Porto Torres (; ) is a (municipality) and a city of the Metropolitan City of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as , it was the first Roman colony of the entire island. It is situated on the coast at about east of Falcone Cape and in the center of the Gulf of Asinara. The port of Porto Torres is the second biggest seaport of the island, followed by the port of Olbia. The town is very close to the main city of Sassari, where the local university takes office.
Toponymy Historically the settlement was founded with the Latin name "Colonia Iulia Turris Libisonis", composed with Colonia (name of the Roman settlements) Iulia (name of the Julia gens) Turris (litt. "tower", referred probably to a nuraghe built not so far from the town or to the Monte d'Accoddi) and Libisonis (referred to Libya, probably because in the same area there was a Phoenician trading outpost. "Libya" is the ancient name of the entire northern coast of Africa). After the fall of the Western Roman Empire the town was known simply as "Turris". During the Middle Ages during the Judicate of Logudoro the name was corrupted with "Torres" and after, during the Aragonese period, the town was known simply with the Catalan name of "Lo Port" (The port). During the Savoy reign it was known with the name of Portotorre (Porto+Torre; "Towerport").
Until the 1960s the town was commonly known as "Portotorres", and only after the official recognition of the status of city the name has officially changed in Porto Torres.
History
Prehistorian and Nuragic period
The Miocene In the frazione of Fiume Santo in 1994 have been found a lot of animal fossils presumably dated at the Miocene. Some 8/9 million years old rests of Oreopithecus bambolii has been find in the same area. The discovering has started casually thanks to some hobbyist paleontologists that have noticed after some maintenance works in the near thermal power station the presence of some fossils in the excavation debris. In the area has been individuated 15 vertebrate species like giraffes, crocodiles, turtles, suidae and Mustelidae. Most of these animals like the Umbrotherium azzarolii were herbivorous, but some others like the Indarctos anthracitis were omnivores.
Prehistory Ancient human presence in the municipal territory of Porto Torres is certified thanks to many necropolises in the area. The altar of Monte d'Accoddi (very near to the town but in the municipality of Sassari) witness the human presence in that area during these ages.
Bronze and Nuragic Age Finds dated at these ages have been found in the Necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu. In this necropolis have two skulls were found with the presence of some sort of surgical procedure probably practiced to heal issues like migraines and tumors. Another theory is that this surgical procedure was practiced for religious and/or magical purposes. Many nuraghes belong to these ages, and nowadays only 7 of these structures are in a well preserved state. The Domus de Janas of Andreolu also witness the presence of the Nuragic civilization.
Roman period (46 BC – 455 AD) In ancient times, Turris Libisonis was one of the most considerable cities in Sardinia. It was probably of purely Roman 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 to 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. There exists also the remains of a temple (which, as we learn from an inscription, was dedicated to Fortune, and restored in the reign of Philip between 247 and 249), of thermae, of a basilica and an aqueduct, as well as a bridge over the adjoining small river, still called the Fiume Turritano.
After the Western Roman Empire The ancient city continued to be inhabited until the 11th century, when most of the population migrated to Sassari, about inland, and on a hill. It was partly under Genoese hands until the early 15th century, when it was conquered by the Aragonese. After a period of Spanish rule, it became 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 Saint Gavino joined the fishermen's community near the port to form the new Porto Torres. On 10 May 1942, Benito Mussolini visited the town. On Palm Sunday, 18 April 1943, the city was bombed by the Allies.
Geography
Porto Torres is on the north-west coast of Sardinia.
The area of the municipality is almost 10,200 hectares and is subdivided into two parts, almost equal in size. One part includes the city, the industrial area, and the Roman ruins; the other consists of two islands, Asinara and the smaller Isola Piana. Since 1997, this part of the municipality is the Asinara National Park.
The morphology of "city part" is flat; the area of Porto Torres and the rest of north-west Sardinia is characterized by a Nurra plain, with some hill formations in the middle of it. Part of this hill formation is in the municipality of Porto Torres, the highest elevation being Monte Alvaro, rising to a height of 342 m above sea level.
The communal territory is crossed by two rivers, Rio Mannu and Fiume Santo. The first flows along the edge of Porto Torres to the west, while the second runs near the city and was used as a navigable river as early as the days of ancient Rome.
Climate
Demographics
Until the 1960s, the town was considered to be more or less like a large village. After that, thanks to industrialization, the population increased rapidly until the 1980s, when the local petrochemical industry managed by the "SIR – Società Italiana Resine" owned by Angelo Rovelli entered into a deep financial crisis.
Foreign residents In Porto Torres in 2019 there were 599 foreign residents, many of them from Africa and eastern Europe. The main nationalities recorded were:
Nigeria: 61 Romania: 56 Serbia: 45 Senegal: 34 Poland: 32 Ghana: 29 Somalia: 24 Ivory Coast: 22 China: 20 Mali: 17 Other: 159
Economy
Tourism Starting in 2008, tourism has become a very important activity for the economy of the city. The town have several attractions, both natural and anthropic. The main attraction is the Asinara National Park. The Aragonese seaport tower is considered the symbol of the city and because of this it is one of the main tourist attractions. Other main attractions are the Roman bridge of Riu Mannu and the Basilica of Saint Gavinus. Due to the decline of the industrial sector, the tourist sector has started to become the leading sector of the local economy (despite the local industrial zone, that importance for the city remains high).
Industry Chemical industries support the modern economy of Porto Torres. Fiume Santo, a 1,040 MW power station owned by E.ON, is west from the city, in the municipality of Sassari.
Plans related to industrial conversion are in progress in Porto Torres, where seven research centers are developing the transformation from traditional fossil fuel related industry to an integrated production chain from vegetable oil using oleaginous seeds to bioplastics.
Minor activities Fishing and farming activities are also practiced around the land.
Governance In chargeNamePolitical allianceRoleNotes20 July 198824 June 1990Rodolfo CermelliChristian DemocracyMayor27 July 199028 June 1993Giacomo RumItalian Socialist PartyMayor28 June 199312 May 1997Alfredo DessìPRC, Democratic Party of the Left, PSd'AzMayor12 May 199728 May 2001Eugenio CossuPRC, Democratic Party of the Left, FdVMayor28 May 20011 February 2005Gilda Usai CermelliFI, AN, civic list, CCD, CDUMayor23 May 200515 June 2010Luciano MuraDemocrats of the Left, PSd'Az, DL, Italian Democratic Socialists, PCI, PRCMayor15 June 201010 February 2015Beniamino Luigi ScarpaMany civic lists, IDVMayor18 June 20159 November 2020Sean Christian WheelerFive Star MovementMayor9 November 2020in chargeMassimo MulasProgetto Turritano, PD, Italy in CommonMayor
Sister cities CountryCityDateNotes Camposano2016
Culture
Festivals At the end of August it took place the festival called "Suoni & Sapori", a festival that put together the tasting of local food and the listening of music composed by local artists. "La giornata dello sport" is an annual local festival that promote the sport activity for both children and adults. The "Festival Internazionale di Musiche Polifoniche Voci d’Europa" organized by the local polyphonic choir is an annual music festival of the town. The "Fisherman's regatta" is a competition where the fishermen try to fishing using only traditional early 20th-century equipment like rowing boats without any use of modern tools like the GPS tracker.
Main sights
Churches Basilica of St. Gavinus, St. Proto and St. Gianuario (1080)
Built using only hardstones like marble, porphyry and granite, is the largest Romanesque church in Sardinia built between 1065 and 1080 above the hill of "Monte Angellu" in one of the historical neighborhood of the town. The basilica was erected in the memory of St. Gavinus, St. Protus and St. Gianuario, beheaded during the 303 a.C under the governance of the emperor Diocletian and Maximian. Instead of the usual western facade and eastern apse, the cathedral sports two apses. The crypt holds several Roman sarcophagi.It was the main cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sassari until 1441. Church of Beata Vergine della Consolata (1826) Neoclassic church built by the architect Giuseppe Cominotti (the same person who also built the Marquess's palace) in 1826. It was the main church of the historical seaport neighborhood, distinguished from the rural neighborhood of "Monte Angellu" situated near the Basilica of St.Gavinus. Church of San Gavino a Mare (1850) Also known as "Balai vicino" to distinguish it from the very similar church of Santu Bainzu Ischabizzaddu, it is built near the beach of Balai. In that place St. Gavinus, St. Proto and St. Gianuario has been buried after the execution, inside the building there are the three loculi of the saints. Church of Santu Bainzu Ischabizzaddu Also known as "Balai lontano" to distinguish it from the very similar church of San Gavino a Mare, it is built in the place where the three saints has been beheaded. Built with limestone, it seems to be a rebuild of a more ancient building. The name, literally "Church of the beheaded St. Gavinus " is because of, following the folk custom, in that place on 25 October 303 d.C., St. Gavinus was executed and, two days later, Proto and Gianuario did the same epilogue. Monumental cemetery of Cala D’Oliva An ancient cemetery in the island of Asinara. The historical cemetery of Cala d'Oliva host the ancestors of the inhabitants of Stintino; the town founded in 1885 by the residents of Cala d'Oliva after the institution of the exile colony in the island of Asinara, which forced them to abandon their homes of their historical settlement. Austro-Hungarian chapel of St Ephysius and St Gavinus (1915) Built by the austro-hungarians POW imprisoned in the exile colony of the Asinara in the period between 1915 and 1916. Artistically it was decorated by the hungarian prisoner György Nemess. Italian cemetery of Campo Faro (1916)