The beach of Punta Molentis can be found in Villasimius, in the southeast of Sardinia and falls within the Protected Marine Area of Capo Carbonara.
Punta Molentis is a small peninsula which encloses a beach extending for around 100 metres, protected against coastal storms.
The sandy shore consists of mid-fine clear sand with a low sandy seabed which gradually reduces.
A small wetland often forms behind the beach caused by the water from the coastal storm waves, which remains entrapped between the beach and a deposit of quarry rocks, placed there in the past to protect the point.
The promontory of granite rock is home to bushes of Mediterranean coastal essences which provide a habitat to rabbits and marine birds.
On the most external side of the promontory, we find the ruins of an old granite quarry. The name of the beach is linked to this former activity, indeed “su molenti” in Sardinian means donkey. These animals were used to transport the material extracted from the granite quarry.
Behind the beach, on a hillside standing around 100 m a.s.l. we find the remains of a Nuraghe overlooking the sea.
The beach is equipped with a restaurant and bathing facilities and in the summer is subject to a limited number of 500 users.
As well as falling within the Protected Marine Area, it is also part of the Site of Community Importance (SCI) “Isola dei Cavoli, Serpentara, Punta Molentis e Campulongu” regulated by the Rete Natura 2000.
