Tortolì (; sc, Tortolì or ; la, Portus Ilii) is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, in the

Province of Nuoro The province of Nuoro ( it, provincia di Nuoro; sc, provìntzia de Nùgoro) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia, Italy. Its capital is the city of Nuoro. It has an area of , and, , a total population of 210,972. The provinc ...

Geography

Tortolì is situated on the eastern coast of Sardinia. Its port and greatest hamlet is

Arbatax Arbatax (; sc, Arbatassa) is the largest hamlet (''frazione'') of Tortolì, Sardinia, in Italy. With almost 5,000 inhabitants, it is also the third largest town in its province (Nuoro) by population, after Lanusei municipality (5,700) and Torto ...

, which has also an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

that once connected it to continental

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and the

European continent Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

. To the north of it is Girasole and Lotzorai, to the west Villagrande Strisaili and Ilbono, and to the south Barisardo. To the east of the town is the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

History

Ancient history

The area of Tortolì was inhabited since the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

and then frequented by the

Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

, and the Byzantines. It was part of the

giudicato of Cagliari The Judicate of Cagliari ( sc, Judicadu de Càralis / Càlaris, it, Giudicato di Cagliari) was one of the four Sardinian ''judicates'' of the Middle Ages, kingdoms of Byzantine origins. The Judicate of Cagliari covered the entire south and centra ...

between the 10th and 13th centuries. During the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

period the town was the head of the County of Quirra.

Modern history

In 1807 Tortolì became head of a province consisting of 27 villages, but in 1921 lost the capital status in favour of Lanusei. In 1859 it was incorporated into the Province of Cagliari. In 1926 it was incorporated into the

province of Nuoro The province of Nuoro ( it, provincia di Nuoro; sc, provìntzia de Nùgoro) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia, Italy. Its capital is the city of Nuoro. It has an area of , and, , a total population of 210,972. The provinc ...

. In 1943 the port of Arbatax was bombed, killing 13 people.

References

External links

Cities and towns in Sardinia {{Sardinia-geo-stub