THE MUNICIPALITY OF TEULADA

The charming bay of Tueredda is one of the gems of the vast territory of Teulada, marked by splendid beaches and reaching out to sea with the promontories of Spartivento (176 m) and Malfatano (64 m) and the rocky spur of Capo Teulada, which plunges into deep blue waters.

The hinterland is mainly mountainous and perforated by a number of enchanting caves, which can be visited with the assistance of the local speleo club. Springtime covers its mountains and valleys with flowering bush growth and wild mushrooms and the coasts with wild asparagus; in summertime the air is filled with Mediterranean scents wafted by breeze and sun. A bird’s eye view of the coast of Teulada can be enjoyed from Punta Sebera (979 m), in the demesne forest of Is Cannoneris (715 m), about a 40 minute drive from the beaches of Teulada and Pula.

Teulada takes its name from the Roman settlement of Tegula, from the Latin word "tegula", referring to the local production of terracotta items.

The remains of about twenty nuraghes preserve the memory of the ancient inhabitants of this fertile territory, rich also in fish. Traces of the Phoenician-Punic settlement of Malfatano (8th century BC) remain in the ruins of the tofet on the small island of Tuerredda, the structures, now underwater, of the Melqart port and, behind the beach of Piscinnì, a Punic quarry.

Tegula and its port were accessible from the Roman road leading from Carales to the south-western manufacturing centres: Bitia, Nora, Sulci. Subsequently, this area was occupied by the Byzantines, who built a great tower with square ground plan at S. Isidoro.

At the beginning of the 17th century, four watch towers were built along the coast, and in the early years of the 18th century the church of the Madonna del Carmine was built; the small church of S. Francesco d'Assisi (1720), abandoned in 1954, has been recently refurbished.

The naval battle of Capo Malfatano

Malfatano was the name of one of the first steamships of the Sardinian Navy, in memory of the battle fought on 28 July 1811 in the waters round this promontory, situated between Capo Spartivento and Capo Teulada. A large fleet from Tunisia had attempted to conquer the coastal tower of Saralà (Tertenia) and subsequently made sail to the south west, to attack the ships of the Royal Sardinian Navy that patrolled the waters round the island: "FALCO" (under Captain Gaetano Demay), "SANT'EFISIO" (Captain Tommaso Zonza) and "AQUILA" (Captain Vittorio Porcile).

The battle ended with the victory of the Sardinian Navy. Captain Porcile distinguished himself by his exceptional courage whereas the Commander of the Tunisians was executed by the sword. This harsh lesson served to mitigate the attacks of the ferocious pirates from North Africa who, for more than a thousand years, had been the scourge of the Mediterranean.