Castelsardo (; Castellanese : Calteddu; ) is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, located in the northwest of the island within the

Province of Sassari The province of Sassari (; ; ; ; ) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia, Italy. Its capital was the city of Sassari. On 1 April 2025, the province was suppressed in favor of the new Metropolitan City of Sassari, which corres ...

, at the east end of the

Gulf of Asinara The Gulf of Asinara is a sea sector included between the Asinara Island, Cape Falcone and the town of Castelsardo, in northern Sardinia, Italy. The communes facing its coast include also Stintino, Porto Torres, Sassari, Sorso Sorso () is a ...

. It is one of

I Borghi più belli d'Italia () is a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest, that was founded in March 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, with the a ...

("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

History

Archaeological excavations have shown the human presence in the area of Castelsardo since pre- Nuragic and Nuragic times, as well as during the Roman domination in Sardinia. After the fall of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

, the monastery of Nostra Signora di Tergu was founded nearby, but the current town originates from the castle built here, in 1102 (or 1270), by the Doria family of

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. The castle and the village which gradually formed round it where the seat of the Doria's fiefdom in the island called ''Castel Doria'' or ''Castelgenovese'', until it was conquered by the Aragonese in the 15th century (1448), and named ''Castillo Aragonés'' (''Castel Aragonese''). Except for the Maddalena archipelago, it was the last city in the island to join the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

. Castelsardo, was part of the

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

, obtained by will of King Charles Emmanuel III.

Main sights

* Elephant's Rock, one of the symbols of Sardinia.You can enter in the Elephant's Rock without any authorizzation and the entry is free * Megalithic walls, from pre- Nuragic times * Nuraghe Paddaju and others * Doria Castle (1102),the height of the castle is 114 meters *

Co-Cathedral A co-cathedral is a cathedral church which shares the function of being a bishop's seat, or ''cathedra'', with another cathedral, often in another city (usually a former see, anchor city of the metropolitan area or the civil capital). Instances o ...

, entitled to St. Antony the Abbot. The crypts house the Museum "Maestro di Castelsardo"; * Church of St. Mary, with a wooden Black Christ * Doria Palace * La Loggia Palace, town hall since 1111 * Palace of Eleonora of Arborea, very famous person in

. * Sea walls

Honors

* City title «Title of 1448 issued by the crown of Aragon» * One of the:

I borghi più belli d'Italia () is a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest, that was founded in March 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, with the a ...

(the most beautiful villages of Italy), Les Plus Beaux Villages de la Terre (the most beautiful villages on earth), Città regie della Sardegna (Royal Cities of Sardinia).

References

* Hilltowns in Sardinia Cities and towns in Sardinia Territories of the Republic of Genoa Borghi più belli d'Italia {{Sardinia-geo-stub