ashes of the dead. The tombs occupy the whole upper part of town, turned Christian era in the early Christian catacombs. In the village there is also the only weaver in the world of fine linen, the burr of the largest bivalves in the Mediterranean, from which it derives a filament which is then woven. This is where the Basilica of Sant 'Antioco, who was bishop's seat, attested from 484, when Bishop Vitalis participated in the Synod of Carthage.