A fond farewell to Sardinia and safe arrival in Corsica

MV Scandola
That's the odd name of the ferry which carried us from Porto Torres to Propriano. The vessel is registered in Ajaccio, and all the crew are, not surprisingly, French. The ship's purser called ahead to Propiano to arrange a car rental for us. We could overhear him pressing the agent insistently to just do it...apparently she was a little concerned her day would be extended beyond her normal hours if she had to await our scheduled arrival at 18:00. In the end, he succeeded in convincing her to do it, and thus, our first encounter with the Corsicans has been very favourable. We had arrived in Porto Torres this morning at 07:30, and thus had lots of time before borading our ferry before the scheduled departure of 14:30. Porto Torres was a Julian town, founded by Julius Ceasar himself in 46 B.C. At that time it was called Turris Libisonis and grew to be a popular Roman holiday destination in its time. One of the first things Julius Ceasar did was to build a straight road between Cagliari and Porto Torres which not only helped to develop trade between the two towns, but also allowed for better military control of the island. We visited the Archaeological Museum where excavations are still being conducted. Some of the artifacts being recovered are so well preserved that they look almost new and unused. Nevertheless, the foundations of the buildings here are not nearly as well preserved as the Nuraghic village at Palmavera. We saw the 7 arched Roman bridge just outsided the town near the docks from the side...excavation work prevented any closer access, but the foundation and upper structure appear to be in excellent condition. We also visited the basillica of Dan Gavino which is the oldest Romanesque church in Sardinia and has been flagged as the most important church on the island. It was built by the Pisans between 1030 and 1080 A.D. and is remarkably well preserved. I have never heard of San Gavino before, but judging from the paintings and carvings in the church, it would appear that he was beheaded by the Romans in about 300 A.D. Around the church, there are about 60 rooms available for anyone who wishes to make a pilgrimage here...an activity which is, apparently, favoured by the Sardinians. The columns inside the church of San Gavino were recycled by the Pisans from Roman ruins.