Wikipedia
Alghero ([alɡɛro], L'Aliera in Sassarese, S'Alighera in Sardinian, Alguer in Aragonese and Catalan [1] is an Italian town of 43,987 inhabitants [2] of the province of Sassari, Sardinia. the inhabitants of this small town, like to call their city Barceloneta [3], little Barcelona.
Historically, the city was founded in the early twelfth century between 1102 and 1112, when the noble Doria family of Genoa was allowed to build the first historical nucleus into an empty coast of the parish of Nulauro in Judicature of Torres ( Sassari). It is uncertain whether this was some prior settlement, perhaps linked to the events of the Saracen invasions. [11].
For two centuries remained in the orbit of the Maritime Republics [12], as in 1283 when the Pisans were able to control it for a year. It is plausible that at this time the town shared, given its commercial and multi-ethnic nature, a language similar to the nascent Sassarese (language commonly spoken in Sassari and a good part of the province.
The village was conquered by force by the Kingdom of Aragon, at the behest of Peter IV d'Aragona, who later became colonized the town and the surrounding area, sending in place numerous families from different counties and provinces of the then Kingdom of Aragon , including Valencia, Majorca, Catalonia and Aragon precisely. These were granted enticing privileges, and in fact replaced the original population and the indigenous inhabitants were sent to Spain and Mallorca as slaves. The dialects that such colonizing families spoke in Alghero, were all very similar and derived from the same linguistic family, even though it was still the most talked Catalan, fact that resisted even during the subsequent decline of the Kingdom of Aragon, retaining its shape most archaic to the present day. Alghero today is struggling to retain the use of Catalan, which is a linguistic island and only 10-15% of its inhabitants speak it in Alghero variant, recognized by the Italian Republic and Sardinia as a minority language. Poorly spoken by young people, trying for some time to protect this dialect, through education programs and official use within the local authority. The citizens currently residing in Alghero, however, are mostly from the countries and surrounding territories, are poorly inclined to the use of Catalan, preferring especially the Italian language, Sardinian and Sassarese. Alghero is still institutional forum a small representation of the delegation of the Generalitat de Catalunya (the regional government of Catalonia), without actually no institutional power in the territory, except to assist the preservation of Catalan culture.
The city, one of the principal of Sardinia and the fifth most populated region, is one of the gateways to the Island, thanks to the airport which is close to Fertilia. It is the capital of the Riviera del Corallo, whose name derives from the fact that the waters of its harbor is the largest amount of the precious red coral of the finest quality, caught by coral divers, activities with the processing and sale, for centuries It has been of great importance for economic and cultural character, so much so that a branch of coral is inserted in the emblem of the city. It a strong tourist popular destination in the island; in 2012 it was the 10th Italian cities most visited by foreign tourists. [4]
Alghero is the fifth university center in the island, coming after Cagliari and Sassari. It hosts the headquarters of the Università degli Studi di Sassari’s Architecture and Design department. In 2012 it was the 10th most visited city by tourists in Italy.