San Pietro Island

San Pietro (Italian Isola di San Pietro, sard. Isula ' s Santu Pedru ) is around 54 km ² large island off the southwest tip of Sardinia. The removed at 7 km from Sardinia island belongs to the province of Carbonia -Iglesias. The approximately 6465 residents of San Pietro is located more than 90 percent in the island's capital Carloforte. The rest live in scattered settlements.

The island is accessible by ferries from Portovesme and Calasetta from.

Geography

San Pietro is of volcanic origin. The 34- km long coastline is mostly rocky. The rugged, often steeply sloping rock into the sea coast in the north has several references to natural caves. Only in the East, in the south and in the southwest, there are small sandy beaches. The area around Carloforte is very flat and has south across some sandy beaches.

On the north east coast, there are two small secondary islands, Isola dei Ratti and Isola Piana. On the Isola Piana there are great traps for catching tuna, as well as the island is a popular tourist destination.

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 partly deeply incised into the landscape streams, although not all year usually result in water. Larger rivers there are none, however, several wetlands, some of which have the character of wetlands.

The vegetation is typical of the Mediterranean coast. Cistus, mastic, Western arbutus, juniper, Aleppo pine, holm oak grow in the hot climate of the island. Especially in the East typical Mediterranean fruits such as grapes, olive, figs and prickly pears are grown. The relatively fertile plain to the south is used for agriculture, where grain is grown.

The extraction of mineral resources such as manganese played on San Pietro a long time a more important role today, none of the mines in the north- west, west and southeast longer in operation.

At San Pietro Eleonora's falcon is native.

History

San Pietro was inhabited in ancient times. To the west of the island has been mined in ancient ocher. The Phoenicians gave it the name Enosim ( island of the hawk ), the Greeks christened Hieracon Nesos and the Romans on Accipitrum Insulation. Remains of ancient civilization can still be found everywhere. The interest in the archaeological remains of the island began in the 15th century, when Giovanni Francesco Fara mentions some monuments. 1738, after resettlement Ligurian fishermen from the island of Tabarka ( Tunisia), the German Joseph Fuos report the existence of Punic tombs. Vincent Crespi initiated in 1878 the first officially first excavation campaign. In 1962, Ferruccio Barreca led a test excavation at the tower of St. Victor of Carloforte by. At the tower studied in 1983, Paolo Bernardini and Raimondo Zucca also the Phoenician settlement.

According to legend, visited Simon Peter, 46 n. Chr the island. From this visit, her present name is derived.

1738 took a part of Tabarchini, from the then Tunisian Tabarca led by Agostino Tagliafico, the offer of King Charles Emmanuel III. of Savoy to re- colonize the island.

Today, the island's population still speaks the Genoese dialect, like the residents of the northern town of Calasetta located on the neighboring island Sant'Antioco.

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