Eat and drink in one of Piazza Civica’s cafés and restaurants, visit the nearby cathedral and shop in the high-end fashion and jewellery shops that line this unpretentious square in the heart of historic Alghero.
You can’t miss the Piazza Civica when exploring the centro storico (historic centre) of this romantic Sardinian city. If coming from the harbour, pass through the city’s 16th-century sea walls at the Porta a Mare. You’ll soon find yourself in the Piazza Civica.
Once the civic hub of this formerly Catalan city, this well-preserved piazza has both Spanish and Italian elements. Walk over its ancient cobblestones and look up at the stone houses with their tiny wrought-iron balconies and wooden window shutters.
A must-do is ordering an espresso or meal at Caffè Costantino in the 16th-century Palazzo d’Albis. Its terrace is great for people-watching, while inside await tiny tables in a timeless setting that oozes Italian charm.
Outside of mass hours, visit the Cattedrale di Santa Maria by following the Piazza Civica out to the Piazza Duomo. Enjoy a short reprieve from the burning sun in the cathedral’s cool and dark interior. Pay the fee to climb up to its bell tower and see the blue bay beyond the city’s terra cotta-colored roofs.
The nearby religious museum, the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art, stays open until the evening and showcases silvers relics, wooden sculptures, icons and other paintings.
When it is dinner time, order a typical Sardinian meal of local produce such as squid and vegetables.
Buy a sweet dessert in the square’s gelateria (ice cream parlor), with its wrought-iron gates, and join the locals inla passeggiata, the Italian ritual of an evening stroll with family. A favourite route in Alghero runs from the port, along the Piazza Civica and the Piazza Duomo to Lungomare, a small beach in the heart of the city.
Piazza Civica is accessible to pedestrians only, so get transportation to Porta a Mare and walk from there. During the summer months it can get very crowded in the Old Town, so come very early or very late in the day to have the Piazza Civica (almost!) to yourself.
