Bosa

Bosa is one of Sardinia’s most beautiful towns. Seen from a distance, its rainbow townscape resembles a vibrant Paul Klee canvas, with pastel houses stacked on a steep hillside, tapering up to a majestic, golden castle. In front, moored fishing boats bob on a glassy river elegantly lined with palm trees.

Bosa was established by the Phoenicians and thrived under the Romans. During the early Middle Ages it suffered repeat raids by Arab pirates, but in the early 12th century a branch of the noble Tuscan Malaspina family moved in and built their huge castle. In the 19th century, the Savoys established lucrative tanneries here, but these have since fallen by the wayside.

About 2.5km west of Bosa proper, at the mouth of the Fiume Temo, Bosa Marina is the town’s seaside satellite. It's a busy summer resort set on a wide, 1km-long beach overlooked by a 16th-century Aragonese defensive tower.

Explore Bosa

Castello Malaspina
Commanding huge views, this hilltop castle was built in the 12th and 13th centuries by the Tuscan Malaspina family. Little remains of the original…
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Museo Casa Deriu
Housed in an elegant 19th-century townhouse, Bosa's main museum showcases local arts and artisanal crafts. Each of the three floors has a different theme…
C
Chiesa di Nostra Signora di Regnos Altos
Enclosed within the walls of the Castello Malaspina, this humble but hallowed 14th-century chapel is decorated with an extraordinary 14th-century fresco…
C
Cattedrale di San Pietro Extramuros
Two kilometres upstream from the Chiesa di Sant’ Antonio Abate is this 11th-century cathedral, said to be the oldest Romanesque church in Sardinia…
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Museo Delle Conce
On the south bank of the river, this museum occupies Bosa's former tanneries, which remained in business until after WWII. On the ground floor you can see…
C
Cattedrale dell’Immacolata
Bosa's cathedral dates to the early 19th century when it was built over an earlier Romanesque church. A rare, if not overly riveting, example of rococo …
P
Ponte Vecchio
Spanning the Temo River near the heart of the old town, Bosa's main bridge is a handsome three-arched affair, built from the region's characteristic red…
T
Torre dell’Isola Rossa
This tower overlooking the beach at Bosa Marina is one of the largest in a series of defensive towers built by the island's Aragonese rulers in the 16th…
C
Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Abate
A short walk from Ponte Vecchio on the southern side of the river is the little Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Abate. Featuring a 16th-century Gothic facade in…

Castello Malaspina
Commanding huge views, this hilltop castle was built in the 12th and 13th centuries by the Tuscan Malaspina family. Little remains of the original…
M
Museo Casa Deriu
Housed in an elegant 19th-century townhouse, Bosa's main museum showcases local arts and artisanal crafts. Each of the three floors has a different theme…
C
Chiesa di Nostra Signora di Regnos Altos
Enclosed within the walls of the Castello Malaspina, this humble but hallowed 14th-century chapel is decorated with an extraordinary 14th-century fresco…
C
Cattedrale di San Pietro Extramuros
Two kilometres upstream from the Chiesa di Sant’ Antonio Abate is this 11th-century cathedral, said to be the oldest Romanesque church in Sardinia…
M
Museo Delle Conce
On the south bank of the river, this museum occupies Bosa's former tanneries, which remained in business until after WWII. On the ground floor you can see…
C
Cattedrale dell’Immacolata
Bosa's cathedral dates to the early 19th century when it was built over an earlier Romanesque church. A rare, if not overly riveting, example of rococo …
P
Ponte Vecchio
Spanning the Temo River near the heart of the old town, Bosa's main bridge is a handsome three-arched affair, built from the region's characteristic red…
T
Torre dell’Isola Rossa
This tower overlooking the beach at Bosa Marina is one of the largest in a series of defensive towers built by the island's Aragonese rulers in the 16th…
C
Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Abate
A short walk from Ponte Vecchio on the southern side of the river is the little Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Abate. Featuring a 16th-century Gothic facade in…

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Bosa.

See
Castello Malaspina
Commanding huge views, this hilltop castle was built in the 12th and 13th centuries by the Tuscan Malaspina family. Little remains of the original…
See
Museo Casa Deriu
Housed in an elegant 19th-century townhouse, Bosa's main museum showcases local arts and artisanal crafts. Each of the three floors has a different theme…
See
Chiesa di Nostra Signora di Regnos Altos
Enclosed within the walls of the Castello Malaspina, this humble but hallowed 14th-century chapel is decorated with an extraordinary 14th-century fresco…
See
Cattedrale di San Pietro Extramuros
Two kilometres upstream from the Chiesa di Sant’ Antonio Abate is this 11th-century cathedral, said to be the oldest Romanesque church in Sardinia…
See
Museo Delle Conce
On the south bank of the river, this museum occupies Bosa's former tanneries, which remained in business until after WWII. On the ground floor you can see…
See
Cattedrale dell’Immacolata
Bosa's cathedral dates to the early 19th century when it was built over an earlier Romanesque church. A rare, if not overly riveting, example of rococo …
See
Ponte Vecchio
Spanning the Temo River near the heart of the old town, Bosa's main bridge is a handsome three-arched affair, built from the region's characteristic red…
See
Torre dell’Isola Rossa
This tower overlooking the beach at Bosa Marina is one of the largest in a series of defensive towers built by the island's Aragonese rulers in the 16th…
See
Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Abate
A short walk from Ponte Vecchio on the southern side of the river is the little Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Abate. Featuring a 16th-century Gothic facade in…

Guidebooks

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