About 3 km north of Portoscuso, Capo Altano is both a scenic viewpoint and a piece of 20th-century history. In the second half of the 1930s, the Italian Royal Navy built a coastal battery here — Battery SR 310 — to defend the port of Portoscuso and the Sulcis mining plants from a possible attack from the sea, amid the tense climate following international sanctions over the war in Ethiopia. The battery was armed with four 102/35mm guns, First World War-era pieces, with a range of 9,500 metres, and manned by around a hundred men and three officers.
The cycle path
Since 2022, a cycle-and-walking path just over 2 km long provides safe access to the headland, with views over the cliff dropping straight into the sea. It's designed for easy walks and gentle bike rides, not a demanding trek, and leads all the way to the remains of the fortification: you can visit an intact bunker, along with the gun emplacements and other structures of the battery.
Why it's worth the detour
The view from Capo Altano is among the finest on the Sulcis coast: red cliffs, open sea, and on clear days a view all the way to the island of San Pietro. It's a short outing — a couple of hours including stops for photos — perfect for a late afternoon, ideally around sunset.
Getting there from Portoscuso
Capo Altano is a few minutes' drive from Villa Red Melons, following the coast northwards. There's a parking area at the start of the path.
Practical tips
- Wear comfortable shoes: the path is unpaved and partly exposed to the sun, so it's best to avoid the hottest hours in summer.
- The bunker can be visited freely, but there's no lighting inside: a torch is handy if you want to explore it properly.
- If you have a bike, it's the easiest way to cover the route; on foot, light trekking shoes are enough.
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