Castelsardo

Castelsardo Castheddu
Comune
Comune di Castelsardo
Castelsardo Location of Castelsardo in Sardinia
Coordinates: IT 40°55′N 8°43′E / 40.917°N 8.717°E
Country	Italy
Region	Sardinia
Province	Sassari (SS)
Frazioni	Lu Bagnu, Multeddu, San Giovanni, Terra Bianca
Government
• Mayor	Angelo Francesco Cuccureddu
Area
• Total	45.48 km^2 (17.56 sq mi)
Elevation	114 m (374 ft)
Population (30 November 2009)
• Total	5,846
• Density	130/km^2 (330/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Castellanesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	07031
Dialing code	079
Website	Official website

Castelsardo (Sassarese: Castheddu, Sardinian: Casteddu Sardu) is a town and comune in Sardinia, Italy, located in the northwest of the island within the Province of Sassari, at the east end of the Gulf of Asinara.

History

Archaeological excavations have showed 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, 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. 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.

Castelsardo, now part of the Savoy's Kingdom of Sardinia, obtained its current name by will of King Charles Emmanuel III.

Main sights

• Elephant's Rock, one of the symbols of Sardinia
• Megalithic walls, from pre-Nuragic times
• Nuraghe Paddaju and others
• Doria Castle (1102)
• Co-Cathedral, entitled to St. Anthony 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
• Sea walls

Gallery

• 

  A street of medieval center and the cathedral's belltower

• 

  A street and the gothic building of the city hall on the left

• 

  view from the bastions

• 

  elephant rock

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Ampurias