46 BC Foundation of Colonia Iulia Turris Libisonis, attributed to Julius Caesar, in an area inhabited since the Neolithic Age. The city becomes one of the main ports of the Roman Empire.

303 Martyrdom of the soldier Gavinus, the presbyter Protus and the deacon Januarius, at the hands of Roman governor Barbarus.

455 Sardinia is invaded by the Vandals.

534 The island becomes part of the Byzantine Empire who, in the following centuries, gradually loses control, leaving it in a state of virtual anarchy.

10th century Sardinia is divided into four independent kingdoms, known as giudicati: Arborea, Cagliari, Gallura and Torres, which takes its name from the towered city, of which it’s the capital.

11th century the giudicato of Torres enjoys a great economic boom, thanks, among other things, to the money, and political and cultural connections with the Republic of Pisa. However, Torres gradually loses importance in favour of Sassari.

1259 End of the giudicato of Torres. Its territories, after the Pisan defeat at Meloria (1284), are divided between the Republic of Genoa and the giudicato of Arborea.

1323 Torres is invaded by the Aragonese. The next centuries see a gradual depopulation of the city, which is subject to frequent raids by the Barbary pirates.

1713 At the end of the War of Spanish Succession, the Peace of Utrecht assigns Sardinia to the Holy Roman Empire, which in turn hands it over to the Dukes of Savoy in 1720.

18th – 19th century The rebirth of the city is favoured by the restructuring of the port and the completion of the road and rail links for Cagliari. Torres becomes a municipality in 1842. In 1861 Sardinia, along with the other Savoy domains, becomes part of the Kingdom of Italy.

1948 Sardinia obtains a special autonomous status.

1997 Institution of the Asinara National Park.