Alghero

Alghero is a fortified port on Sardinia's northwestern coast. The Genoese Doria family established the town in the early twelfth century, and its harbour grew within the world of the Italian maritime republics. Later settlers from the Crown of Aragon left a lasting Catalan language and culture in the city.

After the Aragonese conquest, Peter IV encouraged families from Catalonia, Valencia, Majorca and Aragon to settle in Alghero. They replaced the earlier inhabitants, some of whom were carried away as slaves. In the early sixteenth century the town gained recognition as a bishopric and a royal city, and its economy grew. It passed with Sardinia to the House of Savoy in 1720; a famine provoked a revolt in 1821 that was harshly suppressed.