Sulcis

The Sulcis is the most southern region of the island, bordering to the east with the Campidano, to the west with the Mediterranean Sea, to the north with the Iglesiente, from which it is separated by the valley of Cixerri.
Its name derives from the ancient Phoenician city of Sulci, whose signs remain on the island of Sant'Antioco. This, connected to the mother island by an artificial isthmus, has a geological morphology constituted by volcanic and calcareous rocks; and together with the neighbouring Island of San Pietro (Carloforte) form the archipelago of the Sulcis, tourist Mecca in the summer months for the beauty of the towns and for the transparency of its sea.

The Sulcis territory, inhabited since prehistoric times for the wealth of the coal mines, is covered by a dense, tangled forest of Mediterranean brush, characterised by the presence of the strawberry tree. Besides the luxuriant landscapes, the area offers numerous cultural attractions, that go from the small churches of Perdaxius to the ex-cathedral of Santa Maria in Tratalias, Romanesque constuctions as is also the church of Sant'Antioco the island of the same name, Episcopalian centre in the 5th century, restructured at the beginnings of the 12th century by the Vittorin monks of Marseille.

But the rationalist city of Carbonia also deserves a mention, near to which the Phoenician-Punic fort is found of Monte Sirai, one of the most important archaeological parks in Sardinia.
Of sure interest is a look towards the mountains, in particular Monte Arcosu, a wildlife oasis of the WWF, home to luxuriant vegetation and inhabited by beautiful deer, not far from the evocative beaches of Chia and Santa Margherita di Pula.