Day Five: Thursday
Oritano, an Oops, almost a Hypogeum and a Rocio, Beach and lots of old things, Bosa.
Thursday started off early as the owners came by just after nine. Soon after we finished loading up the car, and were on the road to Oristano.
Google says it is about 35 miles, and 50mins, but we did a little better. Most of the trip was on nice flat land and on pretty good roads, so we arrived in Oristano just after 10am.
The main objective for the day was to get to the Sinis Penisula and Oristano was a good place to have a coffee break, and for some of us , breakfast. In Iglesias they have a street with an art installation of colorful umbrellas hung up over the pedestrian streets. In Oristano, on the main pedestrian street they have brightly colored amphoras above the street. It is quite colorful.
After our small snack we visited the Tower of St. Christophoros, part of the old city walls, and went up to the top. As the local area is pretty flat, there are some nice views. Next we strolled over to the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. It was a low key Baroque church, but it wonderful floor. Looking at the floors in churches, museums, palaces, etc is a guilty pleasure of mine. A good friend shares the same affinity and we are always sending each other photos of floors. The floor here was actually a simple grey and white marble floor in a rhombid checker pattern. It was not polished shiny but had a matt finish. Low key but elegant
We had one more stop before going to the beach so we headed back to the car. We were gone longer than we had thought, and we hadn't fed the meter enough. Oops. That meant a 28€ parking ticket, but if I paid inside a week it was 19€.
Between Oristano and the Sinis penisula is San Salvatore di Sinis. The church of San Salvatore is part church from the 17thcentery and part underground hypogeum from the 4thcentury. Unfortunately we did not make a reservation and were not able to visit, but the little tourist office there has VI glasses and you can do a virtual tour. Around the church is the “village” of San Salvatore. The coming Saturday was the big day for the village, which meant that they would march the image of the saint from Cabras to the church, in large pilgrimage. Then there would be a big fiesta. The Spanish influence is very obvious. It reminded us of the Rocio in Huelva. And is always is the way, with fiesta preparations, there were some people already singing, drinking, throwing firecrackers, and having a good time.
It was lunch time now, and we went to San Giovanni in Sinis. We parked in the town and found a little restaurant on the beach. For those in our group who like shellfish, they were happy. Others had to settle for a some pasta. Good or bad, having the ocean at twenty meters distance is a nice plus.
After lunch we split up. Only I could resist the siren call of another afternoon on a picture perfect beach. The Sinis penisula is full of archeological and historical sites. Briefly, there are things from the Phoenicians, Punics, Romans, Byzantines and Spanish. There is something for everyone. And all of it surrounded on both sides by the sea.
We were going to spend the night in Bosa and we didn't want to get there too late, and as we didn't have parking, we left around six and were in Bosa by seven thirty. We stayed in a guest house in the Piazza Costituzione, with a balcony that opened onto the square.
We finished the evening with a spritz and later a nice dinner.
