The ancient geographer Ptolemy defined nymphaeus portus the splendid, peaceful bay of Porto Conte, today the lovely centre of a beautiful park a few kilometres from Alghero. In this natural harbour - the likes of which is rarely seen - stretching between the promontory of Capo Caccia and Punta Giglio a Nuragic settlement developed around the 14th century BC and was destined to undergo an extraordinary evolution. In the space of just a few centuries, that village, known today as Sant’Imbenia, became one of the major commercial ports of the Mediterranean, where the Phoenicians, Greeks and Etruscans exchanged goods and materials with the local people. Thus, those populations that once came from the sea, assimilated new cultural aspects over time, imported from other ‘peoples of the sea’.

Your journey into the past starts at a nuraghe, of which you can observe the central tower and the bases of two secondary towers, and at a series of huts around it. Their structure and placement underwent impressive renovation: rooms were opened up, the layout of the dwellings - which were connected and organised into ‘blocks’ - became more elaborate and, above all, something revolutionary was created considering the period: a large public square, onto which shops and workshops opened up and were equipped with furnaces. You will notice traces of the narrow streets and paved squares that separated the insulae, with community areas, furnished with bench-seats and stone basins. There are also traces of the only circular hut separate from the other buildings, known as the ‘hut of the closets’, which has recovered numerous Phoenician and Greek ceramics, as well as copper ingots and bronze objects.

The village’s commercial evolution took place thanks to its strategic position by the sea, as it was a sheltered and safe landing place even in the event of troubled waters, and also to the mineral wealth of the Nurra, particularly iron, copper and silver. The local people learned new metalworking and ceramic techniques, creating oriental-inspired artefacts. The collaboration probably also included the production of wine, exported to Africa and Spain in amphorae made in the village. The port centre lost its role as a commercial hub between East and West and fell into decline during the 7th century BC: the Phoenicians changed their strategy, concentrating their trade in the colonies in the south-west of the island.

The Nuragic tour continues in the direction of Alghero, about six kilometres from the city of Catalan origin, with a visit to the majestic Nuraghe Palmavera, with a central tower, two towers with a defence wall and a large village. Proceeding towards Capo Caccia, the bay of Porto Conte offers another archaeological area directly on the sea: a leap in time of several centuries taking you to the 1st century BC, as a guest of the villa of a wealthy landowner from the Roman era. The Villa of Sant’Imbenia has three main bodies: a residential part, with rooms decorated with frescoes, stuccoes, mosaics and covered in marble; a probable thermal plant, also with rich decorations; and a ‘rustic’ part with service areas, servants’ quarters and warehouses. It was a real agricultural holding, with plots of land organised into large estates to exploit the fertile soils and fish resources. The products were intended for domestic consumption and trade to overseas markets.