ALGHERO-STINTINO, SARDINIA, ITALY
ALGHERO
The town of Alghero is located on the northwestern coast of Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea.
The fortress of Alghero was founded by the Doria family from Genoa in the early 12th century, in a territory inhabited since the Neolithic Age.
The town was a possession of the Genoese and Pisan alternately until the mid-14th century when it became a possession of the crown of Aragon and was repopulated with Catalan and Jewish families, the latter successively expelled in the late 15th century.
At the end of the 15th century, with the union of the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile, Sardinia passed under the crown of Spain. In the early 18th century Sardinia has a short period under Austrian control until it was given to the Savoia family.
In its history, Alghero was troubled by some plague epidemics in the Middle and modern Ages. Currently, it is a city living on tourism, known for coral working, an activity flourishing since the Middle Ages.
The nearby Alghero-Fertilia airport connects the city with other airports in the Italian peninsula and Europe. Alghero can also be reached by sea, the nearest port is at Porto Torres.
STINTINO
In 1885 the italian government decided to establish a penal colony and a quarantine station on the Asinara island. A group of 45 families from this island was forced to move to the mainland. Stintino was founded on the 14 agoust 1885 on a strip of land between two coves, called “Istintini” near the Tonnara Saline. Amongst the settlers were fishermen from Camogli near Genoa and Ponza that had knowledge and experience of tuna trap fishing.
Fish processing was vital for the Stintino community. The Tonnara wasn’t our only resource: many cultivated the land, other ones would provide the first tourist services, some were fishermen all year round. A fishermen’s coop was set up in 1904, still active now.
Then tourist facilities developed catering for summer and sailing activities. Fishing boats with the lateen sail were built at the back of the harbour by experienced ship builders. Stintino has been named the capital of the lateen sail: at the end of agoust the boats comepete in the lateen sail regatta. After the closure of the Asinara prison Stintino people was able to visit the island they came from. In 2002 the Asinara park was created. The park safeguards its environment and facilitates the return of tuna population.
A hundred years after it was found Stintino gained the status of municipality that means we have been able to develop our resources and protect environment indipendently. Our main resource is still the sea.
