Palau

An extraordinary young tourist place

Palau is a town situated along one of the most spectacular branches of the north-eastern coast of Sardinia. Its name comes from the fourteenth century, during which fishermen used the term “parago” or “parao” referring to the safest place of the coast repaired by the wind. And since Palau is situated in a particularly repaired place, fishermen decided to give it that name, which is still used in the near island of La Maddalena to indicate Palau itself.

In 1875 a man, Gian Domenico Fresi, well known as “Zecchino”, set up the town. He built the first house in the square the inhabitants have dedicated to him. It is still possible to read the date 01/08/1875 on the chimneypot of his house in the historical centre. But the town itself was built at the beginning of the twentieth century thanks to its founder.

The importance and development of Palau are strictly due to the building of fortifications in La Maddalena island, a very important strategic point of the Mediterranean, and to the necessity for sailors to have a safe point of support at close range from the rest of Sardinia. Fishermen and farmers were the first inhabitants who settle down in the town and used to exploit brilliantly that fortunate geographical position, almost equidistant from La Maddalena Archipelago and the Costa Smeralda as well, in order to improve its social economical condition. Since the beginning of the last century the area around Palau has been attended exclusively by soldiers and workers who flocked from the centre of Sardinia to the military positions of Stintino, Capo d’Orso, Altura, Baragge.

The first houses in Palau were built in 1905, as well as the church of “Vergine delle Grazie” and the office of civil state for the recognition of citizenship to the people born in Palau. After Gian Domenico Fresi was allowed to build other constructions in that area, the chief town Tempio Pausania conceded the civil state to the fraction of Palau, so that the cemetery, the first school, the post office and the first street Sassari-Palau were built.

At the end of the twenties, the works for the connection of the roads Palau-Tempio and Palau-Arzachena-Olbia, the drainage of the pond and the building of the sports ground were finished. Besides, at the end of the thirties, the town could take advantage of the electrical energy from the exploitment of the lake Coghinas.

During the Second World War the town and its inhabitants had an important role: on 10 April 1943 the battle cruiser Trieste was shot by a myriad of American bombers and it sank after a short time. The survivors tried to reach the shore to be carried to the near hospitals, while the American soldiers destroyed all the buildings of the town.

At the beginning of the sixties, some enchanted entrepreneurs by the beauty of the place sensed the tourist potentiality of the area around Palau and created the first tourist accomodation initiative. The most important founder who introduced this wonderful part of Sardinia to the rest of the world was the Spanish earl Rafael Neville. He himself baptized the tourist village of Porto Rafael, a very nice resort full of houses built in typical Mediterranean style and in perfect harmony with the features of that area. Thanks to Neville’s care for the creation of the village, the Commune of Palau appointed him honorary citizen of the town.

In the sixties the trading harbour of Palau, the school and the church were built. In 1959 the town became an indipendent Commune, reaching an extraordinary success in the survey of the international tourism, thanks to the creation of ferries line that link the town to La Maddalena island. Tourism is increasing nowdays as well, thanks to the beauty of the place, but above all to the firmness of the Palau inhabitants, always very respectful and hospitable with visitors as well as with nature. In fact, they prevent tourists from causing any sort of vandalism or ruin that could disfigure the beauty and the charm of the place.

Palau coast

A various landscape with an enchanting background

The landscape around Palau is really various, above all on the coast, which can be admired from the Baragge hill, 125 metres high, in the background of La Maddalena Archipelago. On the contrary, proceeding towards Capo d’Orso, on the eastern coast, it is possible to admire wide inlets rich in small beaches. After a few minutes you can arrive below the famous bear’s rock, 122 metres high, a particular rock that looks like a big bear looking out on the sea. The rock has been very famous for a long time and it was studied by ancient geographers; it is possible to reach it after following a comfortable landscape path.

The view from the rock is splendid. You can see Capo Ferro, Forte Cappellini, the Arzachena Gulf, the islands of the Archipelago, and as far as Santa Teresa di Gallura in the west and Corsica in the north. To reach this stunning spot, you should take the via Capo d’Orso out of Palau and, after three km, you arrive at the slopes of the headland. From here, the only way to reach the rock is on foot, and you can also get easily to the fortifications which were constructed in the 19th century to defend the pass. The way to the Capo d’Orso further on is not sign-posted, but it’s well worth the effort because you can also admire the fantastic Capo d’Orso’s lighthouse, reachable only by sea.
Southwards, the path continues to the Gulf of Saline and to the Gulf of Arzachena. On the opposite side of the town there is the seaside resort of Porto Rafael. The resort consists of different villas, well integrated in the landscape of Punta Sardegna.

Predominantly, Palau coast is steep and rocky and it has acquired a great success for its particular naturalistic features, above all in its no building area. A road, northwards, leads to the Porto Rafael houses, to the Punta Sardegna viewpoint, 111 metres high, from which the view on the coast and on La Maddalena Archipelago is very outstanding. On a lightly higher position, there are the tourist villages of Barrabisa, Petralana (southwards), and Costa Serena, on the eastern coast. Also the area called Capannaccia, on the road Palau-Santa Teresa, has recently been enlarged with the function of a tourist centre.

Palau and its beaches

The irresistible charm of the marvellous beaches

The coast of Palau is an ample and well-ventilated bay area, about 24 km long, that spreads from the Golfo delle Saline, eastwards, until the Liscia river. Further south there is the Porto Mannu beach - Vena Longa or Lido di Porto Mannu, that offers superb, crystal clear waters and a splendid little juniper and evergreen oak grove which provides respite during the hottest part of the day.

More exquisite little bays hide equally attractive beaches around the famous Capo d’Orso headland. Among these are Cala Capra and Cala Casotto (just past the military port). Amongst the other beaches, there is also the Palau Vecchio beach, near the railway lines. Just west of the town is another stretch of sand below Porto Faro and a further one near the Acapulco beach, on the Sciumara bay. The coast running along to Porto Rafael includes two beaches named after Nelson and, after the town’s own stretch of beach, there’s the Cala Martinella. From here on the coastline becomes steeper before, beyond the Punta Sardegna.

Between the Punta Sardegna and the Punta Sardegna-seaside, westwords, it is possible to reach the characteristic Cala di Trana on foot, a wide beach whose owners rigorously keep tidy and cosy. The access is not much evident but it is easy to get there from the road Palau-Santa Teresa as well, where you can park your car and continue walking on foot until you arrive at the sea.
Beyond the remains of a military outpost you can reach the Costa Serena and the beautiful Cala Scilla which, due to its lovely clear water and easy access for swimming, has earned itself the nickname of Porto Rafael’s swimming pool.

Some kilometres ahead towards Santa Teresa, there’s a further detour that takes to the village of Porto Puddu, near the mouth of the river Liscia, a residential area rich in very interesting small beaches. Between the two widest beaches there’s the Isuledda or Isola dei Gabbiani, connected to the dry land by a subtile sandbar. That’s an ideal place to practise windsurf for the presence of a constant wind. It is possible to visit other fantastic beaches near Porto Rafael, once out of the town, following a path that rises to a sort of hill surmounted by the walls of an ancient blockhouse. The road skirts the beach Mezzo Schifo, surrounded by villas and small houses, until you arrive at the village. Its small square is the most characteristic place and it is always full of people; it opens on the sea near a small beach, Cala Inglese, the summer realm of great famous characters.

If you carry on walking, you can arrive at the landscape terrace of Punta Sardegna, where it is possible to admire the view looking out on the Archipelago of La Maddalena. On the contrary, if you go back, you can go down until the small Cala Trana and arrive at the inlet of Porto Pollo, opened to the north-west wind and so a wonderful paradise for people who practise windsurf. Nowdays, Porto Pollo is full of tourists from spring to autumn, thanks to the presence of a bungalow village made in wood, with small squares in the middle of vegetation.

THE NEIGHBOURING SUGGESTIVE RESORTS

Porto Pollo

The beaches along Porto Pollo represent a unique example of the extraordinary harmony of nature. The area is internationally renewed because it is a resort populated by wind-surfers all year round. The sand bank that links the Isola dei Gabbiani to the mainland serves as a breakwater, creating ideal conditions for this kind of sport. Porto Pollo is a great holiday destination for sporting types, because not only there are surfing facilities but also diving, sailing and mountain-biking ones.

For those more interested in a more passive holiday, the choice of beaches is ample: around the mouth of the river Liscia the dunes provide excellent protection from the wind so loved by the surfers. This area can get pretty crowded but, for the more hardy, a 2 km walk to the Coluccia peninsula leads to beaches that are generally empty even in August. Besides, the Isola dei Gabbiani boasts the presence of the longest beaches of the Gallura coast, and all of them deserve to be visited for their charm as well as for their beauty.

Porto Rafael

Also Porto Rafael is a beautiful elegant tourist resort, very rich in white-walled villas discreetly hidden amongst the vegatation. It’s pretty a little town with the Santa Rita’s small church and some low villas nestling behind rocks of granite and oak trees. Down in the central square which leads to the sea front is Rafael Neville’s original home and the Town Hall.
During the summer the little shops that line the square throng with tourists. The town is also known as a popular destination for yachts from all over the world. In fact, even though the Punta Sardegna Yacht Club is quite small, together with the Costa Smeralda Yacht Club it organizes the Formenton Trophy, an increasingly popular annual regatta.
Proceeding straight on, the road becomes steep amongst the rocks, until you arrive at the wonderful lighthouse of Punta Sardegna. From the granite rock of the lighthouse it is possible to admire a fantastic view looking out on the island of Spargi and on the beautiful Cala Corsara. Besides, once you arrive at the Punta Sardegna vedette, you will also see the fantastic landscapes of La Maddalena Archipelago.

THE NEW PALAU

A visit along the centre of the village

Palau is a borough with the highest percentage of second homes. Olbia’s port and airport are nearby and the town is ideally set centrally on one of the most enchanting stretches of coast around these parts. So it is interesting for those who wish to invest in property. In fact, its popularity as a holiday centre means that there is a vast infrastructure of facilities, from constructors to property agencies specialising in maintanance and the renting of properties.

These services make a property in or around Palau a fisible proposition even for those who live far away. A regular income is assured through renting, for the demand from tourism for such properties, and grows constantly year to year.
The visit of tourists inside Palau village does not take a very long time for the smallness of the village itself. The walk begins in Via Nazionale, where it is possible to do shopping, and finishes on the jetty of ferries, at the shipping office. On the left side of the jetties you can reach a small creek on foot, where there’s a beach with transparent and limpid water, although there’s a continue traffic of boats.

Also in the harbour there are lots of different restaurants, pubs and shops, exclusively attended by the young American soldiers of the near Santo Stefano naval base. Nowdays, the village is also a point of passage for tourists who want to reach other places of great naturalistic and cultural interest, as the islands of the Archipelago, after disembarking in Sardinia.

Anyway, the tourists who prefer staying in Palau can assist to nice shows organized in the square, as the village festival of Santa Maria delle Grazie at the end of August. During that day you can taste some good fried fish, practise the sportive fishing of tuna fish and assist to interesting folkloristic shows of popular song outdoors.