Asinara
 | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Mediteranean Sea, Stintino Capo Falcone in Sardinia |
| Administration | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 700 |
Asinara (Italian for "Donkey-inhabited" but its name comes from Latin "Sinuaria" and means sinus-shaped island[citation needed]; Sardinian: S'Asinàra) is an Italian island of 51 km² in area, with approximately 700 inhabitants.[2] The island is located off the northwestern tip of Sardinia, and is mountainous in geography with steep, rocky coasts. Because fresh water is scarce trees are sparse and low scrub is the predominant vegetation. Part of the national parks system of Italy, the island was recently converted to a wildlife and marine preserve. It is home to a population of wild albino donkeys from which the island takes its name.
Geography and geology
Asinara is located at the north-western tip of Sardinia. It is a territory of 51.9 square kilometres (20 sq mi) with a length of 17.4 kilometres (11 mi) and a width which ranges from 290 metres (951 ft) at Cala di Sgombro to 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) of the northern part, as well as 110 kilometres (68 mi) of coast length.[1] The highest point, at 408 metres (1,339 ft), is Punta della Scomunica. The territory is entirely state property.[1] The island is formed by four mountainous sections linked by a narrow, flat coastal belt. The windswept west coast is steep and rocky with a very deep sea bottom. The west coast turns down towards the bay of Asinara.[1]
As an extension of the larger island, Asinara is the second island [clarification needed] after Saint Antioco. The surface is hilly,[1] covered by thick Mediterranean scrub and few trees, with the exception of a wooded area in the northern part of the island. In the other parts of the island only small trees survive, mostly junipers. The island has indented coast, as seen from Cape Falcone. It alternates from peaks streaking vertically in the sea to still-uncontaminated bays[clarification needed]. The west side of the island is more rocky and steep, while the east has wide, flat parts with a height of, at maximum, 50 metres (164 ft). There are only three sandy beaches in the whole island, all of them on the Eastern coast.[2] As of 2008, the marine and underwater environment is a protected natural area, reaching 10.732 hectares ([convert: unit mismatch]) into the sea[clarification needed].[1] From a geological point of view, the Asinara is part of the Nurra, on the north-east of Sardinia, made up by more than 80% of metamorphic rock. The rock characterizes the island landscape together with the woody vegetation. Among the metamorphic rocks, great interest is attached to rare black anfiboliti erciniche that are 950 million years old, the oldest rocks in Italy.[1]
History
Early history
Human habitation on the island dates back to prehistory, with "domus de ianas" (sprites' houses) near Campu Perdu. Carved into soft limestone, the constructions are unique to the island[citation needed].
Because of its central position in the Mediterranean, Asinara was known and used by Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans. In the middle age monks from Camaldoli settled on Asinara, where they devoted themselves to agriculture.[1]
In the late 700s, shepherds from Sardinia and Liguria colonized the island. Their descendants stayed there until 1885, when all 500 inhabitants were forced off the island, which was then turned into a penal colony and a quarantine station (per order of King Umberto I of Italy).[1]
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The island was also an object of pirate raids by Saracens, Later, it was the location of multiple battles between Genoa, Pisa and Aragon.[2] In 1775 became dukate[clarification needed] when Antonio Manca Amato received it as feudo[clarification needed] by Savoia.
Ownership of Asinara was historically contested between Pisa, the Republic of Genoa, and the kingdom of Aragon.[2] In 1721, it became property of the Savoy Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1885 the island became public estate. The Sardinian farmers and fishers of Genoa, who lived on Asinara, were forced to move to the Sardinia coast where they founded the village of Stintino.
During the First World War, the island was a prison camp for Austrian and Hungarian soldiers, 5000 of whom died during their imprisonment.[2] It was used as a prisoner of war camp during World War I, and a place of detention for members of Ethiopia's nobility during the Italian occupation of that country between 1936 and 1941.
In the 1970s the prison facilities were refurbished as a maximum security prison. In past years was assigned mainly to detention of mafia members and terrorists, and has housed the likes of such as the mafia boss Totò Riina.
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It also became a quarantine facility for people with various diseases such as small pox. Prisoners and warders were the only inhabitants about another 110 years, until in December 1997 they closed down the penitentiary[clarification needed].[2]
A high security prison housing mafia members and terrorists operated there until 1998[clarification needed].[2] Construction on the island has been forbidden for the last century[clarification needed].[3]
Modern history and as a national park
In 1991 Asinara was established as a National Park, and is now nature reserve. Its natural beauty, unspoiled by the sparse human settlement, made it an ideal candidate.[2]
Since 1999, tourists have been able to visit Asinara Island, but only through organized and guided tours. Swimming is permitted only on three beaches and docking of private boats is forbidden.
In 2002, the waters offshore of the national park were zoned and designated as Italy’s newest marine protected area, encompassing 49 miles of coastline around the island and 41 square miles of its coastal waters.There are two no access, no fishing zones[clarification needed] on Asinara Island.[4]
There are many species of native and introduced mammals on the island, including horses, asses, goats, sheep, and pigs. The island’s vegetation is a mix of plants native to Sardinia, plants common throughout the Mediterranean, or introduced plants found in other bioregions, including North America. The island also harbors several rarely-seen species. For example, the "albino donkey" of Asinara is among the last examples of the famous albino donkey, by now a peculiarity only of Asinara. These donkeys roam freely across the island, gulping down significant amounts of vegetation and earthworms and serving as an active pest solvent[citation needed]. They are occasionally employed by the authorities to cull the thriving badger population on the island[clarification needed].
There are many old facilities on the island, including the prison facilities, but also small cities built for and by the inhabitants of the quarantine camp, and for the staff that serviced the camp and the prison. All of these have been turned over to the national park, and in tandem the marine protected area, who sorted out what will be kept and with what restoration is needed.[4]
Details of protection
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A Presidential Decree, on 3 October 2002, officially set both the Park and the Park body, which is a management body envisioned for national parks by a framework on protected areas.[1] The park body will also manage the Protected Marine Area set by decree of the Minister of the environment and land protection on the 13 August 2002. Both the park and the marine area are enclosed in the protected area "international cetaceans sanctuary "(Act. 391/01).[1] Asinara is furthermore a Site of Community importance.(on 3 April, 2000).[1] There are strict regulations on the island put in place to guarantee the conservation of the marine and land habitats. Institutional decrees (M.D. 28.11.97, M.D. 13.8.02, Presidential Decree 3.10.02), with numerous clauses, include no permission to use own vehicles, prohibition of sport fishing, anchorage and navigation with the exception of authorized means.[1]
Ecology
Asinara's vegetation is distinctively Mediterranean, with Thermophile (an extramophile), Lentisk, Euphorbia, Arborea, Calicotome spinosa, Phyllirea Angustifolia leaves, Phoenician Juniper and cistus.[5] The flora consists of 678 species, 29 of which are endemic; some are exclusive to North Sardina, while others are characteristic of the Sardinian - Corsican region. Its fauna is very important as well, and numbers around 80 wild species of terrestrial vertebrates, among which mouflons, wild boars, horses, and Sardinian donkeys are predominant. In birds, there are rare Corsican gulls, Cormorants, Peregrine Falcons and the Barbary Partridge.[5] In addition, the Park is the only place in Sardinian where magpies stop. The most famous of the native species is the "albino donkey," among the last examples of the famous albino donkey, by now a peculiarity only of Asinara. The donkey was imported onto the island at the beginning of the 1800s, and it was probably abandoned when at the end of the century the inhabitants moved to Stintino; since then the albino donkeys reproduced in freedom.[2] In fact, it is from this donkey that the island got its name.[citation needed]
The marine setting is rocky in the eastern side, with steep slopes and ravines, but mainly sandy in the western area. The shallowest part of the coast is colonized by two rare species, the red algae Lithophyllum lichenoides and the endangered giant limpet Patella ferruginea.[5] The integrity of the ecosystem is due to the history of its settlement, or rather the lack of it, that is a charactistic of the island.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Island of Asinara". World Heritage Site Submission. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. 01/06/2006. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) Cite error: The named reference "World Heritage Site Submission" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Asinara Island". Stintino. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- ^ "Zoning Marine protected Areas through Spatial Multiple-Criteria Analysis:The Case of Asinara National Marine Reserve of Italy" (PDF). University Research Paper (PDF Format). University of Vermont. November 2nd, 2002. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Isola di Asinara". Montary Bay National Marine Sanctuary. 10/21/04. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c d "Asinara Island". Sailing Charter Reference Article. Italy Yacht Charters. 2006. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
External links
