Alghero gets its name from the abundance of seaweed (alghe) in its surrounding waters.  It was known as Algarium in the Middle Ages and Al Alguer and Barcelloneta under Spanish rule.
Alghero 's origins date back to the X Century when the Genoese, with the help of Pisans, turned the Arabs away and obtained land grants from the Judges of Logudoro, one of the groups of judges that governed Sardinia during the Middle Ages.  The Genoese House of Doria took possession of the city at the beginning of the XII Century and held onto it until 1353 when the Catalan fleet defeated Genoa's ships near Porto Conte on the outskirts of Alghero.  The Algherese revolted against the garrison's commanding officer, killing him.  The Spanish responded by sending 12,000 men and 100 galleys to suppress the revolt.  A treaty was signed and the original inhabitants were forced to abandon their homes and allow the town to be settled by Catalan families.  Later, when Charles V wished to use the city as an operations base against Saracen pirates, he visited Alghero and was so warmly received by its people that he proclaimed them todos caballeros, a mark of distinction held still held in regard today by the Algherese.  In 1713, when Alghero came under Austrian rule with the Treaty of Utrecht, Spain tried once again to take the city over but was obligated by the Treaty of London to yield Sardinia to the House of Savoy.  Alghero was not again greatly disturbed by foreign influences until it suffered bombings during World War II.  Fearing an invasion by the Allied forces, the Sardinians built bunkers in strategic locations around the city that still stand today as grim reminders of Alghero 's more troubled times.
The old city is closed behind thick fortress walls, interrupted only by solemn towers.  The old city's stone streets, narrow and bordered by shops, are dotted with randomly spaced and seemingly unplanned tiny piazzas (squares).  The polychrome dome of the church of San Michele and the church of St. Francis' pointed Aragonese tower dominate the city.
The monuments represent the gothic-Catalan style.
Sightseeing begins at Porta a Terra Square, on the eastern margin of the old town that extends into the vast green area of the public gardens where Giuseppe Manno's statue, a historian from Alghero, can be seen.  The monument was made in 1894 by Pietra Canonica.
San Francesco street includes the town's principal meeting place Sulis square where the view of the sea is interrupted by the impressive Espero Reial and Sulis towers.
Along the seaside and at the end of Colombo Way is the recently restored San Giacomo Tower (San Jaume) next to the church of Our Lady of Carmelo from the XVI Century.
The promenade Marco Polo extends past the bastion of San Giacomo, characteristic for its narrow openings from which canons were once fired.  The seaside opens onto the beautiful panorama of the Algherese roads and the promontory that separates the city from the Porto Conte inlet.  Its headland is called Capo Caccia.
The small tower of Polveriera (or St. Barbara) is past the bastion, where the coast reaches the north-west end of the promontory and the old city is situated.  The coast then turns east, nearing the upper part of the tower of St. Elmo.  From here it's possible to see the pier, the port and the landscape far to the north including the long beach of