English (UK) 
Italiano 
Stintino, a former fishing village, located on the north-western coast of Sardinia and overlooking the Gulf of Asinara, was founded in 1885 when the 45 families living on the island of Asinara, mostly fishermen from Liguria and Ponza, were evicted to make way for the Colonia Penale Agricola. In fact, on 25 June of the same year, the Italian government decided to erect in Cala Reale the 'first lazaret of the Kingdom of Italy', an international quarantine station with the aim of defending neighbouring Sardinia from diseases brought by sailors from the Mediterranean basin (especially cholera and plague) and an open-air Colonia Penale Agricola in Cala D'Oliva, the same penal colony that from 1970 until 1998, the year of its closure, was converted into a maximum security prison.
The fishermen before the eviction, which took place on 15 August 1885, obtained compensation of 750 lire for each family, acquiring land in the area of present-day Stintino to build the new village with the initial name of Cala Savoia. It later took the name of isthintìnu or sthintìnu, from the Sassarese dialect term 'intestine or gut', and then Stintino, due to the fact that the area where the village was to be built was on a long strip of land characterised by two deep inlets, known as 'Isthintini'.
In order to allow fair justice for all in the new village, the fishermen's families formed an association called the 'Communion of 45', which took care of dividing up the land fairly, assigning it by lot to each family that received a 400-metre plot. On each of the allotted plots there arose, equal, dwellings reminiscent of the old Asinara structures, consisting of a single floor and divided into three rooms; behind each house was the vegetable garden for everyday vegetables and in the courtyard, the millstone for cereals. Thanks to the elongated conformation of the land, all the houses were built in positions to meet the fishermen's main need, that is, to always have the sea in full view: one only had to open the window to see the state of the weather and the sea.
Formerly a hamlet of Sassari, Stintino became an autonomous municipality in 1988 and since 2016 has been part of the North Sardinia Metropolitan Network, in the province of Sassari, along with the municipalities of: Alghero, Castelsardo, Porto Torres, Sassari, Sennori, Sorso and Valledoria.
THINGS TO SEE
When you are on holiday in Stintino, don't forget to visit the interesting Museum of the Tonnara di Stintino - the MUT, refurbished in 2016 after the restoration of an old fish processing plant, the Alpi building. The museum describes the traditional method of tuna fishing, practised in the Gulf of Asinara until the last century. It outlines the lives of the men who fished and processed tuna with hard work and obstinacy. It guards the identity of an entire village, whose history is closely linked to that of the Tonnara Saline. You will be guided on a multimedia journey, an audiovisual and musical journey of great impact, where period images flow across the screens, alternating with testimonies full of passion.
Close to the sea, a few kilometres from the town, stand the ancient Tonnare Saline, the town's economic source until a few decades ago and now completely renovated for tourism purposes.
While the Nurra is poor in sandy shores, Stintino has magnificent beaches such as Pelosa, at the foot of Roccauja, considered among the most beautiful in Sardinia and among those in Europe. The white sandy shore is protected from mistral winds and currents by the natural barrier of the stacks of Capo Falcone, Piana Island andAsinara. This beach is characterised by shallow waters and the water is crystal clear with colours ranging from turquoise to emerald. In order to contain the phenomenon of coastal erosion and protect the environment, from the summer of 2020, the Municipality of Stintino will allow closed-access access to the beach from 1 June to 30 September, through an online reservation and payment of a ticket, by accessing a dedicated App, and allowing a maximum number of accesses per day of 1,500 people.
Other beautiful beaches surround the entire coast such as, Le Saline at Capo d'orso, Pazzona and Ezzi Mannu, equipped with ample parking and the convenient services of the I Fenicotteri bathing establishment. Set in a picturesque landscape is La Pelosetta, which overlooks the small island that can be reached on foot, with its Aragonese tower from 1578, and Isola Piana with La Torre della Finanza from the 16th century. On the western coastline you will find magnificent cliffs and several rocky coves including Coscia di Donna and Cala del Vapore.
