Attractions and Places To See around U Pàize/Carloforte - Top 20

Carloforte, still closely linked to Pegli and Genoa, is the island's only center, with 6,000 inhabitants. It enchants with its many narrow streets rising up a gentle slope, its colorful corners and sea views, its small harbor, and its former defenses, of which watchtowers and sections of walls with forts can still be seen, including La Porta del Leone. Among the architectural highlights of this town, which is included in the Club of the Most Beautiful Towns in Italy, are U Palassiu, dating from the early 20th century and now the Giuseppe Cavallera Cinema, and the Church of the Madonna del Naufrago, which houses the wooden statue venerated by the Tabarkin people, a symbol of the faith and solidarity of the community.

There are many interpretations of the name. Some trace its origin to the Campidanese-Sardinian contraction of Cala de Seda, or Cal'e Seda, or also Cala Seda, or Cal'e Sera, or "silk cove". In fact, in the Campidanese-Sardinian language, seda or sera means "silk", because the sea of the Sulcis archipelago was apparently rich in particular mollusks from which "sea silk" was obtained, that is, a type of "natural sea silk" obtained from the threads secreted by a species of marine bivalve mollusk endemic to the Mediterranean (Pinna nobilis), commonly known as "castanets" or "feather mice" (Pinnae margaritiferae). The threads obtained from their interior were used for weaving byssus.

In 1542, the inhabitants of Pegli and the neighbouring communities left their home on the Ligurian coast in the wake of the Lomellini, a powerful trading family from Pegli and Genoa, and settled on the island of Tabarca off the coast of Tunisia, where they dived for coral until 1735. When coral mining and thus the tribute to the Lomellini continued to decline and was no longer profitable for all sides, and the conflicts with the Muslims intensified, King Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy, on the initiative of the Piedmontese architect Augusto de la Vallée, made the offer to settle the still uninhabited island of San Pietro. A part of the Tabarchini under the leadership of Agostino Tagliafico accepted the offer and settled on the island off Sardinia in 1738. In honour of the king, they named the new place Carloforte ("Charles the Strong"). Over time, other emigrant families arrived directly from Liguria and helped to strengthen the small, emerging community. In 1798, Carloforte was attacked by pirates and around 900 inhabitants were captured and held as slaves in Tunis; one of them became the mother of Bey Ahmad I al-Husain. After five years, they were finally able to be ransomed. The parts of the old city wall and the fortress that are still preserved today are evidence of this barbarian invasion.

The language of the Tabarchians essentially corresponds to the Ligurian language of the 15th century. Through personal and trade connections - both from Tunisia and from the island of San Pietro - it has developed just as much as the actual Ligurian and Genoese languages. Due to its geographical location, the port of Carloforte was of considerable importance in shipping and as a transshipment point for medium tonnage until the beginning of the 19th century. Carlofortine Ligurian preserves some nouns and rare grammatical forms that only occur in the outdated Genoese. It does not contain any Gallicisms that Genoese has adopted in recent centuries; for example, the accent (còccina) is typical of Pegli and not of pure Genoese. Only a few nouns from Sardinian, Arabic and Tuscan can be identified as external influences. More than 80 percent of the population still speak this dialect in everyday life today. The architecture, culture, customs and traditions of Carloforte still correspond to those of Liguria. Because of its historical, economic and cultural ties with the Ligurian capital, and in particular with Pegli, Carloforte was recognized as an honorary municipality of the province of Genoa on 10 November 2004. In 2006, the neighboring municipality of Calasetta received the same honor. Carloforte celebrates twin festivities with Pegli every year.

The population, also known as Tabarchini because of their origins, united the towns of Carloforte on the island of San Pietro and the neighbouring municipality of Calasetta on the nearby island of Sant'Antioco. A small number of the emigrants from Tabarca headed towards the Spanish coast in Alicante and founded the town of Nueva Tabarca. This colony has retained some of the original surnames, but has been absorbed by the Spanish-speaking community in terms of language and customs. The Tabarchini are scattered all over the world, mainly in Genoa, on the Ligurian coast, in Gibraltar, in Boca near Buenos Aires and in other port cities. They are estimated to number 18,000 people in total.

The church, located in the Kalsa district on Piazza Rivoluzione, is modeled on the San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane in Rome by Francesco Borromini. The three-storey façade is dominated by a concavely curved central projection, which is separated by pairs of columns from the rest of the somewhat simpler two-storey sides with their stone balustrades. Volutes connect the sides to the third storey with a strikingly designed quatrefoil window. At the top, the façade ends with a cornice in the baroque gable.

The language of the Tabarchians essentially corresponds to the Ligurian language of the 15th century. Through personal and trade connections - both from Tunisia and from the island of San Pietro - it has developed just as much as the actual Ligurian and Genoese languages. Due to its geographical location, the port of Carloforte was of considerable importance in shipping and as a transshipment point for medium tonnage until the beginning of the 19th century. Carlofortine Ligurian preserves some nouns and rare grammatical forms that only occur in the outdated Genoese. It does not contain any Gallicisms that Genoese has adopted in recent centuries; for example, the accent (còccina) is typical of Pegli and not of pure Genoese. Only a few nouns from Sardinian, Arabic and Tuscan can be identified as external influences. More than 80 percent of the population still speak this dialect in everyday life today. The architecture, culture, customs and traditions of Carloforte still correspond to those of Liguria. Due to its historical, economic and cultural ties with the Ligurian capital, especially with Pegli, Carloforte was recognized as an honorary municipality of the province of Genoa on November 10, 2004. In 2006, the neighboring municipality of Calasetta received the same honor. Carloforte celebrates twin festivities with Pegli every year.

In 1542, the inhabitants of Pegli and the neighbouring communities left their home on the Ligurian coast in the wake of the Lomellini, a powerful trading family from Pegli and Genoa, and settled on the island of Tabarca off the coast of Tunisia, where they dived for coral until 1735. When coral mining and thus the tribute to the Lomellini continued to decline and was no longer profitable for all sides, and the conflicts with the Muslims intensified, King Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy, on the initiative of the Piedmontese architect Augusto de la Vallée, made the offer to settle the still uninhabited island of San Pietro. A part of the Tabarchini under the leadership of Agostino Tagliafico accepted the offer and settled on the island off Sardinia in 1738. In honour of the king, they named the new place Carloforte ("Charles the Strong"). Over time, other emigrant families arrived directly from Liguria and helped to strengthen the small, thriving community. In 1798, Carloforte was attacked by pirates and around 900 inhabitants were captured and held as slaves in Tunis; one of them became the mother of Bey Ahmad I al-Husain. After five years, they were finally ransomed. The parts of the old city walls and the fortress that still remain today are evidence of this barbarian invasion. The population, also known as the Tabarchines because of their origins, united the towns of Carloforte on the island of San Pietro and the neighboring community of Calasetta on the nearby island of Sant'Antioco. A smaller part of the emigrants from Tabarca headed towards the Spanish coast to Alicante and founded the town of Nueva Tabarca there. Although this colony retained some of the original surnames, it was absorbed by the Spanish-speaking community in terms of language and customs. The Tabarchini are scattered all over the world, mainly in Genoa, on the Ligurian coast, in Gibraltar, in Boca near Buenos Aires and in other port cities. They are estimated to number 18,000 people in total.