Castelsardo: The Doria Fortress Looking Toward Corsica from Northern Sardinia

Castelsardo is visible from afar, from whichever direction you arrive: a castle of dark stone planted on a rock that advances into the Gulf of Asinara like a motionless sentinel. The Doria family of Genoa built it in the eleventh century, calling it Castelgenovese; the Spanish renamed it Castellaragonese; only in 1769 did it become Castelsardo. Centuries of foreign rule left a village that is, in form, almost intact.

The Castle and the Weaving Museum

The Doria castle, at the top of the cliff, houses the Museum of Mediterranean Weaving: a collection dedicated to the local art of weaving baskets and hampers from asphodel, dwarf palm, and rush. This is no ordinary museum: the weaving tradition in Castelsardo is living, not museified. Village women still work in front of their doorways, hands interweaving with automatic, swift movements that no manual could teach. A handmade basket — not imported from elsewhere — costs thirty to sixty euros.

The Village Spiraling Downward

Castelsardo's houses descend from castle to port following the shape of the rock, in a spiral of alleys, stairways, and arches that looks designed by a visionary urban planner. Every terrace faces the sea from its own elevation, every window has its unique framing of the gulf. At sunset, with the raking light on the stone facades and the sea turning red, Castelsardo is one of those places where you understand why certain photographs seem unreal.

The Port and Northern Sardinian Cuisine

Castelsardo's port is still a fishing port. The local specialty is aragosta alla catalana — cooked and served cold with tomato and Tropea onion — and sea urchins in season (October-March). In the port restaurants you spend twenty-five to forty euros. Castelsardo is thirty kilometers from Sassari by car; the best months are May-June and September, before and after the invasion of Sassari residents' second homes.