I. S. Antioco/Calasetta – Porto Commerciale

The commercial port of Calasetta is protected by a cranked breakwater about 300 m long and a 160 m long sub-billow pier. There are shallow waters at the Radice of quay “B”. Also pay attention to the Secca del Francese (2.9) m north of the ports marked by cardinal meda painted yellow and black. There is a possibility of mooring at the quay for transit only at quay “B”.

The island of sant’Antioco is located at the southwestern tip of Sardinia, between Cape Teulada to the south and the spectacular Costa Verde to the north. It can be reached in about an hour’s drive from Cagliari. Sant’Antioco is connected to Sardinia by an isthmus and a Roman bridge, which allow fast communications.

The island retains a rare beauty yet to be discovered, with rich flora and fauna. The terrain is rocky with volcanic cliffs that open into caves and white beaches of crystal clear water.

The municipality occupies the area to the northwest of the Island of Sant’Antioco, the western side of it is composed of low hills with cliff coasts, while the eastern side is low with minimal depths within the gulf, which is located between the island and Sardinia. The western side is characterized by long although few beaches, among them those that are exposed to the mistral suffer major swells in winter.

The territory of Calasetta contains evidence of ancient civilizations: pre-Nuragic, Nuragic, Phoenician, Punic and Roman settlements. The oldest document on the area, the Compasso da Navegare, from the 8th century, indicates the cove where the town rises with the name Porto Barla.

In a Spanish report of 1737 Calaseda is mentioned, and in a document of 1754 the coast concerned is named with Calasera and its hinterland with Cala di Seta. The history of the village begins in the second half of the 1700s with the repopulation program of the northern part of the island of S.Antioco sanctioned by the Savoy government. In 1769 a group of Tabarchini, that is, people from Pegli and Liguria who had lived for generations on the small island of Tabarca near Tunis, asked the Savoy government for permission to move to the island of S.Antioco. In 1773 the request of some Piedmontese families to move to the new center was granted. They were responsible for planting vineyards, one of the town’s main economic resources. On January 14, 1793, the Calasettan community suffered occupation by the French, who had been stationed on the island of St. Peter on January 8. This occupation was peaceful, and it was ended on May 23 by the arrival of the Spanish fleet. Having ceased the enfeoffment and become a municipality of the Kingdom, Calasetta became part of the district of Iglesias. It is placed in 1839 the construction of the parish church dedicated to St. Maurice and in the last decade of the 1800s, or in the early 1900s, the building of the Town Hall in the main square.