Known to generations of seafarers throughout Sardinia, the Maria is much more than a boat: it is an authentic fragment of Mediterranean history.

Launched in 1899 in the Gavassino shipyard in Carloforte, it was born as a fishing boat, an activity it carried out in its early years plying the waters of the island of San Pietro.

Around the 1930s she was bought by a shipowner from Alghero who had moved to Olbia. It was here that the Maria began a new and intense phase in its history, becoming a silent protagonist in the maritime traffic of northern Sardinia.

Initially, she was employed in smuggling salt and cheese, a widespread activity at the time along the coastal routes. Famous are the chases of the Guardia di Finanza among the treacherous rocks of Capo Ceraso, where the Maria hid and managed to outrun the military. Later, she became fundamental to the local economy thanks to the transport of sand and building materials: it is estimated that she contributed about 90% to the transport of sand destined for the construction of the port of Golfo Aranci.

For several decades it also operated between Tavolara and the coast, transporting the limestone and lime produced on the island, an activity that was a central economic resource for the small island of Tavolara. The Maria thus became a vital link between the island and the mainland, an integral part of the historical memory of these routes.

With the opening of the NATO base at Tavolara, the Maria was used to transport fuel and various goods, in support of military patrol boats. Not only transport, but also religious events, such as the procession of St John and Our Lady of the Sea, which was held in Olbia for decades at the end of June.

It was sold in 2001, after a major restoration, to a young tourism entrepreneur from La Maddalena. In the following years it changed hands, until it was taken over in a state of neglect. After a year-long restoration, she returns to her beloved Tavolara, with a new colour - green, like the vegetation that covers the island - but above all with the blessing of King Tonino Bertoleoni, who after several decades sees the hull that filled his childhood days reappear on the horizon of the world's smallest kingdom.

Today, the Maria continues to sail, no longer as a work boat, but as a living witness to Sardinian maritime history, offering a unique experience to those who wish to experience the sea on board an authentic vintage Sardinian sailing ship.