Saturday October 12 was another fabulous weather day. Blue sky, bright sun with a high of 23C. Another shorts day.
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| Favourite blue house we walk past-view of the sea |
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| Walk to the Old Town- clear view of Copa Caccia in the distance- one can see the lighthouse on the tip this morning. |
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| Our entrance near the Sulis Tower |
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| The tower was open and there was an art display |
Our morning destination was the Museo Archeologico della città di Alghero (Civic Archeological Museum). The Museum is housed in a historic building that was recently restored, having once been the site of the monastery complex connected to the Church of San Michele. The Museum was set up to "gather, preserve and communicate the town's historical, social and cultural memory". The collection houses artefacts discovered during evacuations. It spans the Neolithic period to the Middle Ages.
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| Outside of the beautifully restored building |
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| Entrance way |
The Museum, inaugurated in 2016, focuses on three themes:
The Sea, The Lands of the Living and The Sacred Realm. Each grouping of artefacts notes the relevant theme, has a map which identifies where the artefacts were found and then clearly identifies each artefact.
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| The Sea theme, The Nuragic Village of Sant'Imbenia |
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| Artifacts from that village |
The Nuragic Village at Sant'Imbenia was the oldest mooring point for the Phoenicians and the Levantine peoples in Sardinia. The village dates back to the 14th century BC. It became the site of an important amount of trade with the East between the ninth and eight centuries BC. This is demonstrated by a large quantify of pottery imported from the Eastern Mediterranean.
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| The next section featured artefacts from Roman times- a wreck at Mariposa which was dated to the 1st century CE. It is surmised that the ship sunk in a violent storm |
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| Part of an anchor |
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| Model of a Roman imperial age cargo ship |
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| Artefects from the wreck- interesting display |
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| Another wreck- the red dots show location relative to Alghero. The ship was partially excavated in 1995. It dates to the late 12-13th century. The finds suggest the import of goods from Islamic Spain. |
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| Islamic jar, probably Sevillian production (late 12-13th cent.) |
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| Additional artefacts from the wreck |
There were a number of other displays from the Sea theme. The second theme was the Lands of the Living.
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| Stucco wall decorations and a portion of mosaic flooring. |
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| Mosaics- reminded us of Pompeii |
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| Beautiful sculptures |
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| Lots of detail |
The next section was on the Medieval City of Alghero. Tradition has the date of the foundation of Alghero at 1102, although archeologists now believe it was probably closer to 1250 and that the city was founded by one of the most powerful ruling families in the Mediterranean area, the Dorias of Genoa.
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| Artefacts |
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| Reconstruction of a kitchen from the late 15-16th centuries |
There was a section on the fortifications. As a city surrounded by the sea on three sides and, in Sardinia, second only to Cagliari in terms of fortifications, Alghero was of great strategic importance to the Genoese, Catalans, Spaniards and Piedmontese from the 13th- 18th centuries. The walls were built in the late 1200s and early 1300s. Sardinia was invaded by Catalan and Aragon's forces in 1323. After the city fell to the Aragonese in 1354, the Sardinian inhabitants were expelled and there was a plan to repopulate the urban area with Catalans and Aragonese from Barcelona, Valencia, Tarragona and Majorca. A number of Jewish Iberian families also came to Alghero and lived there until their expulsion in the late 1400s. The old Jewish quarter was located in the vicinity of Piazza Santa Croce. There have been archeological excavations of these areas.
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| Great model of the Old Town and Fortifications |
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| Alonso as a museum guide |
The third theme was The Sacred Realm, which featured artefacts from a number of necropoli in the area of Alghero,
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| From the Necropolis of Santu Pedru |
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| This is the largest necropolis in all of northern Sardinia with 38 multi chamber tombs. |
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| Roman Necropolis of Sant'Imbenia |
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| Carved into sandstone |
After our visit to the Archeological Museum, we wandered down some streets in the Old Town that we hadn't been on before. We were now cognizant of the signage for the licensed coral establishments. It was interesting to look at some of the higher end pieces. Neither Alonso or I are coral folks, so no purchases were made.
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| Signage for the licensed coral stores (the A- for Alghero coral) |
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| Alonso talking to a cat |
We then wandered into another corner of the Old Town. We wanted to check out the Piazza Santa Croce, which was part of the former Jewish neighbourhood. There was a lovely restaurant in the square where people (definitely locals) were having their Saturday lunch. One man pointed to his mussel dish and told us the food was excellent. We decided to have lunch here.
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| Lovely setting at La Cullera Ristorante-Terrazzo Bistro Catalana (there seemed to be two names of this restaurant). The outside terrace had a small indoor section but the full kitchen and ristorante was located just down the street. |
We shared an absolutely huge portion of a small Sardinian pasta with a gorgeous tomato sauce and seafood (mussels, squid).
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| So tasty- they served us half each-- lots of pasta |
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| Saturday lunch outside |
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| "We bring a bit of our home to your table" |
We walked past the square with the restaurant to a deserted part with an adjoining school (or former school). This square was just a stairway from the seawalls and another tower.
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| Just past the square we had lunch in |
There was a plaque placed marking the location of a synagogue that was once located in the square (built there in 1381 and later replaced by a church that is also no longer there). The plaque was placed in the square by the Israeli Embassy in Italy and the City of Alghero in September 2013. At that time, the mayor apologized for the fate inflicted on the Jews during the inquisition and invited them to return to the island. The square was renamed Piazza della Juharia at that time. While during the 19th century a small number of Jewish families from Italy settled back on the island, most of the Sardinian Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. There are very few Jews in Sardinia today.
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| Plaque indicating that in the City of Alguer (the Catalan name for Alghero), the Jewish community thrived from the period of the Catalan conquest of 1354 to expulsion in 1492. |
We walked up to the Tower and seawalls.
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| Torre della Polveriera |
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| Alonso looking at the beautiful sea |
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| Catapults on this part of the Seawall |
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| A different model with cannonballs |
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| The marina below |
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| A cannon aimed at Copa Caccia |
We walked back through the Old Town-- a wall of flower hangers on a painted street near where we had lunch.
After a rest back at the apartment, we went to Aragon for dinner at 8:00 p.m. The restaurant was only five minutes away and had been recommended both by our host and the clothes designer Alonso talked to our first day in Alghero. It was packed by the time we left. There was both inside and outdoor seating. We opted for indoor. It is both a ristorante and a pizzeria.
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| Inside of Aragon |
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| Alonso awaiting dinner |
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I had a Marinera pizza (the only pizza with no cheese) and Alonso had a Sardinian pasta filled with sheep cheese in a tomato sauce. We have found the tomato sauces superb.
The pizza crusts are light and delicious. |
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| We also had a salad and some wine. |
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| Buzzy scene when we left at about 9:30 p.m. |
We have had a wonderful time in Alghero. A beautiful resort town with a fascinating Old Town and the wonderful Art Nouveau buildings. Our Airbnb location was perfect. We also really enjoyed learning about coral and the Archeological Museum was a real gem. We leave for Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia, very early on Sunday October 13.
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