Porto Torres overlooks the sea at the centre of the Gulf of Asinara, on a promontory sloping towards the Nurra plain. A city with 22,000 inhabitants, Porto Torres is the result of two millennia of history, as told by archaeological treasures and monuments, embellished by the wild nature of Parco dell’Asinara. In the 3rd century AD, it was second only to Karalis in terms of inhabitants and magnificence. Since the mid-20th century, petrochemical industries joined agriculture and fishing, marking recent events in the city. In the international port stands the imposing Torre Aragonese (1325), a defensive structure and lighthouse, today used as an exhibition site. The Torre di Abbacurrente (1578) harks the beginning of the Turritano stretch of Platamona. Near the city, vertiginous cliffs plunge into the blue sea peppered with pretty sandy coves, such as the Balai beach.