A suggestive stretch of coast where the golden colours of the sand, brown of the rocks and blue of the sea blend, in a scenario that for almost three decades, between 1956 and 1983, has been a 'summer colony' for many children. Funtanazza, set among the stupendous Torre dei Corsari and Marina di Arbus, was the first and pioneering resort in the uncontaminated and wild (then more than ever) Costa Verde, in the territory of Arbus. From June to September the children of the miners of Ingurtosu and Montevecchio, about twenty kilometres away, spent their holidays in the 'Francesco Sartori' seaside colony, built by the company that managed the mining sites - as wished by CEO Rolandi - "as the reward of so many labours, so many sacrifices, so much darkness accumulated in the tunnels". You can reach it by taking the state road 126 through a world crystallized in time, made of abandoned mines and ghost villages. The nearest services are in Marina di Arbus, Torre dei Corsari and in the tourist village of Portu Maga.

The inlet of Funtanazza welcomes, partly sheltering it from the mistral, a stretch - about one kilometre - of medium-grained golden sand, bathed by the limpid sea with its colours shifting between green and blue, with a sandy bottom dotted with a few rocks, which gets deep very quickly. The beach is bordered by cliffs covered with thick Mediterranean vegetation: on one side large basalt rocks hide small caves, while on the other the cliff slopes gently. To the south, down to sa Cabada bianca point you will be able to pick your way between volcanic rocks containing an infinity of fossils easily visible on the white cliff, dating back to the Miocene. The complex, impressive in size, overlooks the beach. A verdant pine forest of nearly eight hectares overlooks the coast, along with the imposing complex of the former colony, which occupies more than two thousand square metres and could accommodate about two hundred children and sixty adults. Consisting of three distinct areas, including accommodation facilities and two swimming pools, it was autonomous thanks to the aqueduct, electric cabin, radio link and telephone systems, as well as access roads. When built (1956) it was considered a futuristic structure, the most modern in Europe. Today it is a huge and spooky building awaiting redevelopment.

South of Funtanazza you will discover the two most splendid pearls of the Costa Verde: Piscinas, a sandy desert lapped by the emerald sea, and the 'talking' beach of Scivu. Other spectacular dunes on the north end of the coast are the Sabbie d'Oro of Pistis.