Gulf of Olbia

The Gulf of Olbia opens into the northeastern shore of Sardinia, giving access to a sheltered harbour set deep within the coast, facing the Tyrrhenian Sea. Ancient Olbia stood here in Punic and Roman times. In the Middle Ages the settlement was known as Civita and served as the capital of the judicate of Gallura as well as a bishop's seat.

At the end of the thirteenth century and the beginning of the fourteenth, the town acquired the name Terranova, while Civita continued as an ecclesiastical name. Its port occupied the site of the older harbour, though mud had reduced the ancient basin. The changing names of the town recall the succession of communities and rulers who used this sheltered inlet.