Castle tours

Cycling tour in Sardinia - the castle tour

Excursion La Ciaccia-Santa Maria Coghinas-Chiaramonti-Castelsardo-La Ciaccia

Difficulty level: medio-strong
Length: 84 km
Total ascent/discent totale: 1852 m
Diff. altimetric: 591 m

Sardinia also offers numerous traces of the Middle Ages. During this cycling tour, you’ll pass through historic towns with picturesque castles. Right from the first few pedal strokes, you’ll catch a glimpse of the tower of the Casteldoria Castle, perched on the stunning “Monte Ruiu.”

From here, the trail leads along Lake Coghinas into the inland area of Chiaramonti. This castle, too, was part of the network of fortifications built by the ruling Doria family of Genoa to protect the Anglona region.

As a grand finale, the tour takes you to Castelsardo. It was founded by the Doria family, who named it Castelgenovese and made it into a royal city. This fortified castle was constructed as one of the bastions in the fight against the invading Catalan-Aragonese forces. In the 14th century, the castle was eventually conquered and renamed Castellaragonese by its new rulers.

After the liberation from Catalan rule, the Sardinians renamed it with its current name, Castelsardo. Its strategic position and the importance of solid defenses meant that, over the years, its fortified status evolved with changes to its defensive systems, with towers being partly rebuilt and transformed from simple into more complex defensive structures.