Rena Bianca

Rena Bianca forms the western bay below Santa Teresa Gallura. Fine white sand with pinkish coral fragments faces the Bocche di Bonifacio, while the Torre di Longonsardo stands above the eastern edge of the shore.

Why it matters

The bay is one of the two inlets around which the town developed, alongside Porto Longone to the east. Its position opposite Corsica connects the town’s coastal identity with the strait separating Sardinia from its northern neighbour.

What to notice

Pale sand changes colour where tiny coral fragments gather near the waterline. The Municca peninsula, Municchedda islet and tower promontory define the bay. Granite outcrops contrast with the broad sandy crescent and the distant coast across the strait.

Context and history

The sixteenth-century watchtower predates the modern town. Santa Teresa Gallura was founded in 1808 by Vittorio Emanuele I and named for his wife Maria Teresa. Rena Bianca became closely associated with the new settlement, whose houses occupy the ground above the bay. Its landscape remains a meeting point of coastal geology, defensive history and the planned town.