Carloforte

Ligurian coral fishermen from Pegli settled the Tunisian island of Tabarka in the sixteenth century, and in 1738 their descendants were resettled by Carlo Emanuele III on San Pietro, founding Carloforte, which is named after him. They brought their dialect, which survives as Tabarchino, a Ligurian variety spoken here and in nearby Calasetta and still in daily use; the food also stayed Ligurian, with pesto and farinata alongside Sardinian dishes. Tuna fishing was the town's business, with a tonnara operating for centuries, and tuna remains the local speciality. Cliffs on the western side hold a colony of Eleonora's falcons.

History

Legend says a local church, the Chiesa dei Novelli Innocenti, was founded in the early 14th century in honour of the young people of the Children's Crusade of 1212 who died in a shipwreck off the island (Wikipedia, Carloforte).

What you'll find

• The Tabarchino dialect - Ligurian spoken on a Sardinian island.
• The Ligurian food - pesto and farinata beside Sardinian cooking.
• The tonnara history - centuries of tuna fishing, marked in the town.
• The falcon cliffs - an Eleonora's falcon colony on the west coast.

When to go

May to September; the Girotonno tuna festival is held in late spring or early summer. Ferries are frequent but weather dependent. Winter is quiet.

Things to know

The island is small with limited public transport. Ferries stop in bad weather. Summer accommodation is limited and books out.

Nearby

Sant'Antioco lies south; the Iglesiente coast is east.

Key facts