Calasetta ( Ligurian: ''Câdesédda'') is a small town (population 2,919) and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' located on the island of Sant'Antioco, off the Southwestern coast of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

History

While the town itself dates to 1770. In the middle of the 16th century a group of Ligurian families - many of them from

Pegli Pegli () is a neighbourhood in the west of Genoa, Italy. With other eighteen autonomous municipalities, in 1926 it ceased being independent and was merged into the municipality of Great Genoa, Genoa. With a mild climate and a promenade, Pegli is ...

near

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

- moved to a deserted island off the coast of the

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

n city of

Tabarka Tabarka ( ') is a coastal town located in north-western Tunisia, close to the Algeria–Tunisia border, border with Algeria. Tabarka was occupied at various times by Punic people, Punics, Greeks, Roman people, Romans, Arabs, Genoa, Genoese and O ...

in order to work the waters as coral fishermen. These families worked under the tutelage of the wealthy Genoese Lomellini family. These enterprising Ligurian families of Tabarka quickly expanded from coral fishing to trade between the African interior and European markets. Soon, they rose to positions of wealth and success and were awarded the titles of Marquis of Tabarka. Originally the Tabarkini (as descendants in Calasetta are sometimes still called) were protected by the Spanish crown, but increasing population strain, incursions by Barbary pirates, and expansionist competition by France began a long period of trials for many Tabarkini. Foto-scogliera-nido-passeri

In 1738 a group of Tabarkini decided to leave the island off the Tunisian coast permanently. They were received by King Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy in the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

, who gave them the Island of San Pietro to settle. When the

Bey of Tunis Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic languages, Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of various ...

learned that the Lomellini family intended to cede control of the island to his enemies the French, he invaded the island, destroying homes and warehouses and capturing and enslaving much of the population. Part of the liberated Tabarkini settled in Carloforte, in the San Pietro Island, while other received permission to settle the uninhabited Sant'Antioco, then originating the village of Calasetta. In 1773, more colonists from Piedmont asked for permission to settle Calasetta, but illness and unexpected conditions caused them to return almost immediately.

Culture

The local dialect, called '' Tabarkino'', is still today similar to that spoken in Pegli and Genoa. Calasetta is the birthplace of criminal Pietro De Negri (known as ''Il Canaro'').

Economy

Today Calasetta is a favored tourist destination with beaches, a port, and a fishing industry.

Twin towns

, Italy * Arenzano, Italy

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Sardinia 1770 establishments in Italy States and territories established in 1770 Populated places established in 1770

History

Culture

Economy

Twin towns

See also

References