Calasetta is opposite S.Pietro's Island, in the south-western part of Sardinia. Its population, composed mostly of fishermen and farmers, comes from the Liguria region. During the XVIII Century, some Ligurian people living in Tunisia on the island of Tabarka, asked the King of Sardinia Carlo Emauele I for the permission to move to the island ofS.Antioco. Thus, in 1770, about 132 of these people arrived in Sardinia.
Calasetta is an important tourist destination, thanks to its indented coastline mixed with wonderful, white sand beaches. Among these beaches and worth mentioning, is the Sottotorre beach, near the eighteenth-century tower not very far from Calasetta's harbour.
While the town itself dates to 1770. In the middle of the 16th century a group of Ligurian families - many of them from Pegli near Genoa - moved to a deserted island off the coast of the Tunisian city of Tabarka in order to work the waters as coral fishermen. These families worked under the tutelage of the wealthy Genoese Lomellini family. These enterprising Ligurian families of Tabarka quickly expanded from coral fishing to trade between the African interior and European markets. Soon, they rose to positions of wealth and success and were awarded the titles of Marquis of Tabarka. Originally the Tabarchini (as descendants in Calasetta are sometimes still called) were protected by the Spanish crown, but increasing population strain, incursions by Barbery pirates, and expansionist competition by France began a long period of trials for many Tabarchini.
The local dialect, called Tabarchino, is still today similar to that spoken in Pegli and Genoa.
Today Calasetta is a favored tourist destination with gorgeous half moon beaches, a charming port, and a bustling fishing industry.
