Friday October 11 was a beautiful, sunny, warm day with a high of 21C. Our first stop of the day was the Mercado (market) which is open daily until 1:00 p.m. We decided to walk on the seawall to get there.
 |
| Looking back to our apartment building (the trees on the roof level are very cool) |
 |
| This is a hotel on an amazing promontory- we're looking away from Old Town here. |
Our part of the sea wall is called the Lungomare Dante. We took a few pictures of the row of amazing Art Nouveau villas on the way to the Mercado. There seems to be no one around most of them-- they may be just summer homes.
 |
| Outside of the market building |
There was only a small number of vendors in quite a large space. Mainly fruit and vegetable vendors and lots of fishmongers.
 |
| Tomatoes everywhere |
 |
| We got a dorade filleted-- such beautiful fish with bright eyes |
Prices were very low--- we paid about half for the same sized fish as we bought in the fancier market in Ajaccio.
 |
| Small bread store in the market |
We walked back to the apartment on a different street and stopped at Bon Bons Pasticceria where we picked up some
dolci tipici Sardi (typical Sardinian sweets), including a cookie with cream inside for Alonso.
 |
| Inside of Bon Bons |
I can't resist taking pictures of the row of Art Nouveau villas which are just minutes from our apartment building.
 |
| Blue House, blue sky-- my favourite |
We dropped the provisions at the apartment and then walked back to the Old Town. We headed to Piazza Civica, which we had not yet checked out.
 |
| Lively square-- some high end shops and restaurants |
We took a quick peek into Antonio Marras, the very high end store of the famous designer father of the designer Efisio Marras, whose shop we had visited on Thursday.
 |
| Outside of one part of Antonio Marras |
 |
| Prices were out of sight-- three rooms of clothes |
 |
| Ceramics in the store too. We didn't even bother to ask the price. |
There are also many stores with coral jewellery. Coral is a huge industry for Sardinia (and Corsica too). We were planning a visit to the Coral Museum later in the day. It is clear that some shops carry the real thing, i.e. coral from the waters outside Alghero and others (as we found out) just carry painted inexpensive white coral from the Pacific.
 |
| Too much "coral" here. |
 |
| Lovely side street with heart flag |
We walked through the Piazza Civica to the Piazza Duomo with the towering Santa Maria Cathedral.
The sea walls and towers that surround the Centro Storico on three sides were built by the Aragonese in the 16th century. They run from Piazza Sulis in the south (our usual entrance) to Porta a Mare and the Marina in the north. There is a pedestrianized path all around the city and many restaurants and bars line the walkway. There are many superb views of Capo Caccia on the horizon.
 |
| One of many towers |
 |
| Walking just outside the walls |
 |
| Part of the Marina |
We walked back in the Old Town to Piazza Antonio Sanna (1912-1943).
We then passed the Santa Maria Cathedral's Campanile (Bell Tower). It is an example of Catalan Gothic architecture.
 |
| 16th century Campanile |
 |
| View from down the street |
 |
Machin Palace- built in the second half of the 16th century by Catalan workers.
It is associated with the family of the Bishop Machin who was born in Alghero and lived here
during the first half of the 17th century. |
 |
| Piazza Teatro |
We noticed that most of the streets in the Old Town have street signs in both Catalan and Italian-- sometimes the names are different to reflect a change in name over time.
 |
| This street was Carrer del Bisbe and Via Principe Umberto. |
We walked to another section of the
bastioni around the Old Town.
 |
| Looking back at another section of the Old Town |
 |
| Alonso |
 |
| A somewhat closer view of Copa Caccia |
 |
| Another old tower |
 |
| Palm trees galore |
 |
| Lovely summer shot-- the kid waved at us when he was put down. |
 |
Plaque: 50th anniversary of the bombardment of the city by the British and Americans
- May 17, 1943- May 17, 1993. |
 |
| OK |
We stopped for an aperitif at another spot on Piazza Civica.
 |
| I had a Campari Spritz and Alonso had a Hugo Spritz-- so pleasant in the sun. |
We passed the 17th century Saint Michael Church on our way out of the Old Town near Piazza Sulis.
 |
| St. Michael Church- unfortunately not open. |
We then went for a visit to the Museo del Corallo (Coral Museum) at the foot of Via XX Settembre, just outside the Old Town. It is housed in Villa Constantino, an Art Nouveau (i.e. Liberty-style) villa. The Museum is dedicated to Alghero's coral trade.
 |
| Outside of the Coral Museum-- this is the only Art Nouveau building open to the public. |
 |
| Examples of Coral from Alghero |
There were a number of posters explaining Mediterranean red coral (
Corallum rubrum). The key finding in the 1860s was that coral was recognized as an animal species-- it is a colonial living animal form not vegetable or mineral as was believed in the past. The other interesting fact is that Mediterranean red coral is different than coral from the tropical seas in that it is not capable of forming coral reefs.
From prehistoric times, coral was used for religious purposes in the Near East and western Mediterranean (Sicily and Sardinia).
 |
| Coral became associated with the blood of Christ and that of the martyrs. Detail of the Child in wood inlaid with polychrome, fabric, gold and coral, Church of San Michele, Alghero. |
 |
Coral in Alghero's Coat of Arms over the years - The identification of Alghero with the fishing and trading of coral was marked in 1355 by the granting of the coat of arms to the citizens by the King of Aragon. It shows a branch of coral set amongst the waves on a gold ground
(symbol of the Catalan-Aragon royal jurisdiction). |
There was an entire room dedicated to the history of Villa Constantino (where the museum is housed) and Art Nouveau in Italy (known as "Liberty Style"), which has produced a series of important noble residences scattered near the historic core of the city. This was of great interest to us as the "most beautiful promenade of Alghero, the Lungomare Dante (Seafront Dante)", is just minutes from our apartment. We have passed these building every day to get to the Old Town. These Villas were all built in the 1920s and had large gardens.
 |
| Museum gardens |
 |
| Alonso in the garden |
We went back into the museum to ask about how to tell the real coral from the inexpensive versions. The staff person gave us a map of all the stores that are licensed to sell Corallium Rubrum ad Alghero. There is a symbol (a red A with a coral design) that designates licenced Quality Seal stores. The person we talked to told us that there are definitely pieces that are not natural and are artificially coloured and usually have lower prices. All very interesting. We have a whole new perspective on coral.
We then walked back to the apartment with added appreciation of the Villas.
 |
| My favourite- Villa Ivaldi |
 |
| Capo Caccia |
 |
| Villa Duprè |
 |
| Villa Fignoni |
 |
| Looking back on the Old Town |
 |
| Villa Mosca- the closed restaurant (photo taken through a gate) |
Alain made a delicious dinner with our excellent piece of dorade, potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes. Our host had left us a bottle of sparkling wine, two bottles of local Ichnusa beer, and a bowl full of fruit (grapes, plums and pears). We had a bottle each of the local beer, which was very good. A few dolci from Bon Bons for dessert. Alghero is a beautiful spot to spend a few days. The amazing weather, of course, and the beautiful Mediterranean has made this a great stop on our adventure.
Comments
Post a Comment