Porto Torres
Encyclopedia
Porto Torres is a comune
and city in northern Sardinia
, in the Province of Sassari
.
It is situated on the north coast about 25 km east of the Gorditanian promontory (Capo del Falcone), and on the spacious bay of the Gulf of Asinara
.
origin, founded apparently by Julius Caesar
, as it bore the title Colonia Julia. Pliny
described it as a colony
, the only on the island in his time, suggesting that there was previously no town on the spot, but merely a fort or castellum. It is noticed also by Ptolemy
and in the Itineraries
, but without any indication that it was a place of any importance.
The ancient remains still existing prove that it must have been a considerable town under the Roman Empire
. According from the inscriptions on ancient milestones, the principal road through the island ran directly from Caralis (Cagliari
) to Turris, a sufficient proof that the latter was a place much frequented. Indeed, two roads, which diverged at Othoca (modern Santa Giusta
) connected Caralis to Turris, the more important keeping inland and the other following the west coast. It was also an episcopal see
during the early part of the Middle Ages.
The existing port at Porto Torres, which is almost wholly artificial, is based in great part on Roman foundations; and there exist also the remains of a temple (which, as we learn from an inscription, was dedicated to Fortune, and restored in the reign of Philip
), of thermae, of a basilica and an aqueduct, as well as a bridge over the adjoining small river, still called the Fiume Turritano. The ancient city continued to be inhabited till the 11th century, when the greater part of the population migrated to Sassari
, about 15 km inland, and situated on a hill. It was partly under Genoese
hands before, in the early 15th century, it was conquered by the Aragonese
. After the Spanish rule it was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia
.
Torres was separated from the commune of Sassari in 1842. At the time the area which had been built around the basilica of San Gavino joined the fishermen's community near the port to form the new Porto Torres.
, Marseille
, Toulon
, Barcelona
, Civitavecchia
, Propriano
, Expressway SS131/E25 to Sassari and Cagliari
, and a national road to Santa Teresa Gallura (SS200).
A railway operated by Trenitalia
connects the town with Sassari
, and the rest of the island.
Chemical industries support the modern economy of Porto Torres.
Fiume Santo, a 1,040 MW power station owned by E.ON
, is just west of the harbor.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
and city in northern Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, in the Province of Sassari
Province of Sassari
The Province of Sassari is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia in Italy. Its capital is the city of Sassari.-Geography:It has an area of 4,282 km², and a total population of 322,326 . There are 66 municipalities in the province, the largest of which are Sassari The...
.
It is situated on the north coast about 25 km east of the Gorditanian promontory (Capo del Falcone), and on the spacious bay of the Gulf of Asinara
Gulf of Asinara
The Gulf of Asinara is a sea sector included between the Asinara Island, Cape Falcone and the town of Castelsardo, in northern Sardinia, Italy...
.
History
In ancient times, Turris Libyssonis was one of the most considerable cities in Sardinia. It was probably of purely RomanAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
origin, founded apparently by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
, as it bore the title Colonia Julia. Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
described it as a colony
Colonia (Roman)
A Roman colonia was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of Roman city.-History:...
, the only on the island in his time, suggesting that there was previously no town on the spot, but merely a fort or castellum. It is noticed also by Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
and in the Itineraries
Antonine Itinerary
The Antonine Itinerary is a register of the stations and distances along the various roads of the Roman empire, containing directions how to get from one Roman settlement to another...
, but without any indication that it was a place of any importance.
The ancient remains still existing prove that it must have been a considerable town under the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. According from the inscriptions on ancient milestones, the principal road through the island ran directly from Caralis (Cagliari
Cagliari
Cagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle. It has about 156,000 inhabitants, or about 480,000 including the outlying townships : Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu...
) to Turris, a sufficient proof that the latter was a place much frequented. Indeed, two roads, which diverged at Othoca (modern Santa Giusta
Santa Giusta
Santa Giusta is a comune in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region of Sardinia, located about 90 km northwest of Cagliari and about 3 km southeast of Oristano in the Campidano area...
) connected Caralis to Turris, the more important keeping inland and the other following the west coast. It was also an episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
during the early part of the Middle Ages.
The existing port at Porto Torres, which is almost wholly artificial, is based in great part on Roman foundations; and there exist also the remains of a temple (which, as we learn from an inscription, was dedicated to Fortune, and restored in the reign of Philip
Philip the Arab
Philip the Arab , also known as Philip or Philippus Arabs, was Roman Emperor from 244 to 249. He came from Syria, and rose to become a major figure in the Roman Empire. He achieved power after the death of Gordian III, quickly negotiating peace with the Sassanid Empire...
), of thermae, of a basilica and an aqueduct, as well as a bridge over the adjoining small river, still called the Fiume Turritano. The ancient city continued to be inhabited till the 11th century, when the greater part of the population migrated to Sassari
Sassari
Sassari is an Italian city. It is the second-largest city of Sardinia in terms of population with about 130,000 inhabitants, or about 300,000 including the greater metropolitan area...
, about 15 km inland, and situated on a hill. It was partly under Genoese
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
hands before, in the early 15th century, it was conquered by the Aragonese
House of Aragon
The House of Aragon is the name given several royal houses that ruled the County, the Kingdom or the Crown of Aragon.Some historiansGuillermo Fatás y Guillermo Redondo, Alberto Montaner Frutos, Faustino Menéndez Pidal de Navascués...
. After the Spanish rule it was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
.
Torres was separated from the commune of Sassari in 1842. At the time the area which had been built around the basilica of San Gavino joined the fishermen's community near the port to form the new Porto Torres.
Main sights
- The 11th-century, three-naved Basilica of San Gavino, which was built using only precious hardstones like marble, porphyry and granite, is the largest RomanesqueRomanesque architectureRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
church in Sardinia. Instead of the usual western facade and eastern apse, the cathedral sports two apses. The crypt holds several Roman sarcophagi. - Neolithic necropolis of Su Crocifissu Mannu and Li Lioni.
- NuragheNuragheThe nuraghe is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia. Today it has come to be the symbol of Sardinia and its distinctive culture, the Nuragic civilization...
of la Camusina, Li Pedriazzi, Margone and Minciaredda. - Remains of the Roman bridge, the largest in Sardinia with its arches and a span of 160–170 meters on the Rio Mannu
- Palazzo Re Barbaro
- CatacombsCatacombsCatacombs, human-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place can be described as a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman empire...
of Tanca Borgona and piazzale Amsicora. - Aragonese Towers of the port and of Abbacurrente.
Transportation and industry
The port is connected by ferries with GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located 80 kilometers west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignone river. The harbor is formed by two piers and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse...
, Propriano
Propriano
Propriano is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.It is situated on the Valinco Gulf.-Population:-References:*...
, Expressway SS131/E25 to Sassari and Cagliari
Cagliari
Cagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle. It has about 156,000 inhabitants, or about 480,000 including the outlying townships : Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu...
, and a national road to Santa Teresa Gallura (SS200).
A railway operated by Trenitalia
Trenitalia
Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. Trenitalia is owned by Ferrovie dello Stato, itself owned by the Italian Government. It was created in 2000 following the EU directive on the deregulation of rail transport.-Passenger transport:...
connects the town with Sassari
Sassari
Sassari is an Italian city. It is the second-largest city of Sardinia in terms of population with about 130,000 inhabitants, or about 300,000 including the greater metropolitan area...
, and the rest of the island.
Chemical industries support the modern economy of Porto Torres.
Fiume Santo, a 1,040 MW power station owned by E.ON
E.ON
E.ON AG, marketed with an interpunct as E•ON, is the holding company of the world's largest investor-owned energy service provider based in Düsseldorf, Germany. The name comes from the Greek word aeon which means eternity....
, is just west of the harbor.