Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:00]
A
Now let the city of the hello, My name is Claudia. I was born and raised in Sardinia and I still call it home. I am the mastermind behind the Sweetly Sardinia Travel Blog and now the Sweetly Sardinia Podcast where each week I will bring you the best Sardinia has to offer and and share my most useful tips that will help you plan a memorable trip to my wonderful island. In the last episode, I told you everything you need to know about the Sardinia Blue Zone. This week I will share with you all you need to know about the lovely coastal town of Boza. Let me stress that you will find a more detailed version of today's episode on my blog, sweetly. Sardina.com just pop into the episode description because that will have the link to my blog post. So don't forget to read that for more information. Now let's talk about Boza. This is one of the most beautiful small towns in Italy. Definitely my favorite small town in Sardinia. It counts no more than 8,500 inhabitants and it's a maze of colorful buildings. There's a hilltop castle and a river flowing right through the village. It's honestly so scenic that you should really not miss it. If you happen visit Northwestern Sardinia, I have been there countless times. As I said, it's my favorite small town in Sardinia. It's a little bit of a hidden gem. It's not nearly as touristy as most places on the island. You can go there on day trips from Alghero, but if you can, I still recommend spending a couple of days as the atmosphere is completely different and you will enjoy it. Now let's discover the best things to do in Visit the Malaspina Castle. If Boza is only a quick stop to you during a road trip across the island and you have time to visit just one place in Boza, this would have to be the Malaspina Castle. It was built in 1112, so that's very old when the Malaspina family moved to Cerdina from Tuscany. And there isn't much of the original structure of the castle anymore, just the watch towers and the walls which remain a nice sight. They also have the remains of a 14th century chapel called Nostra Signora de Reynos Altos where you can admire a 14th century fresco of the lives of saint and martyrs such as St. Lawrence and St. Christopher. What I think it makes a visit in these places incredible is the view that you get from the castle. It's as I said, it's a hilltop castle. So imagine you can see the entire Boza spread out in front of you number two on the things to do in browse the churches. For as small as it is, Boza has many churches that you could visit. The first and most important one is obviously the cathedral built in the 19th century over the remains of a Romanesque church. It's built in rococo style, so. So that's quite unique. And the most beautiful piece inside is the marble altar and the frescoes painted in the 19th century by Emilio Scherer. Another nice church is the one dedicated to Sant Antonio di Abbot. It's located on the southern bank off the river once you cross the old bridge. The old bridge, by the way, is an unmissable site. In Boza, the church is really open, but if you visit in January and during Carnival, you should find it open because it opens special occasions. About 2 km outside of the village you will find San Pietro Extramuros Church, another cathedral that was built in 1073 and it's among the old Romanist churches in Sardinia. Boza is also home to quite a few museums. There's a couple that you may want to visit. The best one is Museo Casa de Rio, which is located in a 19th century building with a collection of local crafts. Each floor focus focuses on a different historical period. So you will find a temporary exhibit on the first floor. The second one is about decor and contains regional furnishings of Casa de riu, the name of the building where the museum is located. The third floor floor is an art gallery and exhibit of paintings of Melchior Remelis, one of Sardinia's most acclaimed painters. Another interesting museum is the Museo delle Concha, which is located in the former. Tanneries were used until the end of World War II and is meant to provide insights onto how tanneries work. You will see original stone tanks used to wash the leather and a photo exhibit illustrating the tanning process. Balsa is also home to quite a few festivals. The biggest one is the carnival. If you happen to be in Sardinia during carnival time between January and March usually depends on the season, you should definitely attend. This is a less touristic carnival compared to that of other places in Sardinia. For example, Sartilla in Oristano. It's big. It starts with the burning of a pyre right in front of Sant Antonio Bate church, which is the church I mentioned before. And the parade culminates in the celebrations of Shrove Thursday. That when people dressed in black will walk around pretending to cry for the end of Carnival. And on the same day people dressed in white will hunt the Jolci, a manifestation of the carnival through thought to Be to hide in people's groin. So I won't say anything more, because you have to. You have to. To find out who the joltsi, how the joltzi are caught. Another festival, if you happen to be there in the summer, is in the first week of August in the Santa Maria del Mare. That's when a procession of boats takes the statue of the Virgin Mary from Boza Marina all the way to the cathedral. Amidst fireworks, traditional dances and songs. It's hardly known to tourists, but it's a beautiful celebration. And there's also Boza Beer festival, which is held during the spring, and it's an occasion to try Sardinian craft beer. One fun experience that you could take advantage of again if you are in Sardinia during the late spring and summer months is the aperitemo. It's a conjunction of two words, aperitivo and temo, which is the Temo River. It's a boat cruise that goes along the river. It starts from the Ponte Vecchio, so the old bridge in town, and it goes all the way to Bosa Marina via the submerged Roman bridge and the San Pietro church. As the name implies, it involves drinking traditional wine, enjoying a few specialties. It runs to the Locanda di Corte hotel and restaurant, so you can book with them. Obviously, you could spend a day at the beach in Boza. It's a coastal town. Honestly, the main beach, Boza Marina, isn't my favorite, but if you want a nicer cove, you could find Compultito. It's a cove of white sand nestled among the beautiful rock formations in. It's a little bit of a hike to get there, so once you park your car, so make sure to wear your shoes. Because there is a coast and because there is a river, you could also take a kayak tour. You could visit the various coves around the coast or kayak along the river. The Temu river is the only navigable river in Sardinia, and a boat trip usually starts from the estuary situated in Boza Marina and reaches the San Pietro churches and the remains of the Roman bridge I mentioned before. Boat trips along the coast, on the other hand, usually start in Boza Marina again and reach Capo Marrargio, where you can visit a small cave and you can visit smaller caves as you go along. I also highly recommend going to Canemalo. This is not a beach proper, it's more like a swimming hole, a natural pool that has been carved in the white trachyte rock that is found in the area of Boza. You will need to have Sandals or rock shoes to walk around because it can be painful for your feet and it can be slippery. I wholeheartedly recommend to only go there if the weather is perfect and there is no wind. Because swimming there it can be dangerous during on windy days. Also don't forget that there can be sea urchins in the water. So watch out. There are some hikes in the area of Boza. Speaking of you know walking, Capo Mararju, Biomarine park and the nature reserve of Bade Ajozu. They are the best places to go for a hike. The one going to Managu beach, the result of a volcanic eruption, is another great hike bike. On a clear day you can see all the way to Capocaccia in Alghero. You can also join a quad bike tour during this bike. During this quad bike tours you go on a loop of around 30 kilometers which is roughly 18.6 miles that makes various stops. You will visit Columbarja Beach, Isharuja beach. You will have a chance to see swim if you visit in the right season. One of the stops is in the small village of Tresnuragas and before heading back to Boza, you see the Aragones watchtower of Foge from where you can see Capo Nie do coast. There are some Nuraga around Boza. The most famous one that you can visit is Nuraga Santa Cristina. It's getting there can be quite tricky. You might not be able to see it immediately as you come from the road far. There is also Nurage Loza. Another cool day trip that you can take from Boza is the one to Cullieri. It's completely untruisty. It sits on the hill around 500 meters which is roughly 1640ft above sea level. And if you get along the drive from Boza make it a really scenic place. The main site here is the Basilica. So the church of Santa Maria della Neve, which is stunning. Boza is really worth visiting. You will find a few good accommodation options here. My favorite place to stay is Palazzo Sapischeda, which is the best hotel in town. It has rooms that have you off the river. As I said, you can visit on day trips from Alghero. The drive from Alghero takes about one hour. The views along the road are scenic. This is one of the most scenic drives in Sardinia ever. You can get to Boza from Alghero by bus. It takes longer. I do not recommend doing that. If you want to visit on a day trip. They also have some really good restaurants. My favorite will be the one in Hotel Manu. Honestly, the hotel doesn't look like much when you look at it, but the restaurant is fantastic. Now this brings me to the end of today's episode. Before I share the topic for the next week, let me remind you that if you need more tips to help you plan your trip to Sardinia, you can book a one hour consultation with me. The link will be in the episode description so make sure to read that. Of course, this is my blog, Paul who post my blog strictly sardinia.com that has even more tips that will help you plan your trip to Sardinia 100% free. And it's much more detailed than this podcast. Next week I will be talking about Christmas celebrations in Sardinia. Finally, if you like my podcast, share it with your friends who are coming to Sardinia. Give it a five star rating and a good review. Now until next week. Goodbye.