Alghero

«A fortress in the shape of a city» in the context of the Aragonese Mediterranean

The foundation of the city and its first development took place in the third quarter of the thirteenth century, as part of the establishment of noble power in Sardinia by families of continental origin.

 In the 13th century, together with Monteleone and Monteforte, Alghero was one of the main castles in the Logudoro territory controlled by the Genoese Doria family, whose affairs are closely connected to the historical events that marked the island between the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the following century. In the first half of the fourteenth century there were hostilities between the Genoese and the Catalan-Aragonese on the island, and Alghero became a stronghold for the anti-Catalan resistance until the naval battle of Porto Conte (1353), which sanctioned the victory of the Iberians supported by the Venetians over the Genoese .

  The surrender of the villa was followed by a rebellion that strengthened ties between the judge of Arborea Mariano IV and Matteo Doria.  However, after a long siege, Alghero was finally conquered by Peter IV, who was able to enter the city and attempted a process of “Catalanisation” of the city's society by a series of measures. The royal diplomas of 1355 validated the definitive passage of Alghero to the Crown of Aragon. This was followed in 1412 by William III’s siege of Narbonne and Sassari, which culminated in the victorious defense of the villa by the population and the Iberian troops. 

The events of the kingdom conditioned the ongoing confrontation with Sassari for the control of the political and economic resources of the Logudorese territory. This is testified by Nicolò Doria’s loss of Monteleone, and its reassignment to Sassari, Alghero and Bosa in condominium, by half, two thirds and one third of the territory respectively . The Alfonsine kingdom began a new phase of socio-economic development and an increase in port activities (thanks also to the support of the Jewish communities), which determined the acquisition of an important administrative, logistical and strategic role for the coastal center over the interior territories.

It was only at the beginning of the sixteenth century that Alghero rose to the rank of civitas and became the seat of the diocese.

The urban renewal, which began with the first Catalan conquest and continued in the late fifteenth century under the pressure of significant demographic growth, led to the construction of new private palaces which changed the appearance of the city. The foundation of a new building in place of the old cathedral, which opened for worship in 1593, and of a new Jesuit college date back to the late sixteenth century. Nonetheless, throughout the modern age, the appearance of the city was characterized above all by the numerous fortification works, the construction of which took place between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.