El Kala القالة
Town
The old fishing harbor at El Kala facing the decommissioned Saint Cyprien Church

El Kala (Arabic: القالة, Latin: Thinisa in Numidia) is a seaport of Algeria, in El Tarf Province, 56 miles (90 km) by rail east of Annaba and 10 miles (16 km) west of the Tunisian frontier. It is the centre of the Algerian and Tunisian coral fisheries and has an extensive industry in the curing of sardines. The harbor is small and exposed to the northeast and west winds.^[1]

El Kala attracts tourists from within and outside the country, especially during the summer. It is home to an exceptional ecosystem and was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1990.^[2]

Thinisa in Numidia was an ancient city in the Roman province of Numidia. It was important enough to become a bishopric.^{[citation needed]} The old fortified town was built on a rocky peninsula about 400 metres long, connected with the mainland by a sand bank.^[1]

La Calle from the times of its earliest records in the 10th century was the residence of coral merchants.^[1] French and Italian coral fishing companies were interested in the area from as early as 1553. A trade bastion^{[clarification needed]} called "Bastion de France" by its Corsican founders was established during that period principally for the exploitation of red coral and also to facilitate trade between southern France and that part of northern Algeria. The bastion was shut down and returned to the rule of the Bey of Constantine in 1816.

In 1677 the French moved their headquarters to La Calle. The company—Compagnie d'Afrique—which owned the concession for the fishery was suppressed in 1798 on the outbreak of war between France and Algeria. In 1806 the British consul-general at Algiers obtained the right to occupy Bona (Annaba) and La Calle for an annual rent of £11,000; but though the money was paid for several years no practical effect was given to the agreement. The French regained possession in 1817, were expelled during the wars of 1827, when La Calle was burnt, but returned and a new town was built up along the coast in 1836. The boats engaged in the fishery were mainly Italian, but the imposition, during the last quarter of the 19th century, of heavy taxes on all except French boats drove the foreign vessels away. For some years the industry was abandoned, but was restarted on a small scale in 1903.^[1]

In 1933, the Ancient diocese of Thinisa in Numidia was nominally restored as a Catholic titular see of the lowest (episcopal) rank.

It has had the following incumbents:

• Francesco Venanzio Filippini, Friars Minor (O.F.M.) (1933.05.23 – 1973.03.31)
• Mario Revollo Bravo (1973.11.13 – 1978.02.28) (later Cardinal)
• Javier Lozano Barragán (1979.06.05 – 1984.10.28) (later Cardinal)
• Mario Picchi, Salesians (S.D.B.) (1989.06.19 – 1997.03.29)
• Vincenzo Pelvi (1999.12.11 – 2006.10.14) (later Archbishop of Foggia–Bovino)
• Laurent Chu Văn Minh, Auxiliary Bishop of Hanoi (Vietnam) (2008.10.15 – present)

• European enclaves in North Africa before 1830
• Lake Mellah

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "La Calle". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 36.

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36°54′N 8°27′E / 36.900°N 8.450°E / 36.900; 8.450

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