San Pantaleo

San Pantaleo is a small village eighteen kilometers from Olbia, nestled among the spectacular granite rocks overlooking the Costa Smeralda. Surrounded by countryside rich in woods and springs (the sources of Beddoro), San Pantaleo is located on a raised knoll and dominates, on one side, the road to “Monti di Mola” (Porto Cervo) and on the other the emerald beaches of Portisco, Rena Bianca, Race of Juncu. The village was settled at the end of the 19th century and is gathered around the pretty granite church built in 1903 in the typical Gallura style, adorned with local wrought iron furnishings. Since the 1970s, a group of artists and painters have populated the village, attracted by its timeless and absolutely informal atmosphere, far from the mundane life of the coast. Painters, decorators and sculptors from all over Europe have given life to a sort of “bohème” and to a highly sought-after production of works in wood, wrought iron, terracotta, and ceramics. The unique pieces of these local artisans, in addition to furnishing the villas in the surrounding area, represent one of the reasons of attraction for the many tourists who flock to the “Mercatino degli Artisti” (Artists’ Market) which is held every Thursday morning from May to October.