Pula

A coastal town on the edge of the Gulf of Cagliari where millennia of history meet some of southern Sardinia’s loveliest shorelines. Pula pairs an easy-going, food-loving centre with beaches, pine forests and the ruins of ancient Nora, all within a short drive of the Sardinian capital.

Why visit

Pula works on two levels at once. On one side is the sea: a coastline that runs from the golden sweep of Nora beach, past the long Santa Margherita di Pula shore with its white-sand coves, to the granite headlands and coves near Chia. On the other is the past: just outside town lies Nora, probably the first Phoenician settlement on the island and later a prosperous Roman city, its theatre still hosting summer performances by the water.

Add a compact historic centre that fills its squares on summer evenings, forests of holm oak inland where deer have been reintroduced, and a lagoon where rare birds feed at sunset, and you have a place that satisfies beach weeks, culture trips and touring holidays in equal measure. It is close enough to Cagliari for a day visit, relaxed enough to base a whole stay.

Character and history

Pula sits about 35 kilometres southwest of Cagliari in the metropolitan city, a small town of roughly 7,000 inhabitants on a coastal plain backed by hills. The modern settlement is relatively young by Sardinian standards — the medieval villa of Padulis de Nura belonged to the giudicato of Cagliari, later passed through Pisan and feudal hands, and the town was repopulated in the 18th century with the help of Mercedarian friars before becoming a comune in 1839. Its ancient roots, though, lie at Nora, on the Capo di Pula promontory.

Nora was founded by the Phoenicians around the 8th century BC, probably on nuragic settlements, grew into a flourishing Punic centre and became a Roman municipium in the 1st century AD; for a period it even served as the provincial capital before Cagliari took over, and Roman writers described it as the starting point of all the island’s roads. Abandoned from roughly the 8th century amid coastal raids, its ruins later furnished Pula with much of its identity — and its museum, the Giovanni Patroni, with the finds. Local devotion centres on Sant’Efisio, the martyr whose little church stands in the Nora bay; each May his festival draws one of Sardinia’s most heartfelt processions.

What to see

The unmissable site is the archaeological area of Nora, with its Phoenician-Punic tophet, temples, forum, mosaic-floored baths and a Roman theatre that seated about a thousand spectators and still stages the “La Notte dei Poeti” festival. Finds are displayed at the Giovanni Patroni museum in town.

For landscape, head to Cala Cipolla, a sheltered cove of fine sand and transparent water near the Chia promontory, and to Capo Malfatano, a headland where turquoise shallows meet Mediterranean scrub and one of the island’s most photographed stretches of coast. History reaches further back at Sa Fraigada, a nuragic-era site that testifies to settlement long before the Phoenicians dropped anchor. The rural locality of Pantaleo rounds out the inland side of the territory.

How to experience

Start a day early at Nora before the heat, then follow with lunch in the old town — spaghetti allo scoglio and local figs with prosciutto are the classics. Spend the afternoon on the Santa Margherita di Pula coast, where coves such as Cala Marina, Cala Bernardini, Cala d’Ostia and Cala Verde sit backed by a vast pine forest, or on Su Guventeddu beach, popular with kitesurfers and windsurfers even out of season.

Walkers can follow marked trails through the Is Cannoneris and Pixinamanna forests among holm oaks and Mediterranean scrub; the area is a wildlife refuge repopulated with deer and fallow deer. Birdwatchers should stay for the Nora lagoon at sunset. If your trip falls in early May, try to witness the Festa di Sant’Efisio, when the town turns out in traditional dress for the saint’s procession — one of the island’s defining religious events.

Practical planning

Pula is an easy 35-minute drive from Cagliari and its airport via well-signposted roads; the town works as either a day trip or a base, with B&Bs, hotels and a good range of restaurants. Summer evenings are lively, with events and aperitivi in the squares, while late spring and early autumn bring warm sea and quieter streets. The archaeological area of Nora and its museum have their own ticketing and seasonal schedules, so check the official operator’s site before you go. Bring water and sun protection for the coastal trails, and note that some coves near Chia fill quickly in peak August — arriving early morning rewards you with calm water and empty sand.

Nearby places

Cagliari, with its castello district and national archaeological museum, is the natural gateway to the area. Cagliari makes a lively urban counterpart to Pula’s beaches. Further along the southern coast lie Sant’Antioco, an island town with Punic roots and dramatic capes, and the mining heritage of Iglesias. The fishing village of Carloforte, reached by ferry, offers a Ligurian-flavoured detour, while Villasimius anchors the opposite side of the gulf.