North of Castelsardo and at about 47 km from Sassari, the municipality of Valledoria was constituted in 1961 with villages that were already part of Castelsardo and Sedini. The town stands on the site of the old roman village Codes, which gives the places its other name, Codarnina. The town’s naming has a quite recent history and has its origins in the Ligurian Doria family, which around the 12th century in order to protect its estates built a castle that still dominates the valley. After devastating epidemies that during the Middle Ages made many villages disappear, the town’s population started to grow again in 1800, thanks to the intervention of the Savoia Government and the immigration of shepherds and farmers from Gallura.
In the 1930s the area had a great development due to intense drainage works, needed after the frequent flooding of the river Coghinas. Later the land, completely drained, increased its agricultural vocation introducing artichokes and tomatoes cultivation especially in the Coghinas valley. More recently towards the mid ‘70s Valledoria became an important tourist centre, being able to welcome, today, many thousands of Italian and foreign tourists, with its comfortable hotels, well equipped rental houses, apartments, bungalows and camping sites, and it is ideal for relaxing of fun holidays.
Valledoria, lying on the north of the river Coghinas, enjoys a beautiful position which allows you to reach in just 1 ½ hours all the main northern locations of Sardinia (Alghero, Stintino, Sassari, Olbia, La Maddalena, Costa Smeralda) and the island’s heart (Nuoro, Ozieri, Bosa, Macomer). The whole surrounding natural landscape is characterized by the presence of the river Coghinas that after a 123 km winding course ends near Valledoria.
The presence of the river is also responsible for the wide sandy strip of land along the coast with its many large beaches.
The important naturalistic value of the river delta area has been acknowledged at European level with the institution of a “Site of communitarian interest” called Foce del Coghinas.
The visit to the town involves the Parrocchiale di Cristo Re, a recent building inaugurated in 1974. The altar, the presbytery decorations, the statue of Christ King, the Via Crucis Tiles by the ceramics artist Giuseppe Silecchia and the terracotta panels in the eucharistic chapel by the artist Mario Nieddu are especially interesting. The other main little villages and tourist areas San Pietro a Mare, Baia Verde, Maragnani, La Ciaccia and La Mudizza.