Spiritual retreat in North Sardinia: an itinerary through prayer and meditation

Whether yours is a path of prayer and introspection, a search for touch with the divine through meditation in nature, or simply a need for escaping from the chaos of contemporary life, finding your spiritual retreat in Sardinia is the perfect solution to combine the journey of the soul, intimate and personal, with the earthly journey to discover an exceptional land.

The itinerary for a spiritual travel in North Sardinia that we propose you includes 5 stages, to explore and visit in absolute tranquility, places of faith and mysticism reachable by traveling on the road at your own pace (about 290 km x 5:30 h of travel, overall). The ideal starting point is Olbia, the happy city, well connected to the continent (traveling by ship or plane) and, given its name, the perfect place to start an important journey with a smile and lightheartedness.

So let's begin this extraordinary adventure: which will be the most suitable spiritual retreat for you? Let's find out together while enjoying the journey through the wonders of Sardinia!

The first stage on our itinerary discovering the best locations for spiritual retreat in Sardinia is Luogosanto, in the heart of Gallura, just 45 minutes from Olbia following the roads SS125 and SP14. A little town with an emblematic name, literally a holy place, which owes this denomination to the great relevance it had in history, between gestures of faith and places full of mysterious charm.

In particular, Luogosanto is famous for being a land of hermitage and spiritual research, as evidenced by the numerous rural churches located among the hills near the village, isolated places where to pray and meditate with only the background of nature. Among the most important there are the Church of St. Leonard near the ruins of the Balaiana Castle, the ancient residence of the governors of Gallura, the Church of St. Stephen near the green-covered ruins of the fascinating Baldu Palace, as well as the hermitages of Saints Nicholas, Trano and Salvatore.

South of Luogosanto there’s also Liscia Lake, one of the largest in North Sardinia, a true oasis in touch with nature where seeking relaxation and inner peace even simply by taking pleasant walks, or why not, perhaps meditating in the shadow of wonderful thousand-year-old olive trees.

Let’s now move a few kilometers further south along road SS133, destination Tempio Pausania, a quiet village, rich in culture and with an old-fashioned atmosphere where to experience your spiritual retreat in Sardinia in the shadow of the imposing Mount Limbara, one of the most important peaks on the island.

The mountain has always played a highly symbolic role in the religions, representing the perfect place that, due to its height and majesty, allows to get closer both spiritually and physically to the divine. A powerful and profound symbolism, which finds confirmation in many cultures of different eras and beliefs, and which doesn’t sound strange to Limbara and the citizens of Tempio.

An example is the Festa della Montagna (Mountain’s Festival), a typical celebration of Ferragosto, an invitation to rediscover the authenticity of the sardinian hinterland in an alternative way, just as the alternative proposal to celebrate these days of midsummer in the shadow of Mount Limbara and its sequoia forests. And considering the multicultural sacredness of the week around August 15 - for example the Assumption of Mary for Christians, Feriae Augusti for the ancient Romans, or even the Hachigatsu Bon in Japanese Buddhism - it’s clear how such a special location, in the heart of an equally magical land, can become a point of international interest to fully enjoy every type of spirituality.

The strength of Limbara is above all its surprising landscape diversity, which includes hiking trails through the woods, peaceful corners where to stop and meditate by small waterfalls and wonderful views that extend up to the sea. Reaching the top there’s also the Church of Our Lady of Snows, a pleasant place of prayer and rest within most vivid nature.

The next stage represents a real journey towards the most genuine and wild heart of Sardinia, precisely the Goceano region, a border land between the provinces of Sassari, Nuoro and Oristano. Our road takes us more than 100 km south of Limbara, following the SS392, SS199 and SS218 bis roads up to our next destination: Burgos, a fairytale village dominated from the top of a cliff by an ancient castle and surrounded by enchanted forests.

In the peace and timeless charm of the village you could find the ideal place for your spiritual retreat in Sardinia, far from the frenzy of the city and immersed in a spectacular setting, dominated by the green of the woods and the brown of the mountains that draw the core of the island. And speaking of nature, the magical Burgos Forest is a real experience to join to make your spiritual journey special.

Located northwest of the village, the forest gives visitors truly unique emotions. Exploring its paths, in fact you can see up close the fascinating and solemn ruins of ancient nuragic sites and villages - known as the Costa nuragic ghost town - absolute icons of a typically sardinian remote spiritual world made of domus de janas and tombs of giants. Hiking and meditating in the green purity of Burgos Forest, in the shadow of majestic mediterranean trees, you can also visit the picturesque Church of St. Salvatore and admire its impressive neo-medieval aesthetic.

Moving on following the roads SP43 and SP21, the fourth stage on our spiritual itinerary in Sardinia is the small region of Meilogu, in the province of Sassari, a territory that has always been characterized by a deep bond with faith as demonstrated by the presence of many places of worship that made the history of this part of the island. Places of rare beauty such as the Monastery of San Pietro di Sorres, within the town of Borutta, ancient medieval church of the namesake hamlet and today home to a community of benedictine monks.

The Monastery, a beautiful example of neo-romanesque architecture typical of North Sardinia, was the scene of a bloody battle in 1334 between the troops of the Doria, a noble Genoese family with historic possessions throughout the province, and the Aragonese, standard-bearers of the unstoppable Spanish conquest of the island. This event part of Salude & Trigu, celebrated every year with the exciting historical reenactment of the folk festival Bastida di Sorres, tragically marked the beginning of a long time of decline for Sorres with the abandonment of the religious site between the 16th and 17th centuries.

Three centuries later, with the occurrence of Italian unification, the Monastery was object to recovery and restoration as a monument of national interest. An initiative of great value that culminated in the post-war period, between 1940s and 1950s, with a new restoration and above all with the expansion of its buildings and outer spaces to enable the foundation of a new thriving monastic community, engaged since 1970 in a booming book restoration activity on a national level.

For travelers seeking serenity and faith, the Monastery today represents a prominent place of pilgrimage, rest and hospitality, ready to welcome you to experience an intense spiritual retreat, according to the principles of ora et labora, immersed in a bucolic landscape made of silent calm, deep meditation and prayer.

The last stage on this spiritual journey in North Sardinia, reachable from the Monastery by following the provincial roads, first for Thiesi and then for Temo Lake, is a real dive into the tranquility, and above all into the wonder, of a place just as fascinating as surreal. We are speaking of Monteleone Rocca Doria, a tiny village inhabited by just one hundred souls - among the least populated towns in Sardinia - perched on the top of a hill overlooking the lake, just as if it were a hermitage.

And indeed, for the traveler in search of silence, vivid touch with nature and inner balance, this can be the ideal location for a regenerating retreat not only for the spirit, but also for the body. Monteleone Rocca Doria in fact offers many hiking trails to explore Lake Temo and the banks of the namesake river, as well as many panoramic points and lookouts carved into the rock of the same cliff where the village stands - remote places perhaps difficult to reach, but perfect for meditating with a wonderful view in sight - and real high-impact sports activities to test yourself, maybe even challenging your mental strength as well as your physical strength, such as rock climbing.

The small village hosts the ruins of an ancient Doria’s fortification, from which it takes its name, as well as the simple but evocative romanesque Church of St. Anthony Abbot. To the south-east, on the road to Romana, there’s also the hermitage of Santa Maria de s'Ispidale, while further north beyond the lake it’s possible to visit the rural Church of St. Lussorio.

Less than one hour from Monteleone Rocca Doria, following road SS292, you can finally reach the wonderful city of Alghero, where to stop before leaving and returning home by plane from its airport.

A journey of faith, mysticism, meditation, spiritual and personal growth: North Sardinia is also all this, a magical and fascinating land, rich in history and folklore, where to rediscover the purity and beauty of touch with nature, and the simplicity of small things, iconic characteristics that make the villages of the province of Sassari unique and special.