Carloforte
Isola Di San Pietro
San Pietro is a beautiful little island surrounded by many fascinating grottoes and a transparent sea. The Carthaginians were the fist to settle here naming the island Isnosim ( Sparrowhawk Island ) In the dark ages the Island was almost completely devoid of human habitations as almost all the population were taken as slaves by the moors.
In the middle ages legend has it the St Peter was shipwrecked here and taught the remaining inhabitants how to fish for tuna. In 1737 King Carlo Emanuele repopulated the island by bringing the Tabarchini ( Ligiurians from the town of Pegli who has starrted a colony on the island of Tabarka near Tunisia). Over the years more and more imigrants arrived until the arrival of 1798 which saw the majority of them abducted back to Tunisia by pirates. After strong protests by the Sardinian governement and European powers at the time the government was able to buy them back five years later. As a result of this checkered history The isola di San Pietro is a very atypical part of Sardinia. The locals still speak in Genoese dialect and many have blonde hair.
Isola Di San Pietro is reached by ferry from Sardinia. The ferries depart from Portoveseme and Calasetta to Carloforte – a journey time of about half an hour. Time tables can be viewed here >>
About Carloforte
Carloforte is a town on the little island of San Pietro name d after King Carlo Emanuele III and very different from the other areas of Sardinia. Its a picturesque town of pastel coloured town houses with balconies which run along the narrow streets,alleyways and stairs leading to the waterfront similar to Genoa. Carloforte
Eating Out.
Carloforte is a great place to eat out and the food you will find here is very different to that on the main island of Sardinia.. The food here is a combination of Liguarian Mediterranean and North African cuisine. One of the snack specialities is Farinata which is made of chickpea flour and olive oil. In the restaurants you should try the Cassolla a fish soup with tomatoes and the Cashca’ the local couscous served with vegetables. No visit to Carloforte would be complete without sampling some of the local Tuna for which the island is famous. A good time to sample tuna is during The Girotonno - a characteristic cultural and gastronomic event which takes place every year in Carloforte, during the Mattanza
The event, now in its seventh year, takes place between late May and early June, and sees the presence of many Mediterranean countries