Holiday apartment in Lotzorai: beaches, islets and history
Accommodation in Lotzorai
Lotzorai invites you on a journey where beaches, the sea, history and local traditions each offer a different focus. If you are planning a holiday apartment in Lotzorai, you will encounter both relaxing days on the coast and medieval remains, historic churches, a rock necropolis and Sardinian specialities.
File:Lido delle Rose, Lotzorai, Sardinia, Italy.jpg
Photo: Fabio Pani via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Beaches, islets and calm seas
Lido delle Rose is the beach most directly and easily accessible from the town centre; there is also a large car park there. Behind the lido stretches a long, dense pine forest that provides natural shade during the hottest hours. Spiaggia Iscrixedda is notable for its shallow, sandy seabed, which is suitable for young children to swim in safely.
Off Lotzorai Beach and within the municipality lies the Isolotto d’Ogliastra, a small archipelago consisting of three large rocks made of pink granite and red porphyry, as well as several smaller rocks that barely rise above the water. The waters around the Isolotto are considered an ideal destination for snorkelling enthusiasts, with a rocky seabed below.
On calm days, the Isolotto d’Ogliastra can be visited by canoe or pedal boat. Private boats or boats for guided excursions are also available from Tortolì–Arbatax or Santa Maria Navarrese. Every July, an impressive pilgrimage leads to the statue of the Madonna of Ogliastra on the Isolotto; the faithful reach the islets in a boat procession from the port of Santa Maria.
Medieval remains and churches
At the southern entrance to Lotzorai, Castello d’Ogliastra rises on a small granite elevation, also known as castrum de Ullastre and Castello di Medusa. It is an important medieval site; its first mention dates back to 1305. About three kilometres from Lotzorai, along the road to Talana, lies the Domus de Janas di Tracucu necropolis, also known as Fund’e Monti. It comprises 17 Domus de Janas carved into the rock, which can be visited on a guided route between granite rocks and dense vegetation.
The Antica Chiesa di Sant’Elena is believed to date from around the 12th century, although its exact age is unknown. The Chiesa di Sant’Elena Imperatrice was completed in 1843 and stands on the site of an older church dedicated to Saint Quiricus. It houses the preserved painting „Anime Purganti“ from a four-part series of paintings commissioned from the painter Sitzia in 1846.
Local food and traditional customs
„Cortiggias de Lotzorai“ offers local foods and dishes. These include meat dishes made with pork and mutton, seafood and traditional fish dishes, ricotta, fresh or matured cheeses, Cannonau, olive oil, honey, as well as almond-based and candied sweets. „Sa Coja Antiga lotzoraesa“ reenacts a traditional wedding, with men and women in costume, in all its stages.
Holiday apartment in Lotzorai and your travel pace
When choosing your holiday apartment in Lotzorai, you can tailor your preferred travel pace to the specific places you want to visit. Beach days can be combined with calm swimming, shade in the pine forest or snorkelling; for days focused on culture, the castle, the Domus de Janas, churches and traditional customs take centre stage. This allows you to give greater weight to the sea, nature, history or culinary discoveries when choosing your holiday apartment, without equating the individual destinations.
Other places for orientation
More places for planning your trip: Ilbono, Triei, Ussassai, Santa Maria Navarrese, Perdasdefogu, Tertenia, Gairo, Villanova Strisaili.
For the higher-level travel overview: Ogliastra.
