History Today, Porto Torres is one of the most important ports on the island of Sardinia. In antiquity, the city’s Roman predecessor, Turris Libysonis (alternatively Turris Libyssonis or Turris Libisonis), held a similar status on the island. Despite the name seeming to suggest some connection with North Africa, Turris Libysonis appears to be a settlement…
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Like the settlement of Nora, Tharros was established by Phoenician colonists on a narrow promontory to allow for the construction of two harbors, and ensuring the ability for ships to come and go regardless of the wind conditions. Founded in the 8th century BCE by colonists from Tyre, in the same wave as those that…
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Aside from the remains in the major urban centers of Sulcis, Nora, and Caralis in the southern part of Sardinia, there are a number of smaller sites or more isolated sets of remains, as there is throughout the island. I’ve cobbled together some of these sites in a few posts focusing on different geographic areas…
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History Referred to as Plumbaria during Roman times, due to the lead deposits mined on the island, the present-day Isola di Sant’Antioco seems to have been inhabited by the Nuragic culture as early as the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE, and the pre-Nuragic Ozieri even earlier. Sometime around 750-740 BCE, the settlement of Sulcis…
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Continued from Caralis Part I. Orto Botanico di Cagliari Just down the street from the amphitheater is the Orto Botanico di Cagliari, the botanical gardens. The Orto Botanico, located at Via Sant’Ignazio da Laconi 11, are open every day except Monday from 9:00 to 18:00 in the summer (April through October) and 9:00 to 14:00…
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Continued From Arelate Part I A bit north of the Place du Forum, at about 13 Rue du Sauvage, are the remains of a basilica incorporated into the façade of the Hôtel d’Arlatan. A sign on the building on the west side of Rue du Sauvage marks the spot. Some of the stonework in the…
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Most Recent Visit: June 2017. Continued From Panormus Part I In the central part of the city, at Piazza Olivella 24, is the Museo Archaeologico Regionale ‘Antonino Salinas’. Along with the museums in Agrigento and Syracuse, the museum here is one of the primary collections of archaeological material on the island. With the exception of…
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Continued From Agrigentum Part I Adjacent to the museum, to the east, is the Hellenistic-Roman Quarter of Agrigentum; several urban insulae dating to the Roman rule over the city. Most of what remains here are a total of about 20 domestic structures that seem to date to the late Republican and early imperial age. Both…
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Most Recent Visit: June 2016 The site of modern day Barcelona seems to have been occupied well before the arrival of the Romans. According to legend, a city was founded on the location by Hercules. Another legend places the name Barcino as being derived from the Carthaginian Barcid family and was founded by Hamilcar Barca….
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Continued From Tarraco Part II There are a number of interesting Roman sites in the area around Tarraco, most of them accessible with public transportation from Tarragona. The one exception to this is the Arc de Berà, an arch constructed in 13 BCE at the behest of Lucius Licinius Sura and dedicated to Augustus. This…
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