Alghero · old town
Alghero old town and city walls
Alghero's Catalan heart, between Aragonese walls and Gothic bell towers
✽ 5 min on foot from the apartment
Alghero is the only town in Sardinia where Catalan is still spoken — here called *Alguerese* — as an official language. The reason is historical: in 1353 the city was conquered by King Pedro IV of Aragon, who expelled the Ligurian and Genoese population and repopulated it with Catalan families. Since then, Catalan has been the city's language, still spoken today by about a quarter of its inhabitants. The Bastioni — the 16th-century system of walls and towers encircling the old town — and the cobbled alleys of the ancient quarter are the most visible legacy of this unique identity. It's a five-minute walk from home into another era.
The Catalan city in the heart of Sardinia
The Aragonese conquest of 1353 marked a radical turning point: the old Genoese Alghero was emptied and filled with Catalan families from Valencia and Barcelona. For five centuries the city remained a Catalan-speaking enclave on a Sardinian-speaking island, a phenomenon unique in Europe. UNESCO has recognised *Alguerese* as linguistic heritage. You still hear it in the fish markets, in the harbour bars, in street names (Carrer Major, Plaça Civica, Carrer del Teatre). At Easter, the Setmana Santa follows the Catalan-Aragonese rite, with processions held for over six centuries.
The Bastioni at sunset
The old-town walls can be walked along a fortified seafront running about one kilometre beside the sea. Three main bastions — Marco Polo, Magellano, Cristoforo Colombo — interspersed with cylindrical towers and stairs descending to the old harbour. It's here, especially at Bastione Magellano, that Alghero residents go for sunset: the sun drops behind Capo Caccia and paints the limestone of the towers pink. Along the Bastioni, bars, wine bars and restaurants line up with tables directly on the sea — an aperitivo at the Bastioni is an unmissable ritual for anyone spending a few days in Alghero.
What to see in the old town
Besides the Cathedral of Santa Maria (dedicated entry in the carousel), also worth visiting are the Church of San Francesco with its Catalan-Gothic cloister (14th century), the San Giovanni Tower hosting the city museum, the Porta Terra Tower with a panoramic view from the terrace, and the small Piazza Civica where the town hall stands. Don't miss Carrer Barceloneta, the coral-carvers' street with traditional workshops for Alghero red coral — one of the most prized in the world. For lunch, lobster alla catalana (boiled and dressed with tomatoes, onions and oil) is the signature dish: available in restaurants in the centre, €50–80 per person.