Porto Sa Ruxi

Among the beaches of Villasimius, Porto Sa Ruxi is not one strand but three crescent coves pinned between smooth granite. Dunes behind them carry centuries-old junipers, and the sheltered water inside the Capo Carbonara marine park stays shallow and calm when the mistral blows.

Why it matters

Porto Sa Ruxi announces what the Villasimius coast is about. The regional tourism portal calls it the first beach of the town for anyone arriving from Cagliari — the point where the coast stops being the built shoreline of the Gulf and becomes the granite-and-sand scenery that made this corner of Sardinia famous. Its waters fall within the Capo Carbonara marine protected area, the reserve that runs from Capo Boi to the island of Serpentara, so the fish life around its rocks belongs to a managed, protected sea rather than an ordinary municipal littoral.

What distinguishes it from the long open beaches further along is form: three small crescent bays, divided by flat plates of white granite, each with its own pocket of sand and its own angle on the water. A single visit can feel like three.

What to notice

Look first at the geology. The coves are separated by low, flat slabs of granite that act as natural piers; from the dunes they read as pale terraces stepping into turquoise water. The sand is white and soft, and the seabed slopes gently, which keeps the shallows warm and swimmable well out from shore. Around the rocks the water deepens quickly into the clear blue that snorkellers and divers come for — the regional portal singles out the fish life near the boulders.

Behind the beach, dunes with centuries-old junipers, maritime pines and myrtle separate the sand from the coastal scrub. The hills shelter the coves from the mistral, while the three-cove layout also offers protection from north-easterly winds.

Context and history

Porto Sa Ruxi belongs to the "crown" of beaches that the regional tourism authority lists for Villasimius, between Capo Boi — where the town's coastline begins — and the bays of Campus, Campulongu and Spiaggia del Riso further east. Two hundred metres away, the portal places Cala Piscareddus, a cove of light sand and emerald water. Those waters have been protected since 15 September 1998, when a ministerial decree created the reserve; a later decree of 7 February 2012 redrew it, and the Comune di Villasimius administers the whole area, whose perimeter falls almost entirely within a Site of Community Importance under the EU Habitats Directive.