Olbia (Sardinia)

Olbia
Country	Italy
region	Sardinia
province	Sassari (SS)
Local name	Terranoa / Tarranoa
Coordinates	40 ° 55 ′ N , 9 ° 30 ′ E Coordinates: 40 ° 55 ′ 0 ″ N , 9 ° 30 ′ 0 ″ E
height	10 m slm
surface	376.10 km²
Residents	61,323 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	163 inhabitants / km²
Post Code	07026
prefix	0789
ISTAT number	090047
Popular name	Olbiesi
Patron saint	Simplizius of Olbia
Website	Olbia
	; Aerial view of Olbia

Olbia (in Byzantine times Pausania / Παυσανία, from the Middle Ages to 1939 Terranova , Sardinian still Terranòa ) is an Italian municipality . With 61,323 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019), it is the fourth largest city in Sardinia . Olbia is located in the province of Sassari on the Gulf of Olbia , which is part of the Tyrrhenian Sea . Until 2016, Olbia was one of the capitals of the then dissolved province of Olbia-Tempio . The municipality includes the island of Tavolara and the uninhabited islands of Molara and Molarotto .

Location and dates

Overview map

Olbia is located in the northeast of the island south of the most famous coast of Sardinia, the Costa Smeralda . The neighboring municipalities are Alà dei Sardi , Arzachena , Golfo Aranci , Loiri Porto San Paolo , Monti , Padru , Sant'Antonio di Gallura and Telti .

Corso Umberto

Even on the main shopping street, Corso Umberto , hardly a building is higher than two floors. Olbia shows how almost all the cities of Sardinia have a provincial character, but this is canceled out by satellite settlements such as Olbia 2 and the hectic main arteries on which several 100,000 tourists arrive in summer.
The face in the city center has also changed significantly with the expansion of the harbor promenade. Where general stores were ten years ago, there are now shops of well-known European fashion companies. But off the Corso Umberto you can still find the typical narrow streets.

history

Even the Etruscans called at the port of Olbia. It came under the rule of Carthage until the Roman consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio passed the Carthaginian general Hanno in 259 BC. BC in a sea battle in the Gulf of Olbia, whereupon Olbia was first conquered by the Romans. During the Second Punic War , Olbia was defeated in 210 BC. Destroyed by the Carthaginians and then conquered by the Roman praetor Publius Manlius Vulso . Under Roman rule, the port was expanded and Olbia assumed an important position as a Roman port of call in Sardinia, where the Roman governors landed.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, Sardinia and with it Olbia remained under Byzantine rule. During the pirate raids on Sardinia, the city was temporarily abandoned. When Sardinia was divided into four Judicates in the Middle Ages (see Sardinian Judiciary ), Olbia was the seat of the Gallura Judiciary .

Attractions

Simplizius Basilica

The Church of San Simplicio , a Romanesque basilica made of gray granite, first attested in the 11th century, consecrated to St. Simplicius of Fausania, was the cathedral of the diocese of Cività (Olbia) until its dissolution in 1533.
The Church of the Apostle Paul from the 18th century in the upper part of the old town
Near the city, on the 246 m high Punta Casteddu, stands the nuraghe and the fortification of Cabu Abbas (the beginning of the water ).
The island of Tavolara off the coast