Bosa: The Tanners' Town on the Temo River and Sardinia's Wild Coast

Bosa is one of the few towns in Sardinia that does not face directly onto the sea. It sits on the Temo river, the island's only navigable river, three kilometers from the Tyrrhenian coast. This distance from the sea is its fortune: Bosa never became a mass beach destination, and its historic center — with the ochre, red, and yellow houses of the Sa Costa quarter climbing the hillside to the Malaspina castle — has remained as authentic as few places in Sardinia.

The Sa Costa Quarter and the Castle

Sa Costa is the medieval quarter that climbs the castle hill. The houses are painted with lime in warm colors — terracotta, mustard yellow, sea green — in a palette that recalls Provence or Morocco more than stereotypical Sardinia. The Malaspina castle, built in the thirteenth century by the Genoese family that ruled these lands, houses a small church frescoed in the fourteenth century with images of saints that are simultaneously Byzantine and Gothic. Admission is four euros; the view of the Temo river and the Malvasia vineyards is worth ten times as much.

Malvasia di Bosa and the Tanners

Bosa has two products of excellence almost unknown outside the island. The first is Malvasia di Bosa DOC, an oxidative white wine aged in barrels that tastes of toasted almonds and salty sea: rare, ancient, hard to find even in Sardinia. The second is leather tanning: along the Temo river you can still find the old tanners' workshops, partly restored today as a museum (the Museo delle Conce) where the craft that built Bosa's medieval wealth is told.

The Coast Between Bosa and Alghero

The coastal road from Bosa to Alghero — forty-five kilometers of almost entirely virgin coast, with no towns, with rare coves accessible only on foot — is considered by many the most beautiful stretch of Sardinia's western coast. There are no beach clubs, and rarely even a bar. You bring your own food and choose your own inlet. The best months are May-June and September-October.