The Latin for Alghero is “Algarium” which is derived from the word meaning “the place of algae”. Now don’t let that put you off the West coast of Sardinia as the province of Sassari and indeed the entire island of Sardinia is delightful! Alghero is the tourism capital of northern Sardinia and is an interesting town in its own right with lots of historical interest. Add in the excellent beaches the lively, vibrant and cosmopolitan town; it certainly is a place to immerse ones self in. During the holiday season there are open markets, bars and restaurants, all of which cater for the most diverse of tastes. On the accommodation front there are lots of quality hotels and apartments, which complement the traditional tourist amenities. The effect of this is to transform Alghero into one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy.
History wise it was founded on the Bay of Alghero in the early 12th Century. It was captured from the Genoese by the Aragonese in 1353. Initially the population of Alghero was mainly composed of settlers from Barcelona and Valencia. The original occupants Ligurians and Sardinians were forced from the area so completely, that the Catalan language and culture took over and the look of old Alghero is Spanish. In fact, many roads have names in Catalan and Italian!
Well enough of history for now and little more about my first ever visits to this wonderful island. We had arrived in Alghero from Stansted, as we walked off the airplane and crossed the tarmac to the terminal building, we enjoyed the hot sun on our backs and glanced at the hills and as soon as we had our cases, hot-footed it (literally by now!) to collect our hire car. After driving twice around the car park we found the correct exit and off we went, heading north and eventually east and so away from Alghero, and towards our destination for the next eight days. At the end of the eight days we travelled south to Nuoro and then across the country towards Bosa on the west coast. After exploring there and lunch we set off up the coast towards Alghero, enjoying magnificent cliffs, rugged hills and some lovely scenery, we kept getting glimpses of what we believed must be Alghero but it was several miles later that we descended into Alghero and found our hotel on the outskirts of the town.
We walked along the promenade, past several hotels including the Hotel Villa las Tronas, a mustard coloured villa on a promontory, which has very elegantly furnished public rooms in gilt, and 18th century French style furniture, and was built originally for the kings of Savoy. We stopped several times on the way to look down to the sea where people sunbathed on rocks, at men sitting fishing and people swimming in the lovely clean warm water. We read delicious menus outside restaurants and planned where we would eat that night.
People sat outside restaurants enjoying a drink after a late lunch, and enjoying the shade from the huge umbrellas, but we decided to sample some Italian ice cream at one of the many shops and were amazed at the huge cone with our choice of two flavours for only 1.60 Euros. We sat in the shade of a tree looking out to see and avoiding the eye of a persistent Timeshare tout! He captured a prey and we ate our ice cream in peace!
We explored the quaint streets, where we found little boutiques with expensive clothes, beautiful jewelery, local handcrafts and wonderful cakes and chocolate! Motorbikes seemed very popular and the bikes were stacked in the road outside the shops. As we walked back, we were aware that scooters and motor bikes were a popular form of transport through the narrow and congested streets. A little blue and white “train” trundles visitors on a tour of the town, an excellent way to sightsee without sore feet but my husband marched me on and said “No” when I suggested a trip!
After breakfast one morning, we clambered over rocks and explored the area on the edge of Alghero. A cafe perched high on the edge of the cliffs and people had camped overnight in a car park, enjoying a fantastic view. We watched as two ladies swam from the rocks right across the bay, enjoying a leisurely morning dip, so different from the cold water around our coast! The water was clear and beautifully clean, we could see small fish darting about, and were happy just sitting absorbing the peace. There was a very small private beach at our hotel, the sand was raked each morning and loungers and umbrellas put out, but most people preferred the cleaner, by that I mean sand free, environment of the pool as there was a notice saying you must rid yourself of sand before entering the hotel
Today, many influences of its former Catalan masters remain, clearly reflected in both its magnificent architecture and by its elder residents, many of whom still regularly speak the Catalan dialect. In numerous restaurants around the old town, this strong Spanish influence is still evident in their tempting menus, although Italian pasta and pizzas are widely available. Lobster Catalan is available at most restaurants and paella is also popular.
Be prepared to speak Italian, in hotels English is understood but in smaller restaurants, garages you must at least try. “Il pieno, per favore” might have made the young man smile at my pronunciation but at least he filled the car with petrol (and I got a smile!).
Alghero is a great place for a base to visit the places north and south, I would have liked another couple of days, as we didn’t have time to visit the wonderful lido beaches of Le Bombarde and Lazaretto, or the bays of Porto Conte, perhaps on our next trip we will!