Porto Conte

Known in Roman times as Nimpharum Portus, or port of the nymphs, it is one of the largest natural harbors in the Mediterranean, sheltered from northwest winds.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince, spent the last two months of his life in Porto Conte in a villa located upstream from the Torre Nuova,[1] from May to July 1944, before the tragic epilogue with the crash of his plane.

The coastal area between Capo Caccia and Punta Giglio is characterized by large stretches of cliffs alternating with less steep portions.

[2] For naturalistic reasons, the Calich pond has been included, despite its considerable distance from the Porto Conte area, which is connected to the sea by an artificial canal built in the late 1930s during the reclamation works carried out in the region.

[3] Geologically, the area is characterized by limestone rocks from which, due to the effect of water, numerous karst caves have originated.

Along the coast vegetate the small shrubs of Terracciano's astragalus (Astragalus terraccianoi), Sardinian broom (Genista sardoa) and thorny witchgrass (Stachys glutinosa), associated with herbaceous species such as sea lily (Pancratium illyricum), silene nodulosa (Silene nodulosa), Corsican geranium (Erodium corsicum), Bocconi fennel (Seseli bocconi), Schmid's curd (Valium schmidii), spatulate daisy (Bellium bellidioides), pauciflorous garlic (Allium parciflorum), Requien's saffron (Romulea requienii), lesser saffron (Crocus minimus), gigarum (Arum pictum), asphodel (Asphodelus microcarpus), and nettle verdescura (Urtica atrovirens).

Sea fennel (Crithmum maritimum), chamforosma (Camphorosma monspeliaca), senecio (Senecio leucanthemifolius) mesembryanthemum (Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum), sea cabbage (Brassica insularis), crag mallow (Lavatera marittima) grow among the cliffs of Cape Caccia and Punta Giglio, Aleppo rue (Ruta chalepensis), wild leek (Allium ampeloprasum) and wild wallflower (Matthiola tricuspidata), while southern polypodium (Polypodium australe), cedargrass (Ceterach officinarum) and yellow narcissus (Narcissus bertolonii) vegetate in shaded areas.

Mammals that inhabit the Mediterranean scrub and garrigue areas are the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and the Sardinian hare (Lepus capensis mediterraneus).

The most common waterfowl, are the black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus), the little egret (Egretta garzetta), the grey heron (Ardea cinerea), the pink flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), coot (Fulica atra) and little tern (Sterna albifrons).