Arbatax (; sc, Arbatassa) is the largest hamlet (''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'') of

Tortolì Tortolì (; sc, Tortolì or ; la, Portus Ilii) is a town and ''comune'' in Sardinia, in the Province of Nuoro. Geography Tortolì is situated on the eastern coast of Sardinia. Its port and greatest hamlet is Arbatax, which has also an airport th ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. With almost 5,000 inhabitants, it is also the third largest town in its province (

Nuoro Nuoro ( or less correctly ; sc, Nùgoro ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in central-eastern Sardinia, Italy, situated on the slopes of the Monte Ortobene. It is the capital of the province of Nuoro. With a population of 36,347 (2011), ...

) by population, after

Lanusei Lanusei (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in Sardinia in the Province of Nuoro The province of Nuoro ( it, provincia di Nuoro; sc, provìntzia de Nùgoro) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia, Italy. Its capital is the city of ...

municipality (5,700) and

proper (5,300).

History

The origin of the name Arbatax is uncertain; according to tradition it derived from the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

for "14th Tower" and refers, probably, to the nearby watchtower built by the Spaniards to protect the territory from the incursion of Arab pirates. The founders of Arbatax were

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

n fishermen from the island of

Ponza Ponza (Italian: ''isola di Ponza'' ) is the largest island of the Italian Pontine Islands archipelago, located south of Cape Circeo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is also the name of the commune of the island, a part of the province of Latina in th ...

, located in

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, close to the coast of the Italian Peninsula. The location assumed importance in the 1960s after the construction of the main Sardinian paper mill.

Geography

The town is situated by the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

, 5 km east of

Transport

The port is used by ferries to and from

Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (; meaning "ancient town") is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located west-north-west of Rome. The harbour is formed by two pier ...

and

Olbia Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age ...

and is also monopolized by the marine construction company Intermare, which builds gas rigs and vessels. The marina is one of the cheapest in Sardinia. The town is connected to

and Cagliari by a narrow gauge railway, today used for touristic purposes, owned by Ferrovie della Sardegna. The closest airport is the Tortolì Airport, about 4 km from the town.

Economy

Today, the economy is focused on tourism and industry. Arbatax is home to a factory dedicated to the building of

oil platforms An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...

, controlled by the Italian oil and gas industry contractor

Saipem Saipem S.p.A. (Società Anonima Italiana Perforazioni E Montaggi lit. ''Drilling and Assembly Italian Public Limited Company'') is an Italian multinational oilfield services company and one of the largest in the world. Until 2016 it was a subsid ...

. Mussels are farmed in the nearby lagoon and fresh fish are on sale from the fishing cooperative. The red rocks are a tourist attraction.

Gallery

File:JANAS 27-09-2005 ARBATAX (1).jpg, Image:Sardinien arbatax Turm.jpg, Image:Sardinien arbatax 031006 07.jpg, Image:Arbatax red rocks.jpg, Image:Arbatax red rocks detail.jpg,

History

Geography

Transport

Economy

Gallery

See also

References

External links