Sardinia · Sulcis Iglesiente
Carloforte
A Ligurian-speaking fishing town on the Isola di San Pietro, founded in 1738 by coral fishers returning from Tunisian Tabarka.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Carloforte is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Subscribe and you get Carloforte's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- J14°
- F15°
- M16°
- A18°
- M21°
- J26°
- J30°
- A30°
- S27°
- O23°
- N19°
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- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 26° and coldest in February at 15°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Carloforte is the only settlement on the Isola di San Pietro, seven kilometers off the south-western tip of Sardegna and reached by ferry from Portovesme or Calasetta. About 5,900 people live here. The story is unusual on the island.
Coral fishers from Pegli, near Genoa, left in 1541 for the Tunisian island of Tabarka to work the Mediterranean coral banks. In 1738, their descendants asked Carlo Emanuele III of Savoy for land, were granted San Pietro, and built the town that still bears the king's name. The inhabitants still speak tabarchino, a Ligurian variant unchanged for two centuries, and write the street signs in two languages.
The tonnara at Punta La Punta worked the bluefin tuna migration through these waters from the sixteenth century to the late twentieth. Each May the Girotonno festival fills the harbor with tuna tastings and music. The cuisine is Ligurian on Sardinian water: pasta with tuna, capers, and pesto that locals make differently from the Genoese mainland.
How to get there
Carloforte is on an island and is reached by ferry.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Centro storico tabarchino
Ligurian-pattern fishing town founded 1738, pastel houses along the harbor, bilingual street signs in Italian and tabarchino.
Tonnara di Carloforte
Tuna fishery at Punta La Punta on the northern tip of the island, working the bluefin migration from the sixteenth century until recent decades.
La Caletta and Spalmatore
Sheltered coves and beaches on the western side of the island, with clear water and access to the Capo Sandalo cliffs.
Capo Sandalo
Western headland of San Pietro with a working lighthouse, cliffs and Eleonora's falcon nesting sites in the protected coastal strip.
Chiesa di San Carlo Borromeo
Parish church facing the harbor, dedicated to the saint whose name the founders gave the town in 1738.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Al Tonno di CorsaRistorante
Al Tonno di Corsa carries one Gambero Rosso fork (78/100), plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Da Andrea al CavalleraRistorante
Da Andrea al Cavallera has two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100) and a Slow Food snail.
Da NicoloRistorante
Da Nicolo holds two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
1 more place the guides name in Carloforte
Da VittorioRistorante
Da Vittorio has one Gambero Rosso fork (77/100) to its name.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Carloforte is an island.
- Reached by ferry. In the series we say we would never live on an island: the ferry is a commitment every time you leave.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 5,887, down 4.2% since 2015
- Homes in the center: €1,400 to €2,000 per m² to buy, €5.50 to €7.80 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 91% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Regional capital Cagliari, across the water
If you are moving here
Who lives here
2% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from France, Romania and Germany, against 9% across Italy. 38 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly France and Germany. There are 410 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 59% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. The old province of Sud Sardegna ranks 94th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.73% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Sardinia spends about €1,790 a month, €530 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €539 a year for water, on the Sardinia average.
Climate and risk
20% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 27% in a high or medium one. Under 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
TUNA
Bluefin from the spring mattanza migration, still the heart of the local cuisine and of the Girotonno festival each May.
TABARCHINO
Ligurian variant spoken by the descendants of Pegli fishers who lived two centuries in Tunisian Tabarka before founding Carloforte in 1738.
BORGHI PIU BELLI
Membership of Italy's most beautiful villages network, recognizing the pastel harbor and tabarchino heritage of the centro storico.
Common questions
- What is Carloforte known for?
- Carloforte is a Ligurian-speaking fishing town on the Isola di San Pietro, founded in 1738 by coral fishers returning from Tunisian Tabarka.
- Where is Carloforte?
- Carloforte is a comune in the province of Sulcis Iglesiente, in Sardinia, at 10 meters above sea level.
- How do you get to Carloforte?
- Carloforte is on an island and is reached by ferry.
- When is the best time to visit Carloforte?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Carloforte?
- La Maddalena, Orosei and Santa Teresa Gallura.
- How many people live in Carloforte?
- 5,887 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Carloforte a good place to live?
- Carloforte is an island town, reached by ferry, which our Where to Move in Italy series treats as the furthest end of the road. Full fibre reaches 91% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 10 m
- Population: 5,887
- Surface area: 51.1 km²
On the map
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Carloforte appears in
- The best coastal towns that eat well in SardiniaSardiniacoastaleats well6 towns · smallest 4,084 residents
- The prettiest villages in SardiniaSardiniaprettiest villages8 towns · smallest 776 residents
- The best hidden towns that eat well in SardiniaSardiniaeats wellhidden9 towns · smallest 2,179 residents
Similar
Towns like Carloforte
What all six share with Carloforte: near sea level
La Maddalena
Province: Gallura Nord-Est Sardegna
both on the Sardinian coast · both islands, reached by ferry
Orosei
Province: Nuoro
both on the Sardinian coast · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Santa Teresa Gallura
Province: Gallura Nord-Est Sardegna
both on the Sardinian coast · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Castelsardo
Province: Sassari
both on the Sardinian coast · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Favignana
Province: Trapani
both between 3,000 and 10,000 people · both islands, reached by ferry
Casamicciola Terme
Province: Napoli
both between 3,000 and 10,000 people · both islands, reached by ferry
The letter
Carloforte is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Carloforte comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Monte Argentario, 436 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.