Cala dell’Argentiera

The beaches of Cala dell'Argentiera are set in this hamlet of Sassari, once a thriving township and the main mining district of northern Sardinia, thanks to the presence of rich deposits of zinc and argentiferous lead, known since Antiquity. Argentiera, today is one of Europe's most striking sites of industrial archaeology and a quiet seaside resort, halfway between the towns of Alghero, Stintino and Porto Torres, that you will find never crowded: not even in the height of summer. All year round, the hamlet is inhabited by a few farming families. Cala dell'Argentiera consists of two beaches: a larger one to the north and a smaller one to the south, called Cala Onanu.

The entrance to the village is astonishing, you are immediately confronted by what remains of the old laveria, an old mining building built entirely of wood and considered the most beautiful industrial artifact in Italy but which is nevertheless, in a state of complete abandonment. 

The sand is fine and coarse, with polychrome pebbles; the sea is deep. The opening scenes of the film "La scogliera dei desideri" (original title, Boom), starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, were filmed here, then set in front of Isola Piana, with Richard Burton disembarking from a speedboat and ascending via zip line to the villa built as the main set of the film.