Calasetta has 2,822 inhabitants on the northern tip of the island of Sant'Antioco, and they call it "the white one" for the colour of its houses: white lime, the blue of the sea and the green of the junipers on the beaches. It is not, however, a Sardinian town in the ordinary sense. The language spoken here is Ligurian, in the variety called tabarchino, and in that language the town is called Câdesédda; Calasetta was also an honorary comune of the old province of Genoa.
The proof is on the map. Going along the coast the names are not Sardinian but Genoese: Ca' Gianca, the white house; Sc-coggiu Russu, the red rock; Fanò du Fransaise, the Frenchman's light; Punta da a Cruxe. And there is a beach called Büllu u fre da Büllassa, that is "Billo the brother of Bullassa", who must once have been a particular person. Off the point lies the Mangiabarche rock, the boat-eater, with its old monumental lighthouse. Even the name of the town is disputed: some read it as a diminutive of cala, a little harbour, others derive it from the Sardinian sedda, a saddle, for the shape of the ground.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
Near Calasetta
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Places to see within 25 km
Outside Calasetta, but an easy day trip away.