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Portoscuso

Portescusi
Portoscuso Portescusi
Comune
	Comune di Portoscuso
	Touristic port of Portoscuso
	Coat of arms
	Location of Portoscuso
	Portoscuso Location of Portoscuso in Sardinia Portoscuso Portoscuso (Sardinia)
	Coordinates: 39°13′N 8°23′E / 39.217°N 8.383°E
Country	Italy
Region	Sardinia
Province	South Sardinia
Frazioni	Paringianu, Brunc' 'e Teula, Portovesme
Government
• Mayor	Ignazio Atzori
Area
• Total	39.1 km2 (15.1 sq mi)
Elevation	6 m (20 ft)
Population (30 April 2014)
• Total	5,242
• Density	130/km2 (350/sq mi)
Demonym	Portoscusesi
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	09010
Dialing code	0781
Patron saint	San Giovanni Battista (John the Baptist), Santa Maria d'Itria
Website	Official website

Portoscuso (Portescusi in Sardinian) is a comune (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about 75 kilometres (47 mi) west of Cagliari and about 14 kilometres (9 mi) northwest of Carbonia. The languages used here are Italian and Sardinian Campidanese.

Portoscuso borders the following municipalities: Carbonia, Gonnesa, and San Giovanni Suergiu.

History

Human presence in this territory dates back to Neolithic times. Bronze Age sites include the ruins of several Nuraghe (e.g. Baccu Ollasta) and the rock shelter of Punta Niedda, where the bones of 6 individuals and various objects of the Bonnanaro culture were recovered in the 1940s.^[2]

The area was then frequented by the Phoenicians, followed by the Punics and the Romans of whose passage some evidence remains, in particular regarding the funerary aspect, with the necropolises in the San Giorgio^[3] and Piccinu Mortu areas.

In the Middle Age this territory, as the rest of the Sulcis region, was part of the Giudicato of Cagliari until 1258, then it was part of the Della Gherardesca possessions and later, from 1324, part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, one of the kingdoms forming the Crown of Aragon.

The town originated in the 17th century from a hamlet inhabited by tuna and coral fishermen. Its name came from the Catalan Puerto Escos (hidden port).^[4] It became a comune in 1853, during the rule of the House of Savoy.

Notable sights include the Spanish Tower (16th century), the church of Madonna d'Itria (17th century) and the Arsenal, known as Su Pranu (17th century).

The town is extremely proud of its famous tuna fishery, and is restoring the original buildings.

Demographics

In 1861, the year of the unification of Italy, Portoscuso had 502 inhabitants.^[5] After the Second World War, the industrial center of Portovesme developed during the 1960s and 1970s. Between 1951 and 1961 the population grew by +42.6%, while between 1961 and 1971 by +32.8%, the demographic increase continued until the 1990s, reaching almost 6000 inhabitants in 1991.^[5]

As of 2023 1.3% (65 people) of the population was foreign, of which the largest group were Moroccans, Chinese and Romanians.^[6]