Alghero

Alghero (Italian pronunciation: [alˈɡɛːro]; Catalan: L'Alguer, pronounced: [ɫəɫˈɣe], locally: [lalˈɣe]; Sardinian: S'Alighèra; Sassarese: La Liéra), is a town and episcopal see of about 44,000 inhabitants in the southern Italian insular province of Sassari in northwestern Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea.

The name Alghero comes from the medieval Latin Aleguerium, meaning stagnation of algae (Posidonia oceanica, actually a seagrass) on the coast. The Catalan language is co-official in the city, unique in Italy.

History

The area of today's Alghero has been settled since pre-historic times. The so-called Ozieri culture was present here in the 4th millennium BC (Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju); while the Nuraghe civilization was present in the area around 1500 BC.

The Phoenicians would settle there by the 8th century BC, and the metalworking town of Sant'Imbenia, with a mixed Phoenician and Nuragic population, engaged in trade with the Etruscans on the Italian mainland.

Due to its strategic position in the Mediterranean Sea, Alghero was built around a fortified port, founded around 1102 by the Genoese Doria family. The Doria ruled it for centuries, apart from a brief period under the rule of Pisa (1283–84). In 1353 it was captured by the forces of the Crown of Aragon under Bernardo de Cabrera; in 1372, following several revolts, the indigenous Sardinian and Genoese population was expelled, and Alghero could later grow in number because of the arrival of Catalan colonists. In the early 16th century Alghero received papal recognition as a bishopric and the status of King's City (ciutat de l'Alguer) and developed economically.