Porto Torres


Porto Torres is a comune and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. It is situated on the coast at about east of Capo del Falcone 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.
Founded during the 1st century BC as Colonia Iulia Turris Libisonis, it was the first Roman colony of the entire island.

Geography

Porto Torres' territory is situated on the north-west part of Sardinian Coast.
The extension of municipality is almost 10,200 hectare and is subdivided in two parts, with almost the same extension.
One part includes the city, the industrial area and the Roman ruins; the latter is formed by the Asinara island with the smaller Isola Piana. This part of territory is, since 1997, a national park.
The morphology of "city part" is flat; the area of Porto Torres and the rest part of north-west Sardinia is characterized by a Nurra flat, there are some hill formations in the middle of the flat. Part of this hill formation is in Porto Torres' territory and the highest elevation of it is Monte Alvaro with a height of 342 m.
The communal territory is crossed by two rivers, Rio Mannu and Fiume Santo. The first draws the edge of Porto Torres territory on west, while instead the latter flows near the city and was used as a fluvial way as early as the Roman age.

History

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 to Turris, a sufficient proof that the latter was a place much frequented. Indeed, two roads, which diverged at Othoca 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 exists also the remains of a temple, 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 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 comune 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.
On 10 May 1942 Benito Mussolini visited the town.
On 18 April 1943 the city was bombed by the Allies.

Main sights

Archaeological sites

Churches

Civil architecture

Main plazas

Natural areas

Protected areas

The town of Porto Torres has several free access beaches and cliffs suitable for bathing activities. Main beach is the Balai beach. Other beaches are :

Seaport

In the north-west of Sardinia, the harbor of Porto Torres is the biggest. The city has connections with the rest of the Italy, of Spain and France. Not so far from the harbor there is the Maritime Terminal. In the same area there is built the new passenger terminal.

Destinations:

From the seaport there is also available a connection for the island of Asinara.

Public transport

Porto Torres belong to the metropolitan network of north Sardinia. Due to this, the city is well-connected with all nearly towns via intercity autobus thanks to the ARST. Local rides are managed by the local public transport agency.

Main roads and highways

Highway SS131/E25 connect the town with the main city Sassari and the chief town Cagliari. Also road SS200 lead the way to Santa Teresa Gallura.
SP81 lead to Platamona, Sorso and Eden beach.
SP42 connect the town with Alghero's airport and Alghero.

Train stations

A railway operated by Trenitalia connects the town with Sassari and the rest of the island. The town has two train stations, one built at the end of the 20th century and one smaller and more historical built during the 19th century.

Education

School

The town has many state high-schools and several state primary schools in its territory.
In the urban territory there is also a music school named in memory of the Italian songwriter Fabrizio de Andrè.
Due to the proximity to the city of Sassari and thanks to the intercity lines managed by ARST for the citizens is very easy to reach the near University of Sassari.

Libraries

Public library "Antonio Pigliaru" is the only library of the town.

Sports

Football

Main football clubs:
Main association:
Main associations:
There are many boxing clubs and martial arts schools. Sports like Karate shotokan, MMA, Boxing, Jujitsu, Krav-Maga and Self-defense are very appreciated and practiced by some part of the citizens.

Athletics

Main association:
Right below the ancient Roman bridge of Riu Mannu Porto Torres has a riding hall where the local A.S.D. Centro Ippico Equitazione Porto Torres practice horse riding.

Sport facilities

Sports area "Cittadella dello sport"

A 67.000 m² area which offer many sports.
Main area ("''Campo sportivo comunale''" or "''Stadio comunale''")
It is a multi-purpose stadium mainly composed with:
A sport facility with a capacity of 1.600 people mainly used as an indoor basketball court.

Skate park

A 1.800 m² skateboard park with a bank ramp of 20°, a square-rail, a pyramid ledges and a quarter pipe.

Football pitch "Angelo Occone"

Football pitch of 100 x 60 meters situated not so far from the town hall.

Other

Artificial pine forest
Called "Pineta la Farrizza", "Pineta Abbacurrente" or "Pineta Balai lontano", it is composed mainly of stone pines.
Bicycle Path
Starting from "Piazza eroi dell'onda" and finishing in the plaza of "Balai lontano", it offers a panoramic view of the sea.

Economy

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.

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 the decline of the industrial sector, the tourist sector has started to become the leading sector of the local economy.

Minor activities

and farming activities are also practiced around the land.
References