The conference venue will be located in Alghero (SS) Sardinia, Italy

Channeling 2012 will take place in the town of Alghero, on the beautiful Italian island of Sardinia, the beautiful “Catalan” town of Italy, famous for its mixed culture, half Catalan and half Sardinian, due to 4 centuries of Spanish domination.
The meeting venue, the Hotel Calabona, faces the splendid Riviera del Corallo (Riviera of Coral) and offers a spectacular view of Capo Caccia. A short walk along the sea takes you to the historical center of the Catalan town of Alghero, with many interesting monuments, restaurants, and shops open.

How to get to Alghero

By Airplane

The airport of Alghero-Fertilia has direct flights to the main Italian cities and various European capitals. Low-cost airlines (Ryanair, etc.) offer very economical flights direct to Alghero from many European cities. Alitalia and Airone offer direct flights from Rome, Milan and other Italian airports.

• AirOne (Alitalia affiliated) from
  • Milano Malpensa (MXP);
• Meridiana from
  • Bari (BRI),
  • Milano Linate (LIN),
  • Verona (VRN);
• Ryanair from
  • Barcelona (BAR),
  • Brussels Charleroi (CRL),
  • Dublin (DUB),
  • Düsseldorf Weeze (NRN),
  • Frankfurt-Hahn (HHN),
  • Gothenburg City (GSE),
  • London-Stansted (STN),
  • Madrid (MAD),
  • Milano-Bergamo (BGY),
  • Munich West (MUN),
  • Oslo Torp (TRF),
  • Paris-Beauvais (BVA),
  • Rome-Ciampino (CIA),
  • Stockholm-Skavsta (NYO),
  • and others.

Note that some of these are "secondary" airports, which are often not served by international airlines.

By Ferry

• Grandi Navi Veloci sails from Genova to Porto Torres, where a bus meets the ferry and brings you to Alghero (about 30 min; get the bus ticket at the little ticket office before you board the bus). One ferry sail at night and one during the day (9-10 hours). Round trip costs abound 100 Euro per person without a car, or from 200 Euro for two persons with a small car (cabin extra).
• Tirrenia di Navigazione also sails from Genova to Porto Torres, and it is generally a bit cheaper than Grandi Navi Veloci. Tirrenia only sails at night. The trip takes 9-10 hours and a roundtrip costs from 200 Euro for two persons with a small car. A cabin is an extra 150 Euro for both ways.
• Corsica Ferries sail from Livorno or Civitavecchia to Golfo Aranci (Olbia) on the northeast side of Sardinia. The trip takes 5-6 hours and a roundtrip costs from 120 Euro for two persons with a small car. To drive from Olbia to Alghero takes about two hours.
• Moby Lines sail from Genova or Livorno to Golfo Aranci (Olbia), on the northeast side of Sardinia. The trip takes around 9 hours and a roundtrip costs from 100 Euro for two persons with a car. To drive from Olbia to Alghero takes about two hours.

Historical outline

According to historians the origin of the town dates back to the first half of the 11th century when the influential Doria family from Genova fortified a fishing village along the north west coast of Sardinia. In this way a strategic landing point was created. It was called "L'Alguerium" due to the large quantities of seaweed washed up on the shores by the currents. This name has been seen on documents of the Doria family and is medieval-Latin (S'Alighera in Sardinian and l'Alguer in Catalan). Thanks to its geographical position Alghero held a very important role in trading in the Mediterranean, therefore it had to be defended frequently by the Genovese from the attacks of Pisan and Aragonese ships. The town remained Genovese until 1353, when the Catalan-Aragonese allied to the Venetians won against the Genovese admiral Antonio Grimaldi at a naval battle just off Porto Conte, thus occupying the stronghold. In November 1354 Pietro IV of Aragon, known as the "Cerimonioso" or "PHistorical Algherounyalet" repopulated Alghero with Catalans forcing the Sardinians and the Ligurians to flee. At the same time the town became part of the kingdom of Aragon and remained such for four centuries, first under Catalan domination and then Spanish one. Alghero to this day conserves the characteristics of the Catalan-Aragonese period, which can be noted in the architecture of the churches, of the buildings and of the fortifications and also in the Catalan language, which is still widely spoken.

Alghero is one of the oldest and most well known and fascinating places in Sardinia, situated on the north-west coast. With its wonderful beaches and their emerald water, it is a real pearl on the Mediterranean Sea.

Alghero can still show you, by its architecture and in the language of its habitants, the influence of the Catalan/Aragonese periods. Alghero is very important also for the precious red coral, used by local jewelers.

The historic centre demands your attention. Walk around the fortified walls, with the sea breaking on the rocks at your feet and admire the great defensive towers. Turn into the tangle of cobbled lanes to visit the Duomo (cathedral) and other public buildings, most of which clearly display Catalan influences, as do many of the street names.

Approaching the town from the seaside promenade and beach area, known as the Lido, the view is dominated by the bell tower of the 600-year-old Saint Francesco church, which points like a finger to the sky as if to thank God for the town's existence. Nearby is the octagonal Tower of Dogs, named after the strays that were reportedly once housed there.

Alghero Cathedral (Cattedrale di Santa Maria), founded in the 14th century, was restructured in the style of Catalan Gothic when Alghero gained city status almost two hundred years later.

Today, the five radiating chapels of the original building still represent the gothic period, the centre is largely renaissance whilst the neoclassic facade was added in the 20th century.

It dates back to various periods. The bell tower and the apse were started at the beginning of 1552 according to the noble rules of Gothic-Catalan architecture.
This slow but steady work was finally completed in 1730 ,the year of the consecration. The octagonal dome and the impressive Doric columns are late Renaissance style, while the elevated presbytery which opens out into 5 chapels with orgival Alghero Cathedral detail arcs is Gothic style.

Among the most important examples of marble furnishings you can see the main altar which dates back to the first half of the 18th century, in the left transect, the notable neoclassic mausoleum of Maurizio di Savoia Duke of Monferrato. The sacristy house some refined examples of Catalan goldsmithery dating back to the 16th century.

Attractions near Alghero

Nettuno caves One of the special attractions in Sardinia is the undersea caves situated in the coast of Alghero.
The Grotta di Nettuno (Neptune's Grotto) is without doubt one of the most fashionable day trips for visitors to the town of Alghero and a tour of the Grotto counts as one of the star tourist attractions on the whole of Island of Sardinia.

Located on the coast, excavated in millions of year by water, they are composed by different rooms, each one adorned by beautiful stalactites and stalagmites that reach the hightness of 20 m. The route winds along a beautiful salt lake with clear waters and rooms very rich in concretions, with a total length of 200 m. Particularly evocative the room called “Tribuna della musica”, a balcony that allows to overlook the lake Lamarmora. The name comes from a little orchestra that was here located to play in particular occasions and that allowed to the guests to dance in the little beach below. During summer concerts are still organized in this enchanting scenery.

Nuragic villages
Just a few miles from Alghero, another attraction not-to-be-missed is the Nuragic complex at Palmavera, which dates back to the 8th century B.C. Even closer to Alghero, there is the Anghelo Ruju necropolis, one of the largest concentrations of so-called Domus de Janas (prehistoric hypogea - tombs carved out of the rocks) on the island of Sardinia. The necropolis is situated in the area called Li Piani, which is just inland from Alghero, along the banks of the Filibertu stream, and was in constant use from the late Neolithic period (3500 B.C.) until the early Bronze Age (1800 B.C.).

Cooking and climate

The traditional food of the island tends to be meat orientated such as roast suckling pig and pasta with a sausage ragu.

As mentioned earlier Alghero is a Catalan town and although much of the cuisine available is Italian there are a few Catalan influences to be found. Why not try Paella Algherese or Catalan lobster (served cold with fresh tomato and onion). There are of course many Sardinian specialities to be tried such as roast suckling pig or Seadas, a pastry filled with Goats cheese and then dribbled with honey. The wines of Sardinia are quickly becoming recognised as some of the finest in Europe. Traditional methods and a good climate see some extremely good wines being produces on the island.


The climate in Alghero allows for a perfect vacation all year round. The summer months get up to about 35 degrees and throughout the day in the winter the temperature never drops much below 15 degrees.

The month of September is characterized by falling daily high temperatures, with daily highs decreasing from 28°C to 25°C over the course of the month, exceeding 32°C or dropping below 21°C only one day in ten. Daily low temperatures range from 15°C to 18°C, falling below 12°C or exceeding 21°C only one day in ten.