Porto Pino Dune Beach in Sant’Anna Arresi
Porto Pino beach is located along the southwest coast of Sardinia in Italy.
Porto Pino is a locality situated along the south-western coast of Sardinia, in the Gulf of Palmas. It is a frazione of the municipality of Sant’Anna Arresi, in the province of South Sardinia, and represents one of the principal seaside destinations of the lower Sulcis area, between Carbonia and Sant’Anna Arresi. Almost the entire territory of Porto Pino is protected under the European Natura 2000 programme as a Site of Community Importance (SCI ITB040025), designated as “Promontorio, dune e zona umida di Porto Pino.”
Porto Pino Dune Beach, Sant’Anna Arresi
Porto Pino is a locality situated along the south-western coast of Sardinia, in the Gulf of Palmas. It is a frazione of the municipality of Sant’Anna Arresi, in the province of South Sardinia, and represents one of the principal seaside destinations of the lower Sulcis area, between Carbonia and Sant’Anna Arresi. Almost the entire territory of Porto Pino is protected under the European Natura 2000 programme as a Site of Community Importance (SCI ITB040025), designated as “Promontorio, dune e zona umida di Porto Pino.”
The beach
The beach of Porto Pino extends for approximately four kilometres and is administratively divided between the municipalities of Sant’Anna Arresi (roughly two-fifths) and Teulada (roughly three-fifths). It is traditionally divided into three sections. The first beach, located behind the municipal car parks, is 550 metres long and consists of compact, greyish sand; it is the most frequented section due to the presence of tourist facilities. The two beaches are separated by the ruins of a jetty that once protected a secondary inlet channel. The second beach, just under two kilometres long and shared between the two municipalities, is composed of fine white sand and is less visited, except at its two ends which are more easily reached from roads and car parks.
The third section, known as the dune zone or Is arenas biancas (the white sands), is approximately one kilometre long. It lies within the municipal territory of Teulada and falls inside the perimeter of the Capo Teulada military firing range; access is permitted only in summer. This section is characterised by dunes of very white sand produced by the erosion of the promontory rock by the sea and atmospheric agents. The dune tops support dense growth of prickly juniper, sea holly (calcatreppola), euphorbia, and esparto grass. It is not permitted to walk on or cross the dunes outside the designated paths.
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Historical background
The inlet of Porto Pino, sheltered to the west by the promontory, was used as a maritime port from the Phoenician-Punic period, and the remains of that occupation are still visible. It subsequently became a commercial centre during the Roman period. The wider territory of Sant’Anna Arresi is also rich in Nuragic evidence, including the Nuraghe Arresi, the nuragic village of Coi Casu (occupied from the early to the final Bronze Age, seventeenth to eleventh centuries BCE), nuragic springs, and Giants’ Tombs in the surrounding countryside.
The promontory and vegetation
The Porto Pino promontory, which reaches a maximum height of 40 metres, is covered by a large spontaneous forest of Aleppo pine, a formation present in Sardinia only in this locality and on the island of San Pietro, making it a notably rare habitat on the island. The pine forest is joined by the kermes oak, characteristic of coastal environments and equally rare in Sardinia. Other species within the pine forest include Phoenician juniper and prickly juniper. On the western flank of the promontory, exposed to the maestrale wind, the vegetation gives way to low maquis and garrigue, dominated by mock privet (fillirea), rosemary, and several species of cistus. On the cliffs where bare rock is exposed, the rare maritime aster and sea lavender (limonium) grow.
The sandy strip separating the sea from the lagoons is approximately 70 metres wide and is occupied in its innermost section by a further spontaneous pine forest that opens directly onto the beach.
The wetland system
Behind the beach extends a complex system of ponds: the Porto Pino pond, the Maestrale pond, the Is Brebeis pond, the Corvo pond, and the Foxi pond. These wetlands are used for fish farming and are directly connected to the salt works of Santa Caterina in the territory of San Giovanni Suergiu, approximately ten kilometres away as the crow flies. The area is frequented by numerous bird species, including the greater flamingo, the little egret, the common kingfisher, and the common sandpiper.
Posidonia
In winter it is not uncommon for the beaches to be covered by a thick layer of dead posidonia (Posidonia oceanica). This marine plant grows in dense underwater meadows throughout the gulf and serves as an environmental indicator of clean, unpolluted water; in autumn the leaves turn brown, and winter storms transport them to shore in large quantities. In some years the accumulated layer is thick enough to require mechanical clearance by the municipality of Sant’Anna Arresi.
Conservation
The SOSS Dunes project (Safeguard and Management of South-western Sardinian Dunes), based in the Pineta Candiani and co-financed by the European LIFE+ programme, works to protect the dunes of south-western Sardinia, a habitat under significant pressure from mass tourism. The Candiani area takes its name from the ruins of a Second World War anti-ship gun battery on Punta Menga, named after Admiral Candiani.
Source: Wikipedia (Italian) — Porto Pino
Images: Flickr
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