News
COSTA REI - COSTA REY
01/03/2010
Last year, Lonely Planet put it at number five in the classifioation ofthe world's ten most beautiful beaches.
“Crystalline waters and one of the loveliest seas in the world await you", it wrote and invited its readers to visit this corner of the Mediterranean that is little known but evidently in no way inferior to the world’s most famous tourist resorts.
The beach is Costa Rey, in the southeast of Sardinia.
Eight uninterrupted kilometres of incredibly fine white sand are protected from the northwest wind that blows over the island for numerous days in the year by a cluster of hills that also create a particularly pleasant microclimate. And on these hills with their impenetrable woods studded with the cistus, myrtle, lentisk, juniper and arbustus of the superb and intoxicating Mediterranean scrub, the environment and landscape is practically untouched.
There are various legends about the location and how it is spelt. According to one, it is Costa Rey, with a because when the Spanish ruled the island they found it so totally charming that they dedicated it to their king, "El Rey". Another version, which is less fascinating but more
believable, has it that the name derives from the ancient "Costa dei rei", the convicts who were deported here in the mid 19th century to reclaim the surrounding land and improve its agricultural potential. The ancient penal settlement at nearby Castiadas remained in operation
until 1952, but it is now one of the local the tourist attractions.
The beautitul buildings that hosted the prison management, the houses of the civil and military
personnel and, subsequently, the casualty unit, pharmacy, hospital, telephone station and power plant, have been converted and will host a museum and shows.
Costa Rei is in the municipality of Muravera and is divided into beaches with different characteristics and names. ln the sea on the southern boundary there is a large turtle-shaped rock called the Scoglio di Peppino; going northwards, there are the beaches of Costa Rei, Piscina Rei and Capo Ferrato.
A few kilometres further north is the mouth of the River Flumendosa and the town of Muravera, an important citrus growing centre and the capital ot the historical region of Sarrabus.
At Sarrabus and neighbouring Gerrei mining for silver dates back as far as Roman times. The mines are no longer worked but they are part of the Historical Geomineral and Environmental Park of Sardinia, which has created an interesting silver itinerary with guided tours.
Rich in indigenous flora and fauna, the area surrounding Costa Rei is also the site of splendid archaeological remains, the most important of which is the megalithic complex and 22 menhir at Piscina Rei. Historically, the sacred area is of huge importance given that it was created by pre-Nuragic civilisations around 3000 B.C. and was used until the Roman era. The remains of a
Carthaginian fortress were found at nearby Monte Nai.
A short distance away is the Scalas nuraghe and at the Cuili Piras archaeological site there are two megalithic complexes with 43 and 50 menhir, respectively.
