TURRIS LIBISONIS (mod.

Porto Torres, q.v.)  , an ancient seaport town of Sardinia, situated at the north-western extremity of the island, and connected with Carales by two roads, which diverged at Othoca, one (the more important) keeping inland and the other following the west coast . It was probably of purely Roman origin, founded apparently by Julius Caesar, as it bears the title Colonia Julia; and in Pliny's time it was the only colony in the island . It is noteworthy that it apparently belonged to one of the urban tribes, the Collina; Puteoli, which belonged to the Palatina is the only other exception to the rule that municipia and coloniae were not enrolled in the urban tribes . A Roman bridge of seven arches, somewhat restored in modern times, the ruins of a temple (now known as Il Palazzo del Re Barbaro), which an inscription found there shows to have been restored (A.D . 247-249) by the praefectus of the province, together with the basilica, an aqueduct, various buildings (S . Valero Usni in Notizie degli scavi (1882), 121, A . Taramelli, ibid . (1904), 145) and some rock tombs, still exist . The inscriptions from Turris Libisonis are given by Th . Mommsen in Corp. inscr. lat x . 826; V . Dessi in Notizie degli scavi (1898), 26o; A .

Taramelli, ibid . (1904), 141 . One of them (C.I.L . No . 7954) mentions the construction of a

fountain basin, another the construction of a quay (riper turritana) : substructions may still be seen under water when the sea is clear . (T .