Editing Alghero (section)

== History ==
{{See also|Roman Catholic Diocese of Alghero-Bosa}}
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2020}}
[[File:Nuraghe near Alghero.JPG|thumb|left|[[Nuraghe Palmavera]] near Alghero.]]

The area of today's Alghero has been settled since pre-historic times. The [[Ozieri culture]] was present here in the 4th millennium BC ([[Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju]]), while the [[Nuraghe]] civilization settled in the area around 1,500 BC.

The [[Phoenicians]] arrived by the 8th century BC and the [[metalworking]] town of Sant'Imbenia&nbsp;– in the area of later Alghero&nbsp;–, with a mixed Phoenician and [[Nuragic civilization|Nuragic]] population, engaged in trade with the [[Etruscans]] on the Italian mainland.<ref>{{cite book |last=Miles |first=Richard |date=2010 |title=Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization |location=United States |publisher=Penguin Books |pages=42–43 |isbn=978-0-14-312129-9 }}</ref>

Due to its strategic position on the [[Mediterranean Sea]], Alghero had been developed into a fortified port town by 1102, built by the [[Genoa|Genoese]] [[Doria (family)|Doria]] family. The Dorias ruled Alghero for centuries, apart from a brief period under the rule of [[Pisa]] between 1283 and 1284. Alghero's population later grew because of the arrival of [[Catalonia|Catalan]] colonists. In the early 16th century, Alghero received papal recognition as a [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Alghero-Bosa|bishopric]] and the status of King's City (''ciutat de l'Alguer'') and developed economically.

[[File:Piazza Sulis Alghero.jpg|thumb|Sulis Tower]]

Historically, the city was founded in the early twelfth century between 1102 and 1112, when the noble [[Doria (family)|Doria family]] of [[Genoa]] was allowed to build the first historical nucleus into an empty section of the coast of the [[parish]] of Nulauro in [[Judiciary|Judicature]] of Torres ([[Sassari]]). For two centuries it remained in the orbit of the [[Maritime republics|Maritime Republics]], first and foremost the Genoese, apart from 1283 to 1284 when the [[Pisa]]ns were able to control it for a year. It is plausible that at this time the town shared, given its commercial and multi-ethnic nature, a language similar to the nascent [[Sassarese language|Sassarese]].

[[File:Alghero - Chiesa di San Francesco (15).JPG|thumb|San Francesco Church]]
[[File:Alghero - Piazza Civica (01).JPG|thumb|Civic Square]]
 		
The village was [[Battle of Alghero|conquered]] by the [[Crown of Aragon]], at the behest of [[Peter IV of Aragon]] (r. 1336–1387), who later actively promoted colonisation of the town and the surrounding area, sending numerous families from different counties and provinces of the then Crown of Aragon, including [[Kingdom of Valencia|Valencia]], [[Kingdom of Majorca|Majorca]], [[Principality of Catalonia|Catalonia]] and [[Kingdom of Aragon|Aragon]]. These were granted enticing privileges and, in fact, replaced the original population, some of whom were sent to the [[Iberian Peninsula]] and Majorca as slaves.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://prosodia.upf.edu/coalgueres/en/algueres.html|title=Corpus Oral de l'Alguerès|website=prosodia.upf.edu}}</ref> The dialects these families spoke in Alghero were all very similar and derived from the same linguistic family. Over time, it settled on its current form of Catalan, despite the subsequent decline of the Crown of Aragon.

The Aragonese were followed by the Spanish [[Habsburg]]s, who ruled until 1702 and continued expanding the town.
 
In 1720, Alghero, along with the rest of Sardinia, was handed over to the [[Piedmont]]-based [[House of Savoy]], upon the arrival of which a policy of [[Italianization]] was commenced. In 1821, a famine led to a revolt by the population, which was bloodily suppressed. At the end of the same century, Alghero was de-militarised.

During the [[Fascism|Fascist]] era, part of the surrounding marshes were reclaimed and the suburbs of Fertilia and S.M. La Palma were founded. During [[World War II]] (1943), Alghero was bombed, and its historical centre suffered heavy damage. The presence of [[malaria]] in the countryside was finally overcome in the 1950s. Since then, Alghero has become a popular tourist destination.