If you take the scenic coastal road from Villasimius to Muravera, from the top of the hairpin bends descending towards Castiadas, you will see the wonderful panorama of an endless, white beach framed by a sparkling sea and Mediterranean scrub: this is the beach of Costa Rei, ending with the promontory of Capo Ferrato, where the camping village of Tiliguerta is situated. This is the first of Muravera’s enchanting series of beaches, some of which are surrounded by lagoons (namely, Feraxi, Colostrai and Salinas) and inhabited by a rich variety of wildlife, including pink flamingos and Mallard ducks.
WHAT TO SEE
Muravera has an important archaeological heritage: the megalithic complexes of Piscina Rei and Cuili Piras, both situated a few kilometres from Tiliguerta, where 22 and 42 granite menhirs were erected respectively by the proto-Sardinians 5,000 years ago, supposedly mark the different positions of the sun and moon at sunrise and sunset; at Capo Ferrato. In the picturesque area of the Nuraghe Scalas, there are 42 extremely well-preserved menhirs, two of which are anthropomorphic and therefore even rarer. The seventeenth-century Spanish towers of Capo Ferrato, Salinas and the 10 Cavalli (10 Horses) remind us that these coasts were for centuries also raided by pirates and that all settlements close to the sea were eventually abandoned for this reason. The town of Muravera is situated on the slopes of Mount Nieddu Mannu, on the fertile alluvial plain of the Flumendosa river. The town’s oldest monument is the Catalan-Gothic Church of San Nicola – rebuilt around 1700 – which houses a fine polychrome wooden statue of the saint dating from 1603.
FOOD AND WINE
Muravera offers visitors a wealth of excellent food and agricultural products whose crowning glory is citrus fruit, celebrated every April since 1961 with the spectacular yearly festival, part of the Great Events of the Region of Sardinia. The area’s gastronomy uses other excellent products from the sea and hinterland including sea bass, gilthead bream, red snapper, sea bream, shellfish, mussels, salted mullet roe, sucking pig, lamb, cheese, honey, myrtle, citrus and lemon liqueurs, as well as peaches, tomatoes, field beans, watermelons, grapes and a rich variety of other orchard produce.
CRAFTS
The area of Muravera has an excellent craft production such as textiles, rugs and fine embroidered curtains, artistic ceramics, baskets and ancient wind instruments called launeddas.