Bosa castle, walls above the coloured houses and a chapel painted in the 14th century.

The Malaspina castle, which the people of Bosa also call the Serravalle castle, occupies the top of the hill behind the town. From there the Temo valley, the river and the sea were controlled, and so the place was used as a lookout long before the walls existed. The houses of Sa Costa, the medieval district, grew down the hillside between the 13th and 15th centuries. Today it is the visit that justifies the climb and Bosa's best viewpoint.

What you will see

Of the castle of the Malaspina marquises, a family from Lunigiana who came to Bosa through a wedding dowry in the 13th century, there remain the wall enclosure with its towers open on the inside and the keep, about 20 metres high, restored in the late 19th century. You can walk a stretch of the wall-walk, rebuilt in modern times, with a view over the coloured roofs, the river, the old bridge and, in the distance, the sea at Bosa Marina. In 1317 the castle passed to the Judges of Arborea, and then to the Aragonese; from the second half of the 16th century it lost importance to Alghero.

Inside the enclosure is the chapel of Nostra Signora de sos Regnos Altos, a Romanesque church that was extended in the late 19th century. During the works a 14th-century fresco cycle whose memory had been lost came to light: all the walls of the medieval part were painted. Look for the Adoration of the Magi, the Last Supper, a procession of female and male saints with their names, a huge Saint Christopher that fills a whole wall, Saint George and the dragon, the weighing of souls and, on the north wall, the first Franciscan saints. The finest scene is the Encounter of the Three Living and the Three Dead.

Hours and price

It is run by the Antico Tesoro cooperative. From 15 March to 15 November it is open every day: in March from 10:00 to 13:00 on weekdays and from 10:00 to 16:00 at weekends; April to June, from 10:00 to 19:00; July to October, from 10:00 to 20:00, and in November, from 10:00 to 16:00. From 16 November to 14 March it is open only on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, from 10:00 to 16:00.

Admission costs €7, and €5 for ages 6 to 25. With the Fondazione Bosa combined ticket, for €12 (€9 reduced), you also see the Casa Deriu, on the Corso, and the Museo delle Conce, in the tanneries. Visits are guided, and with a booking they are also given in Spanish.

How to get up

There is no road up to the top. Park by the river or in the lower part of the town and walk up through Sa Costa: ten or fifteen minutes of alleys and steep steps. With a pushchair it is difficult; a baby carrier is better. In summer, go first thing or at the end of the afternoon.