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La Maddalena
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| Within short distance from the jagged north-eastern coast
of Sardinia, in that portion of the Tyrrenian sea that divides the italian
island from Corsica, sits the Archipelago of La Maddalena, undoubtedly the
most spectacular corner in the Mediterranean. It is made up of a number
of islands, islets and lone granitic rocks modelled by the wind during the
ages, and altogether doesn't reach 50 square kilometres. This is all is
left of the ancient land that used to link the two major islands together
. In a past now gone the Archipelago must have been much bigger, to include
in the west the long peninsula of Stintino, which at the time would have
been an island. |
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| In Stintino we find numerous plants which are typical of
the Archipelago. The major islands are seven: Maddalena, Caprera and Santo
Stefano in the south-east, Spargi, Budelli, Razzoli and Santa Maria in the
north-west. Only the Strait separates these from the islands of Lavezzi,
corsican but belonging to the same archipelago. The integrity of these places
is mainly due to the common sense and attachement to their environment of
the locals, above and under the water. |
| La Maddalena, which you can reach from Palau by ferry (15 minutes), is
the biggest island and the only one that has a stable population of 12.000
residents plus 4000 (circa) military and their families, Italian and Americans
stationed in the Nato Submarine Base. The town is one of the few coastal
settlements which date back a few centuries. Despite this La Maddalena still
offers the visitors un unspoiled coast where beaches and small coves are
framed by crystalline waters and granitic landscapes. |
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