Porto Torres (; ) is a (municipality) and a city of 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 ...

in north-west of

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. Founded during the 1st century BC as , it was the first

Roman colony A Roman (: ) was originally a settlement of Roman citizens, establishing a Roman outpost in federated or conquered territory, for the purpose of securing it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It ...

of the entire

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

. It is situated on the coast at about east of Falcone Cape and in the center 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 ...

. The port of Porto Torres is the second biggest seaport of the island, followed by the port of

Olbia Olbia (, ; ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune of 61,000 inhabitants in the Italy, Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called in the Roman age, Civita in the Middle ...

. The town is very close to the main city of

Sassari Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...

, where the local

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

takes office.

Toponymy

Historically the settlement was founded with the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

name "''Colonia Iulia Turris Libisonis"'', composed with Colonia (name of the Roman settlements) Iulia (name of the

Julia gens The gens Julia was one of the most prominent patrician families of ancient Rome. From the early decades of the Republic, members of this gens served in the highest offices of the Roman state, beginning with Gaius Julius Iulus, consul in 489 ...

) Turris (litt. "tower", referred probably to a

nuraghe The nuraghe, or nurhag, is the main type of ancient megalithic Building, edifice found in Sardinia, Italy, developed during the History of Sardinia#Nuragic period, Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 BC. Today it has come to be the symbol of ...

built not so far from the town or to the Monte d'Accoddi) and Libisonis (referred to ''Libya'', probably because in the same area there was a

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n trading outpost. "''Libya''" is the ancient name of the entire northern coast of Africa). After the

fall of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast ...

the town was known simply as "Turris". During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

during the

Judicate of Logudoro The Judicate of Logudoro or Torres ( or ''Torres'', ''Rennu de Logudoro'' or ''Logu de Torres'') was one of the Sardinian medieval kingdoms, four kingdoms or ''iudicati'' into which Sardinia was divided during the Middle Ages. It occupied the nor ...

the name was corrupted with "Torres" and after, during the Aragonese period, the town was known simply with the Catalan name of "''Lo Port''" (The port). During the Savoy reign it was known with the name of ''Portotorre'' (Porto+Torre; "Towerport"). Until the 1960s the town was commonly known as "''Portotorres''", and only after the official recognition of the status of city the name has officially changed in ''Porto Torres''.

History

Prehistorian and Nuragic period

The Miocene

In the ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') 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 consolidat ...

'' of Fiume Santo in 1994 have been found a lot of animal fossils presumably dated at the Miocene. Some 8/9 million years old rests of Oreopithecus bambolii has been find in the same area. The discovering has started casually thanks to some hobbyist paleontologists that have noticed after some maintenance works in the near

thermal power station A thermal power station, also known as a thermal power plant, is a type of power station in which the heat energy generated from various fuel sources (e.g., coal, natural gas, nuclear fuel, etc.) is converted to electrical energy. The heat ...

the presence of some fossils in the excavation debris. In the area has been individuated 15

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

species like giraffes, crocodiles, turtles,

suidae Suidae is a family (biology), family of Even-toed ungulate, artiodactyl mammals which are commonly called pigs, hogs, or swine. In addition to numerous fossil species, 18 Extant taxon, extant species are currently recognized (or 19 counting domes ...

and

Mustelidae The Mustelidae (; from Latin , weasel) are a diverse family of carnivora, carnivoran mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, polecats, martens, grisons, and wolverines. Otherwise known as mustelids (), they form the largest family in the s ...

. Most of these animals like the Umbrotherium azzarolii were

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat n ...

, but some others like the Indarctos anthracitis were

omnivore An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize t ...

Prehistory

Ancient human presence in the municipal territory of Porto Torres is certified thanks to many necropolises in the area. The altar of Monte d'Accoddi (very near to the town but in the municipality of Sassari) witness the human presence in that area during these ages.

Bronze and Nuragic Age

Finds dated at these ages have been found in the Necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu. In this necropolis have two skulls were found with the presence of some sort of

surgical procedure Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

probably practiced to heal issues like

migraine Migraine (, ) is a complex neurological disorder characterized by episodes of moderate-to-severe headache, most often unilateral and generally associated with nausea, and light and sound sensitivity. Other characterizing symptoms may includ ...

s and

tumors A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

. Another theory is that this surgical procedure was practiced for religious and/or magical purposes. Many

s belong to these ages, and nowadays only 7 of these structures are in a well preserved state. The Domus de Janas of Andreolu also witness the presence of the

Nuragic civilization The Nuragic civilization, also known as the Nuragic culture, formed in the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Italy in the Bronze Age. According to the traditional theory put forward by Giovanni Lilliu in 1966, it developed after multiple migr ...

Roman period (46 BC – 455 AD)

In ancient times, Turris Libisonis was one of the most considerable cities in Sardinia. It was probably of purely

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

origin, founded apparently by

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

, as it bore the title ''Colonia Julia''. Pliny described it as a

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

, the only on the island in his time, suggesting that there was previously no town on the spot, but merely a fort or ''castellum''. It is noticed also by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

and in the Itineraries, but without any indication that it was a place of any importance. The ancient remains still existing prove that it must have been a considerable town under the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. According to inscriptions on ancient milestones, the principal road through the island ran directly from Caralis (

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

) to Turris, a sufficient proof that the latter was a place much frequented. Indeed, two roads, which diverged at Othoca (modern Santa Giusta) connected Caralis to Turris, the more important keeping inland and the other following the west coast. It was also an

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

during the early part of the Middle Ages. There exists also the remains of a temple (which, as we learn from an inscription, was dedicated to Fortune, and restored in the reign of

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

between 247 and 249), of ''

thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...

'', of a basilica and an aqueduct, as well as a bridge over the adjoining small river, still called the ''Fiume Turritano''.

After the Western Roman Empire

The ancient city continued to be inhabited until the 11th century, when most of the population migrated to

, about inland, and on a hill. It was partly under Genoese hands until the early 15th century, when it was conquered by the Aragonese. After a period of Spanish rule, it became part of 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 ...

. Torres was separated from the Commune of Sassari in 1842. At the time, the area which had been built around the basilica of Saint Gavino joined the fishermen's community near the port to form the new ''Porto Torres''. On 10 May 1942,

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

visited the town. On

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...

, 18 April 1943, the city was bombed by the Allies.

Geography

Porto Torres is on the north-west coast of Sardinia. The area of the municipality is almost 10,200 hectares and is subdivided into two parts, almost equal in size. One part includes the city, the industrial area, and the Roman ruins; the other consists of two islands, Asinara and the smaller Isola Piana. Since 1997, this part of the municipality is the Asinara National Park. The morphology of "city part" is flat; the area of Porto Torres and the rest of north-west Sardinia is characterized by a Nurra plain, with some hill formations in the middle of it. Part of this hill formation is in the municipality of Porto Torres, the highest elevation being Monte Alvaro, rising to a height of 342 m

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. The communal territory is crossed by two rivers, Rio Mannu and Fiume Santo. The first flows along the edge of Porto Torres to the west, while the second runs near the city and was used as a navigable river as early as the days of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

Climate

Demographics

Until the 1960s, the town was considered to be more or less like a large village. After that, thanks to industrialization, the population increased rapidly until the 1980s, when the local

petrochemical industry file:Jampilen Petrochemical Co. 02.jpg, 300px, Jampilen Petrochemical co., Asaluyeh, Iran The petrochemical industry is concerned with the production and trade of petrochemicals. A major part is constituted by the plastics industry, plastics (poly ...

managed by the "''SIR – Società Italiana Resine"'' owned by Angelo Rovelli entered into a deep

financial crisis A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with Bank run#Systemic banki ...

Foreign residents

In Porto Torres in 2019 there were 599 foreign residents, many of them from Africa and eastern Europe. The main nationalities recorded were: *

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

: 61 *

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

: 56 *

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

: 45 *

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

: 34 *

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

: 32 *

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

: 29 *

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

: 24 *

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

: 22 *

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

: 20 *

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

: 17 * Other: 159

Economy

Tourism

Starting in 2008, tourism has become a very important activity for the economy of the city. The town have several attractions, both

natural Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...

and anthropic. The main attraction is the Asinara National Park. The Aragonese seaport tower is considered the symbol of the city and because of this it is one of the main tourist attractions. Other main attractions are the Roman bridge of Riu Mannu and the Basilica of Saint Gavinus. Due to the decline of the

industrial sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construc ...

, the tourist sector has started to become the leading sector of the local economy (despite the local industrial zone, that importance for the city remains high).

Industry

Chemical industries support the modern economy of Porto Torres. Fiume Santo, a 1,040 MW power station owned by E.ON, is west from the city, in the municipality of Sassari. Plans related to industrial conversion are in progress in Porto Torres, where seven research centers are developing the transformation from traditional fossil fuel related industry to an integrated production chain from vegetable oil using oleaginous seeds to

bioplastic Bioplastics are plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources. Timeline of plastic development, Historically, bioplastics made from natural materials like shellac or Celluloid, cellulose had been the first plastics. Since the end of ...

Minor activities

Fishing and

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

activities are also practiced around the land.

Governance

Sister cities

Culture

Festivals

At the end of August it took place the festival called "''Suoni & Sapori''", a festival that put together the tasting of local food and the listening of music composed by local artists. "''La giornata dello sport''" is an annual local festival that promote the sport activity for both children and adults. The "Festival Internazionale di Musiche Polifoniche Voci d’Europa" organized by the local polyphonic choir is an annual music festival of the town. The "Fisherman's

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wa ...

" is a competition where the fishermen try to fishing using only traditional early 20th-century equipment like rowing boats without any use of modern tools like the GPS tracker.

Main sights

Churches

; Basilica of St. Gavinus, St. Proto and St. Gianuario (1080) : Built using only hardstones like

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, porphyry and

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

, is the largest Romanesque church in Sardinia built between 1065 and 1080 above the hill of "Monte Angellu" in one of the historical neighborhood of the town. The basilica was erected in the memory of St. Gavinus, St. Protus and St. Gianuario, beheaded during the 303 a.C under the governance of the emperor

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

and

Maximian Maximian (; ), nicknamed Herculius, was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocleti ...

. Instead of the usual western facade and eastern apse, the cathedral sports two apses. The crypt holds several Roman sarcophagi.It was the main cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sassari until 1441. ; Church of Beata Vergine della Consolata (1826) : Neoclassic church built by the architect ''Giuseppe Cominotti'' (the same person who also built the Marquess's palace) in 1826. It was the main church of the historical seaport neighborhood, distinguished from the rural neighborhood of "Monte Angellu" situated near the Basilica of St.Gavinus. ; Church of San Gavino a Mare (1850) : Also known as "Balai vicino" to distinguish it from the very similar church of ''Santu Bainzu Ischabizzaddu'', it is built near the beach of Balai. In that place St. Gavinus, St. Proto and St. Gianuario has been buried after the execution, inside the building there are the three loculi of the saints. ; Church of Santu Bainzu Ischabizzaddu : Also known as "Balai lontano" to distinguish it from the very similar church of ''San Gavino a Mare'', it is built in the place where the three saints has been beheaded. Built with

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, it seems to be a rebuild of a more ancient building. The name, literally "Church of the beheaded St. Gavinus " is because of, following the folk custom, in that place on 25 October 303 d.C., St. Gavinus was executed and, two days later, Proto and Gianuario did the same epilogue. ; Monumental cemetery of Cala D’Oliva : An ancient cemetery in the island of Asinara. The historical cemetery of Cala d'Oliva host the ancestors of the inhabitants of Stintino; the town founded in 1885 by the residents of Cala d'Oliva after the institution of the exile colony in the island of Asinara, which forced them to abandon their homes of their historical settlement. ; Austro-Hungarian chapel of St Ephysius and St Gavinus (1915) : Built by the austro-hungarians

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

imprisoned in the exile colony of the Asinara in the period between 1915 and 1916. Artistically it was decorated by the hungarian prisoner ''György Nemess''. ; Italian cemetery of Campo Faro (1916) : During the WWI the island of Asinara was also a

lazaretto A lazaretto ( ), sometimes lazaret or lazarette ( ), is a quarantine station for maritime travelers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings. In some lazarets, postal items were also disinfected, usu ...

for the italian soldiers affected by

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

during the campaign in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. In that period took place the history of the bolognese soldiers of the "Brigata Savona" died before they can reach the island during their transport in the

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating healthcare, medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navy, navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or ...

"''Re d'Italia''". To distinguish the italian soldiers corpses from the austro-hungarian it was built a cemetery in the area of "Campo faro" and it was called "Italian cemetery". ; Austro-Hungarian Ossuary (1936) : An

ossuary An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years th ...

built in 1936 by the will of the Austrian government to keep the corpses of all the 7048

austro-hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

unidentified soldiers died during the detention in the penal colony during the WWI because of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

and

Civil architectures

In the Porto Torres's

comprehensive planning Comprehensive planning is an ordered process that determines community goals and aspirations in terms of community development. The end product is called a comprehensive plan, also known as a general plan, or master plan. This resulting document ...

there are many civil buildings both of private propriety and owned by the comune that are considered historically significant. These buildings witness the urban and the economic development of the city through the centuries until the 1960s; period of the local golden age of the industrial development thanks to the

Italian economic miracle The Italian economic miracle or Italian economic boom ( or ''il boom economico italiano'') is the term used by historians, economists, and the mass media to designate the prolonged period of strong economic growth in Italy after World War II to th ...

. Many of these architectures, especially the industrial ones, are not fully restored and visitable. Asinara ospedale

* Marquess's palace, neoclassical palace built by ''Giuseppe Cominotti'', the same architect of the not so far church of the " Beata vergine della consolata"; * Seaport museum (1872), an example of the

industrial architecture Industrial architecture is the design and construction of buildings facilitating the needs of the industrial sector. The architecture revolving around the industrial world uses a variety of building designs and styles to consider the safe flow, d ...

of the 19th century. Originally used as a train station, now it is a museum; * The Antiquarium Turritano museum. * Junior school E. De Amicis (1912), An historical full-working school building built by engineer ''Eugenio Serra.'' It is a full architectural example of the 19th-century Italian schools; * Ferromin S.A. industrial complex, built in the early 20th century, it has been the main industrial complex of the town for decades until the

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a Company (law), company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as :wikt:wind up#Noun, w ...

of the "'' Societá Anonima Ferromin''" in the 1960s; * Porto Torres Marittima station (1872), late 19th-century building, terminal of the "Ozieri-Chilivani-Porto Torres Marittima" railway; * Industrial complex "''Ex-cementeria Alba''" (1957), built during the industrial golden age by the engineer ''Messina'', it is a pure example of

industrial archaeology Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the Industry (manufacturing), industrial past. This evidence, collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes buildings, machinery, artifacts, si ...

; * Industrial complex "''Ex ferriera sarda''" (1959), another example of the industrialization of north Sardinia, built by the influent entrepreneurs family of the ''Salis''; * Agricultural consortium of Via Sassari, An old

consortium A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...

building that witness the agricultural past of the city. The historical storage buildings known as "''I Granai''" are now used as a mall; * Hamlet of Cala d'Oliva, located in the Asinara it is the historical settlement abandoned at the end of the 19th century; * Lighthouse of Punta Scorno (1854), located in the Asinara, it is an ancient full-working lighthouse, one of the most ancient lighthouses of

; * Stoplight station of Punta Scorno; * Royal Palace of Cala reale, the summer residence 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 ...

during their residence in the Asinara; * Hospital of Cala Reale; * Healthcare marittime quarantine station of Cala Reale, building used both as a

and a storage for the local healthcare.

Military architectures

; Air-raid shelter ''"ex caserma dei

carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

"'' (1943) : During the early WWII all the air-raid shelters in the town was barely used until may 1943, when the city was heavily bombed by the RAF. That air raid bombing, the worst that the city has suffered in the whole war period, was commonly remembered as "

bombing". For a long period of time this air raid shelter was left abandoned and in a heavy state of decay (same thing was for the ''air raid shelter "scuole de Amicis")'', only recently has been restored and opened to the public. ; Air-raid shelter ''"scuole De Amicis"'' : Situated under the 1900s junior school E. de Amicis: like many others air-raid shelters of the town, it was used during the world war II in order to protect the civilians from the several air-raids of the time. In the present days it is used as an exposition gallery. ; Artillery outpost of the Roman bridge n° SR414 (1873) Casamatta Marinella

: An outpost used until the second world war composed with several military installations ; Castle of the Asinara : Also known as the "Castellaccio" it is an ancient medieval castle in the island of the Asinara. In the present days it is used as a fire protection outpost by the Asinara national park administration. ; Spanish towers (1323–1720) :*Aragonese tower (1325) :*Tower of Abbacurrente (1571) :*Tower of the Finance (1525) :*Tower of Trabuccato (1609) :*Tower of Cala d'Oliva (1611) :*Tower of Cala d'Arena (1611) ; Asinara penitentiary complex (1885) : Known as the "Italian

Alcatraz Alcatraz Island () is a small island about 1.25 miles offshore from San Francisco in San Francisco Bay, California, near the Golden Gate Strait. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fo ...

", it became famous in Italy after a revolt happened during 2 October 1973. In the penitentiary of the Asinara has been detained the most dangerous criminals of the

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a secret society, criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of ...

, the

Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...

, the Anonima sarda ant the

Red Brigades The Red Brigades ( , often abbreviated BR) were an Italian far-left Marxist–Leninist militant group. It was responsible for numerous violent incidents during Italy's Years of Lead, including the kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro in 1978, ...

. In more than one hundred years of activity the only prisoner who successfully escaped from the island penitentiary was the italian criminal ''Matteo Boe''. During the WWI and the

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

it was used as an exile colony for thousands of

and

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

s. The penitentiary complex is composed by several sections located all around the island: :*Penitentiary section "Bunker of Cala d'Oliva" :*Penitentiary section of Cala d'Oliva :*Penitentiary section of Fornelli :*Penitentiary section of Santa Maria :*Penitentiary section of Tumbarino :*Penitentiary section of Campu Perdu :*Penitentiary section of Campo Faro :*Penitentiary section of Stretti :*Penitentiary section of Trabuccato :*Penitentiary section of Case Bianche :*Penitentiary section of Elighe Mannu

Archaeological sites

;

Nuraghe The nuraghe, or nurhag, is the main type of ancient megalithic Building, edifice found in Sardinia, Italy, developed during the History of Sardinia#Nuragic period, Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 BC. Today it has come to be the symbol of ...

s :*Nuraghe Biunisi :*Nuraghe Monte Elva :*Nuraghe Margone :*Nuraghe Nieddu ; "''Turris Libisonis''" Archaeological park :* Roman bridge of Rio Mannu :*Palace of the "Re Barbaro" and

domus In ancient Rome, the ''domus'' (: ''domūs'', genitive: ''domūs'' or ''domī'') was the type of town house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It was found in almost all the ma ...

Orpheus In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...

:*Baths of Maetzke :*Baths of Pallottino (III secolo d.C) :*Mosaics's Domus (I secolo d.C.) ; Other sites :*

Necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

of Su Crucifissu Mannu :* Domus de Janas of Campu Perdu ( Asinara) :*Hypogeum et Columbarium of Tanca Borgona (II secolo d.C.) :*Hypogeum of Scoglio Lungo

Other

; Main plazas :* Umberto I plaza, Main plaza of Porto Torres where there is located the Town Hall; :*Plaza of the "Martiri Turritani".

Natural areas

; Protected areas :* Asinara National Park; :*

Marine protected area A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity ...

of the Asinara; :*Sanctuary of the

marine mammal Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reliance on marine enviro ...

s. ;Beaches :*Beach of Fiume Santo :*Beach of Renaredda :*Beach of the Scogliolungo :*Beach of Acque Dolci :*Beach of Balai :*Beach of the Scoglio Ricco :*Il Ponte :*Beach of Abbacurrente :*Beach of Farrizza ; Main parks :* San Gavino's park; :* Robert Baden-Powell's park; :*Pinewood "La Farrizza" .

Sports

Football

Main football clubs: *'' Porto Torres Calcio (

Serie D The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...

)'' *''Turris'' *''Polisportiva Dilettantistica Quartieri Riuniti (A.k.a. "Quartieri Riuniti")'' *''Turritana''

Tennis

Main association: *''A.S.D. Tennis Club Porto Torres''

Basket

Main associations: *''GSD Porto Torres'' *''CMB Porto Torres'' *''Silver Basket Porto Torres'' *''Balai Basket''

Martial arts and combat sports

There are many boxing clubs and martial arts schools. Sports like Karate shotokan,

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

Boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

Jujitsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

, Krav-Maga and

Self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of Force (law), ...

are very appreciated and practiced by some part of the citizens.

Athletics

Main association: *''A.S.D. Atletica Leggera Porto Torres (''associated with '' FIDAL)''

Equestrianism

Right below the ancient Roman bridge Porto Torres has a

riding hall A riding hall, indoor arena, indoor school (UK English), or indoor ring (US English) is a building (part of an equestrian facility) that is specially designed for indoor horse riding. Smaller, private buildings contain only space for riding, w ...

where the local ''A.S.D. Centro Ippico Equitazione Porto Torres'' practice horse riding''.''

Sport facilities

; Sports area "Cittadella dello sport" :A 67.000 m² area which offer many sports. ::; Main area ("''Campo sportivo comunale''" or "''Stadio comunale''") :: It is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

mainly composed with: ::* 1

football pitch A football pitch or soccer field is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is ty ...

of 60 x 105 meters (home ground of the A.C. Porto Torres) ::* Running track ::*

Shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

area ::*

Discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

area ::*

Hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...

area ::*

Javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

area ::*

Pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

area ::*

High jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

area ::; Other areas ::* Boxing club "Alberto Mura" ::* Tennis club ::* 1 football pitch of 105 x 603 meters ::* 1 football pitch of 100 x 60 meters Porto Torres veduta

; Palasport "Alberto Mura" : A sport facility with a capacity of 1.600 people mainly used as an indoor basketball court. ; Skate park : A 1.800 m² skateboard park with a bank ramp of 20°, a square-rail, a pyramid ledges and a quarter pipe. ; Football pitch "Angelo Occone" : Football pitch of 100 x 60 meters situated not so far from the town hall. ; Other :; Artificial pine forest :: Called "Pineta la Farrizza", "Pineta Abbacurrente" or "Pineta Balai lontano", it is composed mainly of

stone pine The Italian stone pine, botanical name ''Pinus pinea'', also known as the Mediterranean stone pine is a tree from the pine family (''Pinaceae''). The tree is native to the Mediterranean region, occurring in Southern Europe and the Levant. The ...

s. :; Bicycle Path :: Starting from "Piazza eroi dell'onda" and finishing in the plaza of "Balai lontano", it offers a panoramic view of the

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

Transport

Main roads

Train stations

A railway operated by

Trenitalia Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...

connects the town with

and the rest of the island. The town has two train stations, one built at the end of the 20th century (considered as the main station) and one smaller and more historical built during the 19th century (referred as "Porto Torres marittima").

Seaport

The existing port of Porto Torres, which is almost wholly artificial, is based in great part on Roman foundations. In the north-west of Sardinia, the harbor of Porto Torres is the biggest. The city has connections with the rest of the Italy, of Spain and France. Not so far from the harbor there is the Maritime Terminal (''Stazione marittima''). In the same area there is built the new passenger terminal (''Terminal passeggeri''; the building is still under construction). From the seaport there is also available a connection for the island of Asinara. ;Destinations:

Public transport

Porto Torres is part of the metropolitan network of north Sardinia (Italian "Rete metropolitana del nord Sardegna"). Due to this, the city is well-connected with nearly all towns via intercity autobus provided by ARST. Local rides are managed by the local public transport agency (''A.t.p. Sassari'').

Education

School

The town has many state

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

s and several state primary schools within it. In the urban area there is also a music school named in memory of the Italian songwriter Fabrizio De André. Being near the city of

and thanks to the intercity lines managed by ARST, travel to the

University of Sassari The University of Sassari (, UniSS) is a public university located in Sassari, Italy. It was founded in 1562 and is organized in 13 departments. The University of Sassari earned first place in the rankings for the best “medium-sized” Italian ...

is very easy.

Libraries

The " Antonio Pigliaru" public library is the only one in the town.

Media

Local newspapers

* In...città; * Il Corriere del Turritano; * La Voce Turritana.

Radio stations

* Radio del Golfo

Cinematography

* Bonifacio Angius – "Ovunque proteggimi" (2018).

Notable people

* Francesco Demuro * Alessandro Frau * Giuseppe Mura * Andrea Parodi *

Fiorenzo Serra Fiorenzo Serra (3 May 1921 in Porto Torres – 28 September 2005 in Sassari) was an Italian film director and documentarist. He produced 66 movies and documentaries, mainly based on Sardinia's ethnographic, social and cultural themes. He won t ...

References

External links

{{Authority control Municipalities of the Province of Sassari Roman towns and cities in Italy 1842 establishments in the Kingdom of Sardinia States and territories established in 1842 Populated coastal places in Italy