Holidays and tourism in the city of Olbia

Communal Museum of Archaeology

The building is in the Isolotto di Peddone, on the street that passengers take for embarkation on the Isola Bianca, and just under the historical centre. Following the end of construction in 2003, the preparation phase has just been completed. The structure is multi-purpose, primarily dedicated to the archaeology of Olbia from the Neolithic period to the Judicial Age, with the addition of some of the 24 Roman and medieval shipwrecks excavated in the ancient port. The majority of these wrecks are in the process of restoration and reconstruction, to be exhibited in the future as part of the museum.

The Historical Centre proper

The traditional historical centre of the city may be considered in itself and, to all intents and purposes, as the faithful inheritance of the Roman and Medieval cities. Within this zone the streets are arranged in a tight-knit orthogonal mesh, having retained for 2000 years the original Roman urban design, persisting in this fashion right down to the present day. The rectangle contained between via Santa Croce, via Achenza, via Piccola, Piazza Regina Margherita and via Asproni recalls faithfully the traces of Medieval walls of the ancient "Civita - Terra Nova", capital of the Giudicato di Gallura, notably smaller than the preceding Roman city, but respectful of antiquity generally.

Parochial church of San Paolo Apostolo

The church dates back to the18th century and has some valuable examples of works of art carved in wood from the same period (choir, pulpit, altar of the sacred heart). The church is built on the point of the acropolis of the ancient city, the site on which were raised Punic and Roman temples dedicated to Melkart - Hercules.

The only remaining stretch of the ancient wall of the Punic city founded in 350BC, which was subsequently restored and maintained even after the Roman conquest. One can observe an approximately 50m long section of the west wing of the wall, in which were found the gates to the city, flanked by the base of a high tower. The walls are constructed from large squared off blocks of granite, characteristically faced in ashlar.

Built in several phases, beginning in the second half of the 11th century, constitutes the most important medieval monument of North-East Sardinia, and one of the most beautiful churches in the country. It is dedicated to the patron of the city, who was martyred, under the emperor Diocleziano, in 304. Constructed in Romanic style under an initiative by the judges of Gallura, with the exclusive feature of being built almost entirely from blocks of locally mined granite. It remained a cathedral until the 19th century, and the advent of the Diocesi di Civita (Olbia). Inside the basilica there are some important remains of frescoes with their origins in the medieval period.