The Story Behind Cala Corsara
Granite formations with names, a Neolithic trading stop, and the corsairs who gave the cove its name.
The beach in detail: four coves, not one
Cala Corsara lies at the extreme south of Spargi, in a broad bay sometimes nicknamed "Pirate Bay." What looks on a map like a single beach is in fact a cluster of four small white-sand coves, divided from one another by granite outcrops and backed by low dunes covered in juniper, broom, wild roses and sea lilies. The sand is exceptionally fine, white and almost powdery; the seabed is mostly sandy, producing luminous colour gradations.
The Witch's Rock, the Bulldog and the Boot
Cala Corsara's granite formations are the stuff of folklore. The Roccia della Strega ("Witch's Rock") sits on a rocky spur to the left of the main beach. Nearby, visitors spot the "Bulldog" — a hollow rock resembling a bulldog's head — and "Lo Stivale" ("the Boot"), a wind-carved stone echoing the shape of the Italian peninsula.
A Neolithic trading stop
Inside a granite tafone on the central beach, archaeologists found Neolithic remains — pottery and obsidian — testifying that Spargi was a stopover on ancient obsidian trade routes long before it became a pirate hideout.
Snorkelling at Cala Corsara
Water shoes are strongly advised among the granite and over the Posidonia meadows. Expect schools of salema (Sarpa salpa), saddled bream (Oblada melanura), Mediterranean rainbow wrasse (Coris julis) and ornate wrasse (Thalassoma pavo), along with octopus, starfish and sea urchins.
The Roman shipwreck of Spargi
On the shoal known as Secca Corsara, at about 18 metres depth, lies the Spargi wreck — a Roman nave oneraria (cargo vessel) roughly 35 metres long that sank around 120–100 BC. Its cargo included amphorae of the Dressel 1 type (Dressel 1A and 1B), standard Late-Republican wine amphorae from the Campania region. Discovered in 1939 by La Maddalena diver Lazzarino Mazza, the wreck was excavated from 1958 by pioneering underwater archaeologist Nino Lamboglia — a milestone dig, the first to be mapped using a grid and photomosaic techniques. Recovered items are conserved at the Museo Archeologico Navale "Nino Lamboglia" in La Maddalena, currently closed for restoration, with a tender published in early 2026.
Pirates, corsairs and the name "Cala Corsara"
The name comes from the Italian corsaro — corsair or pirate. Local tradition holds that the cove was once a pirates' lair, hidden from the open western approach yet with a commanding view of the Strait of Bonifacio. Barbary corsair raids in the region peaked in the 16th century, enduring from the Middle Ages into the 18th century.
