Casa AntiocaSant'Antioco · Sardegna
Sant'Antioco vue depuis la mer : le front de mer, les barques de pêche et les maisons colorées

The destination

Sant'Antioco

The largest island of Sardinia after Sardinia itself. Linked by an isthmus, lived in all year round, still spared by mass tourism.

In pictures

The island, as it really is

Sant'Antioco from the inside: coves, backstreets and the light of south-west Sardinia.

01 — The coves

A coastline still wild

Sea caves, volcanic cliffs and clear coves shape a coastline best explored from both its paths and the water.

Sea cave
Sea caveTurquoise water and volcanic rocks, a few minutes away by boat.
Turri and its tower
Turri and its tower15 km from the village, below Capo su Moru: three coves beneath an old Spanish watchtower, emerald water and snorkelling under the cliff.
Wild cove
Wild coveThe island's jagged coastline, between cliffs and deep water.
Deep blue waters
Deep blue watersA rocky inlet where the sea shifts from navy to turquoise.
02 — The town

A town alive all year

Colourful lanes, a fishing harbour, a morning market. Sant'Antioco lives all year — it is not a set that closes in September.

At dawn the boats come in with their creels. You choose tonight's fish here, before the town wakes.

Steep street to the sea
Steep street to the seaA village alleyway sloping down towards the lagoon.
The seafront at sunset
The seafront at sunsetPalm trees and pink skies on Sant'Antioco's lungomare.
03 — The Sardinian table

The table

Fregola with clams, bottarga grated over spaghetti, pane carasau, Carignano del Sulcis in a frosted glass. Sardinia is eaten slowly.

Spaghetti alle vongole
Spaghetti alle vongoleLagoon clams, garlic, parsley and a thread of olive oil — the Sardinian table needs nothing more.
Sardinian ravioli
Sardinian ravioliRicotta ravioli with tomato sauce and pecorino, served in the village trattorias.
Zippole
ZippoleSpiral fried dough dusted with sugar, shared on feast days.
Prickly pears
Prickly pearsPicked along the paths and served chilled at the end of the meal.
Grilling by the water
Grilling by the waterThe barbecue hanging over the cove: lunch with your feet in turquoise water.
04 — An open-air museum

An open-air museum

In the streets, Punic heritage meets a new generation of artists. The walls tell stories of women, fishermen and the island’s ancient patterns.

Grazia Deledda
Grazia DeleddaMural by Italian-Spanish street artist Leticia Mandragora, 2021: the blue portrait of the Sardinian Nobel Prize-winning writer, painted for the 150th anniversary of her birth, on the corner of Via Grazia Deledda. Part of the "Museo diffuso Isola di Sant'Antioco" project, art direction by Giorgio Casu.
The mosaic boat
The mosaic boatA fishing boat made of hundreds of coloured triangles on a village gable — one stop on the open-air street-art trail of the "Museo diffuso".
"A lighthouse between sky and sea"
"A lighthouse between sky and sea"The electrical tower at the entrance to the isthmus, repainted in 2025 by Turin collective Truly Design Crew: red and blue anamorphic geometry, an imaginary lighthouse welcoming arrivals.
"Is Nuus Nous"
"Is Nuus Nous""The new knots", the first work of the "Museo diffuso": in 2020 Giorgio Casu (Jorge) covered the Via Belvedere electrical cabin with the island's weaving repertoire and Punic heritage.
"Sa Mesu Grana"
"Sa Mesu Grana"Monumental mural by Andrea Pani, an artist from Sant'Antioco: a woman wearing "sa mesu grana", the town's traditional dress, on Via Fra Ignazio, facing the Grazia Deledda portrait.
05 — Island notebook

Three thousand years of living history

Sant'Antioco is not a seaside resort: it is Sulky, founded by the Phoenicians almost three millennia ago — the oldest town in Sardinia. You still dine where amphorae were once unloaded.

The Drusus of Piazza Umberto
The Drusus of Piazza UmbertoA faithful copy of the cuirassed statue of Drusus the Younger (son of Tiberius, 1st century AD), unearthed in 1908 at Su Narboni, ancient Sulci. The original is in the National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari; the copy has stood on Piazza Umberto since 2024.
Sant'Antioco Martire
Sant'Antioco MartireThe red and white façade of the historic church.
The traditional dress
The traditional dressThe traditional dress of Sant'Antioco, handed down from mother to daughter — worn here by me, your host, and my son.
"Sa festa manna"
"Sa festa manna"Fifteen days after Easter, three days of festivities — Saturday to Monday, with the grand procession on Monday: the statue of the patron saint carried through the town, escorted by traditional costumes, among palm trees and old-town façades. The island's oldest festival, and one of the largest in Sardinia.
The procession of Sant'Antioco, 1937
The procession of Sant'Antioco, 1937Archive photograph of the procession through the town's lanes: "Sa festa manna", celebrated fifteen days after Easter, from Saturday to Monday — Monday being the day of the great procession — the island's oldest festival.

Photographs: personal archive. Island view from the sea: Alex10 (CC BY-SA 3.0). Procession 2015: Alex10 (CC BY-SA 4.0). Procession 1937: Archivio Storico Comunale di Sant'Antioco (CC0).

Salon de jardin de Casa Antioca sous les rosiers

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