The old town, a history lesson and an adventure

Yesterday Simone and I went exploring in the old town.

It was one of those afternoons when most of the family opted for the beach again and we went off in search of adventure.  The town of Alghero is really just the area around the harbour and fort and the new development which spread south along the coats and comprises of holiday apartments and the modern town stretching east from the sea.

The name Alghero is not Italian, but Catalan and there is the clue to the history of the town and the island.  Like most of this bit of the Mediterranean it has belonged to various different European cities and royal families who thought nothing of forcing out the indigenous people, resettling their own subjects and eventually just handing it over like you might a newspaper to be used by someone else.

So it was with Alghero, which was developed as a fortified port by one of the trading families of Genova in 1102, before passing from the control of Pisa to Catalonia, and then Spain, who promptly just gave it to the northern Italian royal family of Savoy.

On such decisions as ever hung the fortunes of the inhabitants of the town.  In the Early 14th century the people who had lived here for centuries were evicted after several revolts against Catalan rule and were replaced by settlers from Catalonia which is pretty much how control has been exercised across the ages.  The Romans did it with their retired soldiers, we did it in Ireland and across North America along with the railway it was “how the West was won.”

So nothing new there then, and even today despite the fact that the official language is Italian a small proportion still speak Catalan.  I say small but one linguistic survey suggested 22% speak Algherese Catalan as their first language and up to 90% having some understanding of it.

And as we walked through the narrow tall streets with the washing hanging from the balconies you could so easily have been in Naples or Palermo and Simone who is Neapolitan immediately felt at home.  Here is a warren of streets which spread out to the east of the old fort and at the end of each is a tiny piazza and around every corner a little church.  Not a bad way to start an adventure, with the promise of more to come.

Pictures; from the collection of Andrew Simpson