Published on: 15 December 2016  | Last updated: 23 December 2019

Overview

A change of pace as this section takes you inland. The highlight are the murales in the villages of Suni, Tinnura, Flussio, and Sennariolo.

Highlights

Most are the work of the local artist Pina Monne (it/en). The majority of the murals celebrate —or commem­orate— the rural way of life, local tradi­tions and crafts. There’s obviously a strong element of nostalgia that borders on senti­ment­ality, but it’s often rescued by a playful use of illusion and visual jokes: so in the bottom corner of a mural you might see the artist’s brushes appar­ently left behind, or a passerby looking at the mural, or a real pair of boots sticking out of the wall. 

The biggest concen­tration of murals is on the Via Nazionale (SS129) as it passes through Tinnura. If you don’t have the time or the inclin­ation to see them all, these are the ones to go for. 

Beaches

There are plenty of beaches on the southern section including the huge and largely undeveloped beach at Is Arenas. 

Map and altitude profile

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Route description

Bosa to Tharros and the Capo San Marco

Coming out of Bosa cross the Ponte Vecchio over the river (pause a moment to admire the view of Bosa’s water­front) and pick up the SS 129. This starts to climb almost immedi­ately out of the river valley. Don’t forget to take a look back over Bosa —some of the best views to be had from the road. You come the junction with the SP 35: continue on the main road and ignore the signs for Tresnuraghes. The SP35 offers a more direct route to Tresnuraghes so if you are running short of time you might want to take it, but you would miss the villages with the murales.

The strada statale continues to climb steadily following the edge of the bowl. At the bottom of the bowl are fields filled with olive groves and vineyards.

When you get to a junction at the top of the climb, turn right following the signs for Flussio and the sign for the centre of Suni. You can see the first mural on your right as you head into the village. 

Coming out of Suni you pick up the SS129bis heading for Tinnura which is only a few hundred metres away. The first mural is on your left-hand side on the corner of the Via Nuova as you come into the village with the church tower in front of you. In fact there are a whole group on the Via Nuova itself and on the little piazzetta opposite. In the piazzetta there’s a contem­porary take on the tradi­tional fountain (the water is not drinkable). Continuing along the main street past the church tower you come to a whole series of houses with frescoed façades.

There are a couple more murales in Flussio the next village along. From Flussio the road descends down to Magomadas and Tresnuraghes. It then flattens out, passing through a lovely stretch of countryside with a mixture of sheep grazing in the fields, olive groves and wheatfields. 

At a couple of points you cross over the little single­track railway which runs between Bosa and Macomer. The trenino verde only runs from June to end September (more info about the Trenino Verde della Sardegna: treninoverde.com .

The next stop after Tinnura is Sennariolo —whose claim to fame is that it is the smallest village in Sardegna. The first group of murals are really easy to miss: on the corner opposite the snack bar as you come into the village.

After Sennariolo it’s time to climb to Cuglieri. As you climb, you’ll see the massive Basilica di Santa Maria della Neve on the hill above the town. The round­about just before Cuglieri there is the altern­ative option of taking the SP102 which bypasses the town. But it’s about the same distance. Otherwise stay on the SS 292. The centro storico of the town looks inter­esting if you have the time to visit. 

From Cuglieri there is a long cruising descent all the way down to the sea. There are some stretches of straight road where you need to watch out for oncoming cars taking the oppor­tunity to overtake. The road comes down to the seaside town/resort of Santa Caterina di Pittinuri, and from there to neigh­bouring S’Archittu. S’Archittu is best known for an arch carved by the sea out of the limestone cliffs.

The road continues from S’Archittu skirting around the Pineta di Is Arenas. On the other side of the pineta there is a six-kilometre long stretch of unspoilt beach. Almost the only devel­opment in the area are three campsites. 

Articles in this series

• Sardegna West Coast: Introduction
• Sardegna West Coast: Part 1: Alghero to Bosa
• Sardegna West Coast: Part 2: Bosa to Is Arenas
• Sardegna West Coast: Part 3: Is Arenas to Oristano
• Sardegna West Coast: Part 4: Barumini and Genna Maria
• Sardegna West Coast: Part 5: the Costa delle Miniere
• Sardegna West Coast: Part 6: the Costa delle Miniere
• Sardegna West Coast: Part 7: the Isola di San Pietro
• Sardegna West Coast: Part 8: Calasetta to Pula