Stintino

Stintino (Isthintini, Istintìnu) is a coastal comune (municipality) in the Province of Sassari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about 200 km north of Cagliari and about 35 km northwest of Sassari.

Geography
Stintino is located on the peninsula of the same name, running from Nurra plain to the Asinara Island, part of the Asinara National Park, for which Stintino is the nearer embarkment place. The municipality borders with Sassari and its northernmost point, a cape in which is located the town, is in front of the Asinara, which belongs to the municipality of Porto Torres.

History
Stintino was founded on the 14th of August 1885, when the Italian Government decided to use the nearby isle, Isola dell'Asinara, as a quarantine sea aid station and penal colony. This penal colony was then turned into a maximum security prison from 1970 until 1998.

At the time, the isle was inhabited by 45 families, dedicated to agricultural, farming, and fishing activities. These families gave origin to the villages of Cala Reale, Fornelli, and Cala d'Oliva but had had to leave the isle following the decision of the Government

The families used the few resources they were given from the government to create the new comune A main piazza called 'Piazza dei 45' is named after these 45 original families

Tourism
It is a popular seaside resort and is provided with three tourist ports: Porto Mannu (with 305 boat places), Marina di Stintino (160 boat places) and Porto Minore (110 boat places).