Alghero City Guide

One of the most striking and picturesque features in Alghero are the medieval walls surrounding the town’s historical centre. Canon and catapults, towers and forts along the way are a fascinating reminder of Alghero’s rich history. Like many places, these walls were built and then repaired and developed over the centuries. Alghero was a fortified Genoese port town as early as the 11th century. In the mid 1300s the Catalans repaired the walls, but much of what we see today was built in the 16th century by the Aragonese.

Inaugurated on 22 December 2016 inside a historic building dating from the 15th-16th centuries, the museum displays a vast array of objects relating to the history of Alghero and its surroundings. The exhibition plan, which is extremely clear and well marked, is structured around three thematic areas: the sea, ways of living, and the world of the sacred. The finds come from marine, settlement and sacred-funeral contexts, covering an age from the ancient Neolithic to the 17th century AD. Some of the reconstructions of the excavation contexts inside the museum are incredibly engaging, such as that of one of the rooms of the Roman villa of Sant’Imbenia, recomposed inside with the colourful and precious marbles that adorned it.

Also known as the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, construction of the Duomo began after 1530, following the elevation of Alghero to the rank of city and its nomination as the seat of the new diocese. The sacred building, for the most part in Gothic-Catalan style, the best example of which is the octagonal bell tower, was not completed until 1638, undergoing further restoration work that led to the replacement of the old late Renaissance façade with a neoclassical one in 1862. It is among the largest religious buildings on the island, rich in works of art and precious marble furnishings, such as the pulpit and the beautiful polychrome marble high altar, made by Giuseppe Massetti around 1727. It is undoubtedly one of the most characteristic monuments of Alghero, with which the city identifies.

The museum is housed in Villa Costantino, the only Art Nouveau period building in Alghero that can be visited. The museum tells the story of the link between Alghero and the Corallium Rubrum, which has always been one of its primary resources with which it identifies. The exhibition route covers the villa’s two floors, dealing with the subject of coral from a biological point of view and then moving on to the area’s mining history. In each room, coral is displayed inside showcases in its natural state and manufactured form, showing the splendid works of art that can be obtained from this material.

The complex, managed by the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, founded by St Francis of Assisi, is located within the historical centre of Alghero and includes the convent, cloister, church and bell tower. The building dates back to the second half of the 14th century, in Catalan Gothic style. Still, its current appearance in Renaissance style results from several reconstructions following the partial collapse in 1593. Entering from the small square to the left of the church, where the ticket office is located, you proceed to explore the 15th-century cloister, the Catalan-Gothic bell tower, an excellent vantage point for your photos, the sacristy and finally, the Church of St Francis, rich in works of art and architectural decoration.

One of the most important prehistoric necropolises in northern Sardinia is about 7 km outside Alghero. The area was discovered by chance in 1903 and but not fully explored until later in 1967. Due to the numerous significant finds, it was possible to date the site  to between 4200 BC and 1800 BC. It was reused several times by different cultures. There are 38 domus de janas, the oldest with a shaft entrance and the most recent with a corridor entrance; some are decorated with elements inspired by dwellings, others with religious symbolism, such as taurine horns. During the visit, moving around the area as you wish, you will have the opportunity to explore the interior of the site’s most famous tombs.

A complex Bronze Age Nuraghic site situated in the territory of Alghero. It comprises a central tower and a secondary tower, which are joined to an elliptical rampart. Other structures include a pentagonal shaped defence wall with four towers. The nuraghe is surrounded by the remains of a settlement made up of about 50 circular and rectangular huts. Although it is thought that there were 100-150 huts originally. Archaeological excavation has revealed the site was built in three phases between the 15th-9th centuries BC. Numerous information panels set out the site’s complex history.