For their singular origin and culture, the small towns of Calasetta and Carloforte, respectively on the Northern coast of Sant’Antioco’s island and in San Pietro’s island, can be viewed as a fragment of Liguria in Sardinia. They share many points in common: they are both the result of a deliberate act of foundation; the core of the settlers was mainly formed by colonizers of Ligurian origin coming from Tabarka, an island in the North of Tunisia; unlike the rest of Sardinia, the main language spoken in both the villages for more than the last two centuries till the present days is a form of Ligurian dialect.

According to popular traditions, the present name of San Pietro (“Saint Peter”) given to the island North of Sant’Antioco’s island would derive from this Apostle’s passage during his travel from Africa to Rome. No doubt the island was populated (or frequented) starting at least from the Neolithic Age and, later on, by the Nuragic people. Of course, the Phoenicians, the Punics, the Greeks and the Romans all knew it and landed on it, sometimes leaving the tracks of their passage. In fact, it was located along one of the most important trading routes between Africa and Spain.

The foundation of the modern town of Carloforte is relatively recent, dating back to 1738. About a couple of centuries before (1541) a group of Ligurians from Pegli, patronized by the noble family of the Lomellini and the King of Spain, had settled in Tabarka, a small island in the North of Tunisia, to dedicate themselves mainly to coral fishing. Later on, growingly difficult economic and social conditions (as, for example, coral banks impoverishment and overpopulation of the island which obliged them to prohibit new marriages) were some of the main reasons for their interest in San Pietro’s island; ultimately (1738), a group of  colonizers (388 of whom from Tabarka, 88 from Liguria landed on their new home. In 1740 the name of Carloforte (meaning “Carlo the Strong”) was given to the village to honour the King of Sardinia and a statue was raised in the square facing the harbour.

The following years were mainly dedicate to fishing, agriculture and commercial activities.

To perturb the peace of the place two important events happened: the French occupation in January 1793 and the incursion of the Tunisian pirates in September 1798.

The latter event was the most traumatic one: the pirates destroyed and killed and, when they left, they took with them more than 800 people to sell as slaves. These were imprisoned for more than five years until the survivors, thanks to Napoleon’s direct intervention, were freed and could go back to Carloforte.

During the XIX^th century naval shipyards developed, machineries were set up to serve the mining industries in the Sulcis-Iglesiente area, tuna-fishing was increased, merchantile exchanges with all the harbours of the Mediterranean sea became more and more intense and the first fixed route was established between San Pietro’s island and Sardinia.

Nowadays the town of Carloforte extends as far as the sea, at the foot of the original village which included the Savoyard fortress, the Duke’s House and the church. Parts of the walls surrounding the village, the XX^th century monumental Cavallera theatre and the remains of industrial archaeology both in the old workshops and in the tuna-fishing houses can still be appreciated.  

But the visit to the island can also be extended to the many places of marvelous natural beauty that it preserves. It is the case, for instance, of the vertical rocky coasts where the so-called “hawks of the Queen” – whereby San Pietro’s island was once Known as “the island of hawks” – nest, or where wonderful grottoes magically opens: both can be admired thanks to a daily circumnavigation service available there. 

Calasetta was “officially” born in 1770, i.e., 34 years after the foundation of Carloforte. In a way, it is the result of two main circumstances: on the one side, another group of Tabarkinians who longed for a new home; on the other, the Savoyard government’s need of re-populating some almost deserted areas of Sardinia. Three years after the date of foundation, a group of Piedmontese settlers was sent to increase the population of Calasetta. The experiment was not successful since the newly-come were unable to come to terms with the hard labour conditions implied in such a difficult situation. Furthermore, they were the favourite victims of smallpox, which seemed to spare the Tabarkinians, instead. This is why most of them asked for and obtained their going back, whereas the Tabarkinians resisted.

More than two centuries after, despite the growing contacts with people from Sardinia or regions of Italy, their descendants – the “Calasettani” – go on keeping proudly their own Ligurian language and traditions.

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