Arc. di La Maddalena – Spiaggia Rosa (Cala di Roto)- Isola di Budelli

Budelli Island’s Pink Beach is a true masterpiece of nature, a symbol of the La Maddalena Archipelago Nature Park, of which the island is a part.
Recently purchased by the state and completely uninhabited, Budelli reveals a wild and unspoiled charm of its own, with rich and articulate contrasts of land and sea.

Spiaggia Rosa is located in Cala di Roto, on the southeastern side of Budelli Island, a few hundred meters south of Santa Maria and Razzoli Islands, and just over a mile north of Spargi Island. Pleasure boats can transit no less than 300 meters from the shore. In the summertime between Pink Beach and Knight Beach (located just to the east), buoy camps are set up. There are no other recreational facilities.

Its name is due to the characteristic coral pink color of the shoreline sand, which is caused by the presence of calcareous shells of Miniacina miniacea, a protozoan that inhabits Posidonia oceanica, a plant of which the seabed in the area and throughout the Mediterranean abounds. The shells, when they come undone, go to feed the beach thanks to the currents.

Famous since Michelangelo Antonioni set “Red Desert” there in the 1960s, the beach over the years has been plundered by tourists and bathers taking sand as a souvenir of the island.

In order to protect the beach, restore the natural settings and recover the landscape aspects that are now known worldwide, the park has placed it in an integral protection zone, prohibiting access, transit, parking and bathing since the 1990s. According to the Sea Traffic Regulations approved by the Park Authority, “professional and sport fishing and diving activities are also prohibited; bathing in the area between the shoreline and the yellow spherical buoys located about 70 meters away from it; trampling on the shoreline is not allowed. Transit is permitted, with routes parallel to the shoreline and at a speed not exceeding 3 knots, by recreational boats and vessels, as well as authorized traffic units, exclusively outside the spherical boundary buoys and in compliance with the provisions of the authorities. It is absolutely prohibited to take and remove lithological and mineral formations, as well as to collect fossils, concretions, minerals, including sand.”

Today it is possible to drop anchor or moor at a buoy in the nearby anchorages of Cavaliere Beach, which offers good shelter from all winds except easterly. From here it is possible to visit the Pink Beach on foot, using a wooden walkway that allows you to walk over the beach without stepping on it. The path leading from Cavaliere to Cala di Roto is surrounded by Mediterranean scrub and offers beautiful views of Budelli and Spargi. On the beach, in a wooden building just inside, lives Mauro, janitor of the island for 25 years and its only inhabitant. It is worth visiting Mauro to hear his stories and his vision for the future of the island.

The island of Budelli is part of the La Maddalena Archipelago National Park, and it is therefore necessary to obtain permits and authorizations for various recreational activities, including anchorage. These permits can be obtained through the Park’s website or at one of the Authority’s offices on the island of La Maddalena or in Palau. It is advisable to consult the Park Authority’s website(www.lamaddalenapark.it), to check for updates on ways and costs of obtaining permits and authorizations.