Sardinia · Gallura Nord-Est Sardegna
Santa Teresa Gallura
The northernmost town in Sardinia, founded in 1808 on a Turin-style grid above the Strait of Bonifacio and 11 kilometers from Corsica.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Santa Teresa Gallura is on our list
It holds Bandiera Blu and Bandiera Lilla.
Subscribe and you get Santa Teresa Gallura's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 4 h 12 min from Cagliari
- Population
- 5,078
- J13°
- F15°
- M15°
- A18°
- M22°
- J27°
- J29°
- A29°
- S26°
- O22°
- N18°
- D15°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Santa Teresa Gallura sits on the northern tip of Sardinia, facing the Strait of Bonifacio. Corsica is 11 kilometers away across the water, the closest point between the two islands. The town was founded on August 12, 1808 by King Vittorio Emanuele I of Savoy and named for his wife Maria Teresa of Austria-Este, built over the older settlement of Longonsardo and laid out on a regular grid borrowed from Turin.
Before the Savoy refoundation, Philip II of Spain had already raised the Torre di Longonsardo on the headland in the 1570s, one of the coastal towers built to watch for North African raiders. Capo Testa, the granite peninsula west of town, is a Hercynian outcrop weathered into round boulders and arches, with a lighthouse at its tip and the Cala di l'Ea wind-carved cove on its eastern shore. Rena Bianca, the town beach, has held the Bandiera Blu since 1987.
How to get there
From Cagliari (CAG), about 4 h 30 min by car.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Torre di Longonsardo
Late 16th-century Spanish coastal watchtower built under Philip II, the headland landmark above the town and a free viewpoint.
Spiaggia Rena Bianca
Town beach of white sand and shallow turquoise water, Bandiera Blu holder since 1987, a short walk from the central piazza.
Capo Testa
Granite peninsula west of town shaped by erosion into round boulders, arches and natural pools, with a working lighthouse at the western tip.
Valle della Luna
Sheltered granite cove on Capo Testa with rock formations and shallow pools, accessible by footpath from the parking area.
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele I
Main square at the heart of the Savoy grid plan, named for the founder king and ringed by 19th-century low buildings.
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.
Da ThomasRistorante
Da Thomas has two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100) to its name.
Millo RistoranteRistorante
Millo Ristorante carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.
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?
Santa Teresa Gallura meets 1 of our 2 rules for a small town.
- 5,078 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Olbia, a city of 61,681, is 1 h 9 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
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 5,078, down 1% since 2015
- Nearest city Olbia, 1 h 9 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital La Maddalena, 20 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,500 to €2,200 per m² to buy, €6.50 to €9.20 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 44% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Olbia airport (OLB), 1 h 21 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Cagliari, 4 h 12 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
11% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Ukraine and Germany, against 9% across Italy. 61 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, France and the United Kingdom. There are 326 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 70% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. The old province of Sassari ranks 74th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in La Maddalena, 20 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Sassari, 89 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 275 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Sardinia International School, 43 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1% 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 0.55% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €10,000. 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. In Sassari, the capital of the old province, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.31, a meal in a pizzeria €15.08 and a man's haircut €19.33.
Climate and risk
2% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 2% 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
BOCCHE DI BONIFACIO
The 11-kilometer strait between Sardinia and Corsica, scattered with reefs and known to sailors for strong currents and traffic.
CAPO TESTA
Granite peninsula weathered into round boulders, Roman quarry site whose granite later went to the cathedral and baptistery of Pisa, and by tradition to the Pantheon.
SAVOY GRID
Founded 1808 by Vittorio Emanuele I and laid out on a regular Turin-style grid, the only Savoy-planned town on the Sardinian coast.
VERMENTINO DI GALLURA
The commune lies inside the Vermentino di Gallura DOCG production zone.
Common questions
- What is Santa Teresa Gallura known for?
- Santa Teresa Gallura is the northernmost town in Sardinia, founded in 1808 on a Turin-style grid above the Strait of Bonifacio and 11 kilometers from Corsica.
- Where is Santa Teresa Gallura?
- Santa Teresa Gallura is a comune in the province of Gallura Nord-Est Sardegna, in Sardinia, at 44 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Santa Teresa Gallura?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Olbia (OLB), about 1 h 21 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Santa Teresa Gallura?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Santa Teresa Gallura?
- Castelsardo, Palau and Orosei.
- How many people live in Santa Teresa Gallura?
- 5,078 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Santa Teresa Gallura a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Santa Teresa Gallura is a small town that meets 1 of our 2 rules. The nearest city, Olbia, is 1 h 9 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in La Maddalena, 20 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 44% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 44 m
- Population: 5,078
- Surface area: 102.29 km²
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 Santa Teresa Gallura appears in
Similar
Towns like Santa Teresa Gallura
What all six share with Santa Teresa Gallura: between 3,000 and 10,000 people · near sea level
Castelsardo
Province: Sassari
both on the Sardinian coast
Palau
Province: Gallura Nord-Est Sardegna
both on the Sardinian coast
Orosei
Province: Nuoro
both on the Sardinian coast
Carloforte
Province: Sulcis Iglesiente
both on the Sardinian coast
Maruggio
Province: Taranto
Bosa
Province: Oristano
both on the Sardinian coast
The letter
Santa Teresa Gallura 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 Santa Teresa Gallura comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Monte Argentario, 208 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.