Isola di San Pietro: Carloforte and the scent of Liguria in Sardinia

Isola di San Pietro is a historical and cultural anomaly of rare beauty. Founded in 1738 by coral fishermen originally from Pegli, near Genoa, who had been deported to Tunisia by pirates and later freed through the intervention of the King of Sardinia, the island still bears unmistakable signs of that history: the Carlofortino dialect is an archaic form of Genoese, the cuisine blends Liguria and Sardinia with extraordinary results, and the sole town — Carloforte — has an urban layout reminiscent of the alleys in Genoa's old port.

Tuna and the tonnara

For centuries, Carloforte was Italy's bluefin tuna capital. The mattanza — the ritual catching of tuna in fixed nets — was practised until the 1990s and left behind a unique gastronomic culture. Tuna enters every aspect of local cooking: cascà (a Sardinian-Ligurian couscous with vegetables and fish), tagliolini with fresh tuna, buzzonaglia (belly preserved in oil). At the restaurant Al Tonno di Corsa, in Carloforte's historic centre, a tasting of bluefin tuna antipasti costs around 18 euros and is worth every cent.

The western coves

The island's western coast is nearly uninhabited and offers some of the most beautiful coves in southwestern Sardinia. Cala Fico, Cala Vinagra, Spiaggia di Girin: beaches of pink granite and Mediterranean scrub fragrant with myrtle and mastic. In low season you can have an entire cove to yourself. The island measures about 51 square kilometres and is easily explored by bicycle, the recommended means of transport since the inland roads are narrow and panoramic.

Getting to San Pietro

The ferry to Carloforte departs from Calasetta (Sulcis) and from Portovesme, with crossings of twenty to thirty minutes. Calasetta is reached via Cagliari and Sant'Antioco. In summer there are also fast connections from Cagliari by sea. The island is visited but not overcrowded: the best months are May, June, and September, when Sardinian weekend tourists don't swamp the ferry. Carloforte has a good selection of B&Bs and small hotels, and village life — the Genoese caruggi, the morning market, evening card games — is already worth the trip on its own.