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Three kilometres south of the town of Villasimius is a defensive structure from the Spanish era known as the Fortezza Vecchia, which is still in excellent condition and houses a museum exhibition.

Among the many picture-postcard vistas that the Golfo degli Angeli (Gulf of Angels) has to offer, there is a particularly striking view west of Capo Carbonara: a rocky promontory overlooking the sea, surmounted by an ancient watchtower, at the foot of which there is a tourist port and, next to it, a cosy, sheltered beach. The setting is three kilometres south of the town of Villasimius. Here, for more than five centuries, there has been a defensive structure dating from the Spanish era known as the Fortezza Vecchia (Old Fortress), which is still in excellent condition and is home to a museum exhibition. The tower was built, like all 16th-century coastal fortifications, to defend the territory from Barbary pirate raids. Its origin is even older, mostly likely dating back to the 14th century.It is likely that the central triangular core was built first, around which a four-towered structure was built later. A wall with two entrances and an inner courtyard was attached to the fortification. The tower underwent further restoration at the end of the 18th century, before being decommissioned in 1847. From its embrasures, you can see the towers of Capo Boi and Porto Giunco, as well as the Capo Carbonara lighthouse, where a fourth tower stood in Spanish times, which has since disappeared. Outside the Fortezza Vecchia the permanent exhibition 'Enemigos de la fè, pirati e difensori costieri’ (Enemies of the Faith: Pirates and Costal Defenders) has been set up. Divided into thematic areas, the exhibition illustrates the history of the assaults on the coasts by Turkish-Barbary pirates between the 16th and 19th centuries, chronicles of piracy in antiquity and in the Byzantine-Judicial age, and historical notes on coastal fortifications. At the base of the promontory white sand extends in an arc, with golden reflections and a few shells, lapped by a crystal clear sea, the colour of which shimmers between blue and emerald green. To the right of the beach is the modern tourist port of Marina di Villasimius, the largest port on the south-eastern coast of the island. From here you can take trips to the island of Cavoli, Serpentara, Cala Pira and the protected marine area of Capo Carbonara, which includes the promontory and the beach of Fortezza Vecchia. On the opposite side of the port you will find the Riso (rice) beach. It gets its name from the sand formed by white grains of quartz polished by the sea, which resemble grains of rice. Here too the sea alternates between tones of green and blue. Over on the other side of Capo Carbonara the 'jewels' of Villasimius follow on from one another: Porto Giunco, Simius, is Traias and Punta Molentis.

Villasimius

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