The history of the Alghero area is fascinating and remarkable, enriching every stay with numerous cultural and archaeological insights. Within a relatively small area, there is an extraordinary concentration of sites from the pre-Nuragic and Nuragic periods: from the evocative underground necropolises of Santu Pedru Necropolis and Anghelu Ruju Necropolis to the ancient Nuragic villages of Nuraghe Palmavera and Sant’Imbenia, all easily reachable from the ArchiMete tourist center.
By exploring the dedicated sections, you can discover stories, curiosities and details about these fascinating places, as well as plan trekking itineraries through evocative landscapes where nature, archaeology and culture blend harmoniously. A perfect experience for those who love exploring the area with a touch of adventure.
The Green Cave
The Green Cave is the second most important cave after the famous Neptune’s Grotto and is located on the eastern side of Capo Caccia. The entrance, situated about 80 meters above sea level, is wide and scenic, leading into an environment of great geological, naturalistic and archaeological interest.
Since prehistoric times, around 7,000 years ago, the cave was frequented by human groups who used it as a shelter. Even today, graffiti and traces of human presence are visible on the walls: ancient signs and drawings that preserve a mysterious charm and continue to spark curiosity among scholars and visitors.
The natural light that enters through the impressive entrance illuminates the rock layers and encourages the growth of green mosses and lichens, a feature that gave this fascinating cave its name. Inside, you can observe majestic green stalagmites, some of which reach up to twenty meters in height.
Moving deeper inside, you reach the submerged part of the cave, where cave divers have discovered human remains, traces of ancient burials and Neolithic pottery, valuable evidence of human presence in remote times. The Green Cave is also known as the “Cave of the Altar”: in the 15th century, sailors built a small altar inside it dedicated to Saint Erasmus, protector of sailors. A project is currently under study to reopen the cave to visitors, with the aim of making this extraordinary natural and historical heritage accessible once again.
Neptune’s Grotto
The karst origin of the Capo Caccia promontory has, over the millennia, created a true natural labyrinth of spectacular caves and inlets of extraordinary beauty. Only a small part of this underground heritage has been explored to date, and scientific expeditions are still periodically organized to study and map new cavities.
Among the most famous and fascinating is Neptune’s Grotto, one of the most spectacular natural attractions in Sardinia. The cave was discovered by chance by a local fisherman in the 18th century and is now one of the few caves in this system that is easily accessible to the public.
It can be reached by sea, with boats departing from the port of Alghero or from the pier of Cala Dragunara, just beyond the picturesque Tramariglio Bay, or by land via the famous Escala del Cabirol (goat’s staircase): a panoramic staircase of 656 steps that winds along the cliff overlooking the sea, right in front of Foradada Island.
The route then continues through impressive spaces such as the Reggia Hall, the Ruins Hall, the Organ Hall, the Lace Hall and the Music Gallery, which overlooks the vast Reggia Hall and completes one of the most fascinating karst complexes in the Mediterranean.
Those who prefer to arrive by sea can board the motorboats departing from the port of Alghero. For further information, you can contact the Tourist Office of the Municipality of Alghero (tel. +39 079 979054).
Tramariglio Tower
Among the many coastal towers within the Porto Conte Regional Natural Park, the one overlooking Tramariglio Bay and the ArchiMete tourist center area is undoubtedly one of the most significant.
Built at the end of the 16th century, during the period of Spanish rule, the tower was constructed using local limestone and is still well preserved today. The structure served as an important lookout and defense point along the coast. Inside, you can admire the evocative domed ceiling, while on the upper terrace the original openings are still visible, allowing natural light to filter inside the tower and illuminate the guard rooms.
Anghelu Ruju Necropolis
The necropolis was discovered by chance in 1903 during excavations for the construction of a farmhouse. The discovery of some human bones led scholars to further investigate, bringing to light numerous archaeological finds such as pottery, ornaments and underground tombs.
Over the years, 38 Domus de Janas – literally “fairy houses” – have been identified: ancient rock-cut burial chambers that testify to the presence of human communities in very remote times. The tombs belong to three different historical phases: the Ozieri culture (around 3500 BC), the Bell Beaker culture (2000–1900 BC) and the Bonnanaro culture (around 1800 BC), offering valuable evidence of Sardinia’s prehistoric past.
Nuraghe Palmavera
Along the coastal road 127 bis, which connects Alghero to Capo Caccia, about three and a half kilometers from Fertilia (km 32), stands the impressive Nuraghe Palmavera Complex, one of the most important archaeological sites in Sardinia.
The main tower, built between the 15th and 14th centuries BC, can still be visited today and preserves its large central chamber covered by a tholos dome, typical of Nuragic architecture. The complex lies at the foot of Mount Doglia and, according to archaeologists, was once surrounded by numerous huts and residential structures that housed the community living around the nuraghe.
A second phase of development dates back to the first half of the 9th century BC, when a second tower was added and the original keep was reinforced with sandstone blocks, a material widely found in the surrounding area.
Today, the visitor route unfolds between the two towers and also allows exploration of the evocative meeting hut, where a stone seat, a basin and what is identified as the chief’s throne are still visible, a symbolic place where community decisions were made. During excavation campaigns, numerous archaeological finds and evidence of Nuragic daily life were discovered, now largely preserved and displayed at the “G.A. Sanna” National Archaeological Museum in Sassari.
The Roman Villa of Sant’Imbenia
The complex extends directly along the seafront, and archaeological excavations have so far uncovered 49 rooms spread over a frontage of nearly 140 meters. Some mosaics are still visible on site, while many others have been removed and preserved at the “G.A. Sanna” National Archaeological Museum in Sassari, where they are displayed for conservation and enhancement purposes.
According to scholars, the villa was a “buen retiro” of a wealthy Roman owner, a place dedicated to otium, that is, rest, the care of the spirit and the pleasures of life. However, the size of the complex and the structures discovered suggest that it was also an important agricultural production center, favored by a strategic position for embarkation and maritime trade within the Porto Conte bay. Over the centuries, the villa underwent several modifications and transformations, still recognizable in the construction techniques used: from opus caementicium to opus africanum, up to dry-stone masonry attributable to the medieval period.
The northern part of the villa likely developed over two levels and housed, on the lower level, a thermal area decorated with marble and refined polychrome elements. Among the most interesting finds is a stucco depicting a Nereid riding a sea creature, a mythological figure, daughter of Nereus, the sea deity in Greek tradition. In the Capo Caccia area lies the famous Nereo Cave, one of the most spectacular underwater caves in the Mediterranean, whose exploration is part of the diving itineraries offered by the ArchiMete tourist center.