Ishiteji, as it's known in Japanese, is No. 51 of the 88 temples that form the Shikoku Pilgrimage, and you can usually see a few pilgrims in their white garb and cone hats. The main hall and pagoda are built in the architectural style of the Kamakura Period (1192-1333). Behind the temple buildings is a doorway to a dark hole in the mountain which forms the backdrop to Ishite. This leads to a series of tunnels filled with peculiar Buddhist statuary, leading out to an inner courtyard area containing a strikingly modern golden dome.

Built upon the remains of a mosque, this church is dedicated to the city's patron saints, whose martyrdom coincides with the traditional date of the city's reconquest, believed to have occurred on July 17, 1243. The structure is a single-nave Gothic temple, featuring side chapels between buttresses that date back to the 14th and 15th centuries. The presbytery and the side doorway, known as the Anunciación, are designed in Renaissance style. Alongside the nave, the Baroque Communion Chapel can be found. The main facade is adorned with a grand doorway, also in Baroque style, which was crafted by Antonio Villanueva and Cristóbal Sánchez. Particular attention should be given to the Gothic-style bell tower, which is remarkably slender and likely completed in the mid-15th century. The tower features gargoyle-shaped drains in its corners and sculptures of mythical beasts. Additionally, the clock, commissioned by the town council in 1439, is of historical interest.

Porto Cervo is the only real town and the Smeralda’s ’capital’, disguised as a Mediterranean fishing village with a curious mix of Moroccan style buildings. This is a pleasant place to stroll, people-watch and to go window-shopping.