With its 7000 mysterious Bronze Age stone towers, Neolithic 'Giants Tombs' and hundreds of Spanish watchtowers, Sardinia is an outdoor museum where its tangled past meets its colourful present. The most isolated island in the Mediterranean, it basks in a seven-month summer and boasts jagged mountain ranges, beautiful flowering bougainvilleas, glitzy jet-set coastal resorts and 2000km of emerald coastline. Nowhere else in Italy will you find bands of nomadic shepherds, three-storey yachts, myrtle-scented liquors, pink flamingos, Wild West towns and otherworldy celebrations all within 30 minutes of one another. Striking beauty and rugged brawn all await, so pack your snorkel, lace your hiking boots and discover one of Italy's last truly unspoilt corners with Footprint's first full-colour guide. How to cruise the spectacular Golfo di Orosei coastline and where the best beaches are Guide to Sardinia's intriguing history and language How to enjoy the Costa Smeralda on a budget Author's favourite sunset walk around Castello Insiders' guide to Alghero, Sardinia's most attractive town