San Pietro (island)

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San Pietro
Beach on the south coast of San Pietro
Beach on the south coast of San Pietro
Waters Mediterranean Sea
Archipelago Sulcis Archipelago
Geographical location 39 ° 9 '  N , 8 ° 16'  E Coordinates: 39 ° 9 '  N , 8 ° 16'  E
San Pietro (island) (Sardinia)
San Pietro (island)
length 10.7 km
width 8.3 km
surface 53.9 km²
Highest elevation Bricco Guardia dei Mori
211  m slm
Residents 6095 (2019)
113 inhabitants / km²
main place Carloforte

San Pietro ( Italian Isola di San Pietro , sard. Isula 'e Sàntu Pèdru ) is an approximately 54 km² island off the south-western tip of Sardinia . The island, seven kilometers from Sardinia, belongs to the province of Sud Sardegna . More than 90 percent of the 6,095 inhabitants of San Pietro (as of December 31, 2019) live in the island's capital, Carloforte . The rest of them live in scattered settlements.

The island can be reached by ferries from Calasetta and Portovesme (Comune Portoscuso ).

geography

Colonne - the pillars of Carloforte

San Pietro is of volcanic origin. The 34 km long coast is mostly rocky. The rugged rocky coast in the north, often steeply sloping into the sea, has natural grottos in several places. There are only smaller sandy beaches in the east, south and southwest. The area around Carloforte is very flat and has a few sandy beaches to the south.

The interior of the island is characterized by hills, the highest points are the Bricco Guardia dei Mori (211 m) and the Bricco Tortoriso (208 m). On the island there are some streams, some of which are deeply cut into the landscape, but they usually do not carry water all year round. There are no larger rivers, but there are several wetlands, some of which have the character of swampy landscapes.

The vegetation is typical of the Mediterranean coast. Rockrose , mastic , western strawberry tree , juniper , Aleppo pine and holm oak grow in the island's hot climate. Typical Mediterranean fruits such as grapes , olives , figs and opuntias are grown especially in the east . The relatively fertile plain in the south is used for agriculture and grain is grown here.

The mining of mineral resources such as manganese played a bigger role on San Pietro for a long time, today none of the mines in the northwest, west and southeast are in operation.

The Eleanor's falcon is native to San Pietro .

On the northeast coast there are two small side islands, Isola dei Ratti and Isola Piana . On the Isola Piana there are large barrels for catching tuna, and the island is also a popular destination.

history

View of the lighthouse at Capo Sandalo , the westernmost tip of the island

San Pietro was already settled in ancient times when ocher was mined in the west of the island . The Phoenicians gave it the name Enosim (island of the falcons), the Greeks named it Hieracon Nesos and the Romans named it Accipitrum Insula . Remnants of ancient civilization can still be found everywhere today. Interest in the archaeological remains on the island began in the 16th century when Giovanni Francesco Fara (1543–1591) mentioned some monuments. After the relocation of Ligurian fishermen from the island of Tabarka (Tunisia) in 1738, the German Joseph Fuos reported the existence of Punic graves. Vincent Crespi led the official first excavation campaign in 1878 . In 1962, Ferruccio Barreca carried out a test excavation on the tower of St. Victor by Carloforte. In 1983, Paolo Bernardini and Raimondo Zucca also looked for the Phoenician settlement at the tower.

According to legend, Simon Peter visited the island in 46 AD. The present name is said to come from this visit.

In 1738 a part of the Tabarchini , from the then Tunisian Tabarca under the leadership of Agostino Tagliafico, accepted the offer from King Charles Emanuel III. from Savoy to repopulate the island. Today, the island's population still speaks the Genoese dialect , as do the residents of the northern town of Calasetta on the neighboring island of Sant'Antioco .

On the island of San Pietro are the nuraghi Bricco del Polpo, Laveria, Le Lille and Papassina .

Web links

Commons : San Pietro (island)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b UNEP Islands
  2. Sardinia . 9th edition. Karl Baedeker Verlag, Ostfildern 2010, ISBN 978-3-8297-1084-8 .