Santa Caterina di Pittinuri, picturesque seaside village

Santa Caterina di Pittinuri is a picturesque seaside village surrounded by relaxing beaches overlooking the Montiferru coast in central-western Sardinia. A hamlet of Cuglieri, in the province of Oristano, it is about 14 km to the municipality. It is populated primarily during summer, being a popular sea resort for many tourists.

one the “pearls” of Sardinian western coast

Crowned by high walls of white limestone dotted with caves and ravines, the village, or cove, lies between Punta Cagaragas (a limestone ridge overlooking the sea) to the south and the promontory of the Pittinuri tower to the north.

Santa Caterina developed in the post-World War II period around the homonymous church, near one of Sardinia’s Spanish coastal towers.

Initially, it consisted of a few houses for shepherds, located around the small church dedicated to Saint Catherine. Beginning in the mid-20th century, progressive construction transformed the small seaside village into the renowned seaside resort it is today. Until the administrative reforms of the 19th century, the municipality of Cuglieri and its villages were within the Province of Nuoro.

The village, although not very large, is divided into two parts by the Santa Caterina River, which flows perpendicular to the coast and empties into the bay at its centre.

A limestone inlet shelters the village and a multi-coloured pebble beach. The sea is clear and shallow, while mistral winds make the cove a paradise for windsurfers and kite surfers. The panorama is decidedly wilder a little further north, at Su Riu ‘e sa Ide, where limestone slants gently slope towards the emerald-green sea.

Inside the village, the medieval church stands out, where the feast of Saint Catherine is celebrated in mid-May: the sanctuary is the destination of a pilgrimage that starts from the basilica of Cuglieri.

Surroundings

Three kilometres southeast, the ruins of Cornus tell a story dating back to the Punic era, marked by prosperous trade, the struggle for independence from Rome, and a new lease of life as the island’s episcopal centre in the early Christian era.

Closer, two kilometres to Santa Caterina, we find another seaside village of Cuglieri, S’Archittu, with its characteristic, scenic arch carved by nature into the limestone rock and its small ochre-coloured beach.

Stella Beach lies in the southern part of the village. It is also known as “priests’ beach” because it was once the site of a summer seminary. The light-sand beach is interspersed with flat white rocks and enclosed by the cliffs of the Balena promontory, home to the Torre del Pozzo, which is also the name of Cuglieri’s third coastal village. Here, a stone staircase leads to the small beach of Sa Capanna. The area is a favorite destination for diving, spearfishing, and snorkeling enthusiasts.