Santa Maria Navarrese is a coastal and tourist town,

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

('district') of the municipality of Baunei, in the province of

Nuoro Nuoro ( or less correctly ; sc, Nùgoro ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in central-eastern Sardinia, Italy, situated on the slopes of the Monte Ortobene. It is the capital of the province of Nuoro. With a population of 36,347 (2011), ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

. It is located at about 150 km north of Cagliari and 160 km south of

Olbia Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age ...

, in the middle of the Gulf of Arbatax.

History

Santa Maria Navarrese, founded in the 1950s by Baunese settlers, has grown around a Medieval church dating back to around the AD 1000, consecrated to Santa Maria Assunta. According to tradition, the church was built on behalf of a princess of

Navarra Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

, hence the adjective Navarrese in the village's name. The place is known also for a 17th-century watchtower built on the beach and for the thousand-year old oleasters in the main square.

Geography and economy

Santa Maria Navarrese has a typical maquis shrubland seascape. Although it is part of the municipality of Baunei, it can be regarded as a separate town in some respects, mainly because Santa Maria Navarrese lies at 9,1 km (12 minutes by car) from Baunei and has a typical seaside landscape and an increasingly tourist economy, while Baunei is located inland and is mostly a mountainous town. Santa Maria Navarrese is also contiguous to the Tancau sul Mare frazione of

Lotzorai Lotzorai is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northeast of Cagliari and about northeast of Tortolì. Lotzorai borders the following municipalities: Baunei, Girasole, Talana, Tor ...

and is part of a strip of Ogliastra's coastal settlements that stretches southwards to Tortolì and

Arbatax Arbatax (; sc, Arbatassa) is the largest hamlet (''frazione'') of Tortolì, Sardinia, in Italy. With almost 5,000 inhabitants, it is also the third largest town in its province (Nuoro) by population, after Lanusei municipality (5,700) and Torto ...

. It has a small, well-served tourist port, from which it is possible to reach the famous Sardinian cale: Cala Goloritzé, Cala Luna, Cala Mariolu (also called Ispùligi de Nie), Cala Sisine, Cala Biriala, Spiaggia dei Gabbiani and Grotta del Fico. The town remains outside most commercial tourist routes and thus still offers a rural unspoiled landscape that provides an insight in day-to-day Sardinian life and is interesting for nature trail tourism. One trekking route that is focused on nature that starts from this city is Selvaggio Blu. {{authority control Municipalities of the Province of Nuoro