The birth of the city of Alghero can be traced back to the beginning of the 12th century, when the noble Doria family from Genoa founded the ancient nucleus of the city. In 1283, Alghero was conquered by the Republic of Pisa, but only for a short period of time. One year later, in 1284, Genoa took back the town. Read More [...]
In the 14th century, Alghero was conquered by the Aragonese, at the behest of King Pere IV of Aragon, and subsequently colonised during the following decades with Catalan settlers. The present cultural identity of Alghero and the Catalan dialect still spoken today dates back to this period. The Spanish domination of Sardinia ended at the beginning of the 18th century, with the Kingdom of Sardinia passing to the House of Savoy in 1720. In 1861, Alghero along the entire Sardinia became part of the Kingdom of Italy.
GEOGRAPHY: Today, Alghero is a city of about 44,000 inhabitants, located in the province of Sassari, in the northwestern part of the island of Sardinia. Most of the territory north of the urban area is occupied by the Nurra plain and on the extreme northwest stand the karst systems of Capo Caccia, Punta Giglio and Monte Doglia.
Alghero is located about 34 kilometers southwest of Sassari, 105 kilometers north of Oristano, 140 kilometers southwest of Olbia, 150 kilometers northwest of Nuoro and about 245 kilometers northwest of Cagliari.
TRANSPORT: The closest airport is the Alghero-Riviera del Corallo Airport, known also as the Alghero–Fertilia Airport, located about 8 kilometers nortwest of the city. To get from the airport to the city, you can take the ARST bus Linea Alfa, for a 30 minutes trip to the center of Alghero. The price of a single ticket is 1.00€, if you buy it from the ARST machine inside the airport, or 1.50€ on board.
LANDMARKS: Although the historical center of the city is small, it is extremely beautiful. Here, you can find numerous restaurant, bars and cafés, and is the perfect place to spend an interesting evening. The town is also known for its long and wide beaches. In Alghero, you have for yourself almost 6 kilometers of white sandy beach. Just pick a spot!
Probably, the most interesting attraction in Alghero is... 25 kilometers away of the town. Neptune’s Grotto, located on Cappo Caccia, is one of the largest marine caves in Italy and can be reached by boat or by car. In the area, there is also the necropolis of Anghelu Ruju and Nuraghe Palmavera, two of the most important archeological sites of Sardinia.
