Archaeological evidence of prehistoric human settlement on Sardinia island is present in the form of the
nuragheThe nuraghe is the main type of megalithic edifice found in Sardinia, dating back before 1000 BC. Today it has come to be the symbol of Sardinia and its distinctive culture...
which dot the land. Sardinia enters recorded history, however, through its contacts with the various people who sought to dominate western Mediterranean trade in
Classical AntiquityClassical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
: the
EgyptiansAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. The civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and...
, Phoenicians, and
RomansThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
. Initially under the political and economic alliance with the Phoenician cities, it was colonised and then conquered by Rome during the
First Punic WarThe First Punic War was the first of three major wars fought between Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea. Carthage, located in what is today Tunisia, was the dominant Western Mediterranean power at the beginning of...
(238 BC) but strong Punic cultural influences remained until the first century AD.
In the
Early Middle AgesThe Early Middle Ages, or Dark Ages, is a period in the history of Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It lasted from about AD 500 to 1000. The period featured raiding, migration, and conquest by Huns, Germanic peoples, Arabs, Vikings, Hungarians and others. There was frequent...
, through
barbarian movementsThe Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions or Völkerwanderung , was a period of human migration that occurred roughly between the years 300 to 700 CE in Europe, marking the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...
and the waning of Roman (by this time
ByzantineThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
) authority, the island fell out of the sphere of influence of any higher government.
SaracenSaracen was a term used by Europeans in the Middle Ages for Arabs at first, then later for all who professed the religion of Islam.-Etymology:...
raids provided an impetus for the creation of independent, quasi-royal
giudicatiThe giudicati were the indigenous kingdoms of Sardinia from about 900 until 1410, when the last fell to the Aragonese. The rulers of the giudicati were giudici , from the Latin iudice , often translates as "judge". The Latin for giudicato was iudicatus The giudicati (singular giudicato) were the...
in the eighth through tenth centuries. Only in the late eleventh century do these entities come into increased contact with western Europe and Christendom. Falling under papal influence, Sardinia becomes the focus of the rivalry of
GenoaThe Most Serene Republic of Genoa was an independent state in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast from 1005 to 1797, when it was invaded by armies of Revolutionary France under Napoleon. It was then succeeded by the Ligurian Republic, which existed until 1805 before being annexed by the...
and
PisaThe Republic of Pisa was a de facto independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa during the late tenth and eleventh centuries. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated Mediterranean and Italian trade for a century before being surpassed and...
and finally of the local population and the
Crown of AragonThe Crown of Aragon was a permanent union of multiple titles and states in the hands of the King of Aragon.At the height of its power by the 14th and 15th centuries, the Crown of Aragon was a thalassocracy controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain, Southwestern France, as well as...
, which subsumed the island as the
Kingdom of SardiniaKingdom of Sardinia, also known as Piedmont-Sardinia or Sardinia-Piedmont, was the name given to the possessions of the House of Savoy in 1720, when the crown of Sardinia was awarded by the Treaty of London to Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy to compensate him for the loss of the crown of Sicily to...
in (1324), which was to last until 1720 when it was acquired by the
House of SavoyThe House of Savoy was formed in the early eleventh century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy until the end of the Second World War...
, which later, in 1861, became the
Kingdom of ItalyThere have been several distinct entities known as the Kingdom of Italy. Italy under the rule of Odoacer from 476 to 493 is often called the kingdom of Italy, since it encompassed the Roman province of Italy and Odoacer is periodically styled rex...
and finally the Republic of Italy.
Prehistory
The most ancient human trace in Sardinia could be referred to the discovery of the
fossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous rock formations and sedimentary layers is known as the fossil record...
of an
Oreopithecus bamboliiOreopithecus bambolii is a prehistoric primate species from the Miocene epoch whose fossils have been found in Italy and in East Africa...
, a prehistoric anthropomorphic primate, dated 8.5 million years ago. In 1979 human remains were found that were dated to 150,000 BC. In 2004, in a cave in Logodoro a human finger bone was found that was dated up to 250,000 BC.
Prehistoric arrowheads (
3rd millennium BCThe 3rd millennium BC spans the Early to Middle Bronze Age.It represents a period of time in which imperialism, or the desire to conquer, grew to prominence, in the city states of the Middle East, but also throughout Eurasia, with Indo-European expansion to Anatolia, Europe and Central Asia. The...
) and figurines demonstrate a well-developed industry of stone carving.
Already in the Stone Age, Monte Arci played an important role. The old volcano was one of the central places where
obsidianObsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools without crystal growth...
was found and worked for cutting tools and arrowheads. Even now the volcanic glass can be found on the sides of the mountain. The Archeological Museum of
SassariSassari is an Italian city in Sardinia . It is the second-largest in terms of number of inhabitants and one of the most...
displays ceramics from the Copper or Aneolithic Age (2600 BC).
Nuragic Era
Prehistoric Sardinia is characterised by stone structures called
nuragheThe nuraghe is the main type of megalithic edifice found in Sardinia, dating back before 1000 BC. Today it has come to be the symbol of Sardinia and its distinctive culture...
, of which there are more than 8,000. The most famous is the complex of
BaruminiBarumini is a comune in the Province of Medio Campidano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about 50 km north of Cagliari and about 15 km northeast of Sanluri...
in the
province of Medio CampidanoMedio Campidano is a province in the autonomous region of Sardinia, Italy.It was created in 2005 from part of the province of Cagliari. It contains 28 communities, the largest of which by population are :...
. The nuraghe were mainly built in the period from about 1800 to 1200 BC, though many were used until the Roman period. Next to these were built holy water-places (for example Santa Cristina, Sardara) and
dolmenA dolmen is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of three or more upright stones supporting a large flat horizontal capstone . Most date from the early Neolithic period...
s.
It is known that the Sardinians had contact with the Myceneans, who traded with the western Mediterranean. Contact with powerful cities of Crete, such as Kydonia, is clear from pottery recovered in archaeological excavations in Sardinia. The alleged connection with the
ShardanaThe Sherden sea pirates are one of several groups of "Sea Peoples" who appear in fragmentary historical records for the Mediterranean region in the second millennium B.C.; little is known about them. On reliefs they are shown carrying a round shield and a long thrusting Naue II type sword...
, the sea people that invaded
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
has been supported by professor Giovanni Ugas from the
University of CagliariThe University of Cagliari is a university located in Cagliari, Italy. It was founded in 1620 and is organized in 11 Faculties.-History:The Studium Generalis Kalaritanum was founded in 1606 along the lines of the old Spanish Universities of Salamanca, Valladolid and Lérida...
; however, "That view has lost most supporters... If there is a connection at all between Sardinia and the invaders of the Nile delta, it probably took the form of small numbers of nuragic seamen who joined a mixed group of invaders who attacked Egypt." The name Sardinia is of unknown origin, though it may have to do with a tribe called the Sardi.
Phoenician settlement
From the
8th century BCThe 8th century BC started the first day of 800 BC and ended the last day of 701 BC.- Overview :The 8th century BC was a period of great changes in civilizations. In Egypt, the 23rd and 24th dynasties led to rule from Nubia in the 25 Dynasty...
, Phoenicians founded several cities and strongholds on Sardinia; Tharros, Bithia, Sulcis, Nora and Karalis (
CagliariCagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means the castle...
). The Phoenicians came originally from what is now
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
and founded a vast trading network in the Mediterranean. They settled everywhere in the region. Sardinia had a special position because it was central in the Western Mediterranean between
CarthageCarthage refers both to an ancient city in present-day Tunisia, and a modern-day suburb of Tunis. The civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic or Carthaginian...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
, the
Rhone riverThe Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, originating in Switzerland and running from there through the south-eastern corner of France...
and the
Etruscan civilizationEtruscan civilization is the modern English name given to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy and Corsica, residing between the Apennines and the River Tiber, whom the ancient Romans called Etrusci or Tusci...
area. The mining area around Iglesias was important for the metals lead and zinc. The cities were founded on strategic points, often peninsulas or islands near estuaries, easy to defend and natural harbours. After the Phoenicians, the Carthagianians took over control in that part of the Mediterranean, around 550 BC. They expanded their influence to the eastern and southern coast from Bosa to Karalis, consolidating a large number of Phoenician colonies all over the western Mediterranean under one empire for the first time. The cities were administrated by plenipotentiaries called
Sufetes, which stressed the growing of grain and cereals.
Roman Empire
In 240, in the course of the
First Punic WarThe First Punic War was the first of three major wars fought between Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea. Carthage, located in what is today Tunisia, was the dominant Western Mediterranean power at the beginning of...
, the Carthaginian mercenaries on the island revolted and gave the Romans, who some years earlier had defeated the Carthiaginians in the sea off Olbia and had occupied Sulci, the opportunity to land on Sardinia and occupy it. In
238 BC-Carthage:* Hamilcar Barca strikes at the supply lines of the mercenary army besieging Carthage, forcing them to cease the siege of the city. He then fights a series of running engagements with the mercenary armies, keeping them off-balance. Hamilcar manages to force the mercenary armies into a box...
the Romans took over the whole island, without meeting any resistance. They took over an existing developed infrastructure and urbanized culture (at least in the plains). Along with
CorsicaCorsica is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
it formed a province under a
praetorPraetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, either before it was mustered or more typically in the field, or an elected magistrate assigned duties that varied depending on the historical period. The...
. Together with Sicily it formed one of the main granaries of Rome until the Romans conquered Egypt in the first century BC.
A revolt, led by two Sardo-Punic nobles, broke out after the crushing Roman defeat at
CannaeCannae is an ancient village of the Apulia region of south east Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of Barletta.-Geography:It is situated near the river Aufidus , on a hill on the right Cannae (mod. Canne della Battaglia) is an ancient village of the Apulia region of south east Italy. It is a...
(216 BC). A Roman army of 23,000 men, under
Titus Manlius TorquatusTitus Manlius Torquatus may refer to three Roman Republic consuls of the gens Manlia:* Titus Manlius Torquatus , son of Lucius, consul in 347, 344, and 340 BC* Titus Manlius Torquatus , son of Titus, consul in 299 BC who died in office...
, met the Carthagianian-Sardinian allied forces in the south of the island, defeating them and killing 12,000 men. The so-called
Sardi Pelliti ("Fur-covered Sardinians") living in the impervious mountains of the interior resisted the Roman colonization for more than a century,
Marcus Caecilius MetellusMarcus Caecilius Metellus may refer to:* Marcus Caecilius Metellus I, Roman quaestor, tribune, aedile, 3rd century BC* Marcus Caecilius Metellus II, Roman consul in 115 BC...
subduing them only in 127 BC.
Under Roman domination,
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
became the speech of the majority of the inahbitants, ultimately developing in to the
Sardinian languageSardinian is, after Italian, the main language spoken on the island of Sardinia, Italy. It is considered the most conservative of the Romance languages in terms of phonology and is noted for its Paleosardinian substratum....
. The Phoenician-Punic culture remained very strong under the Romans until the first centuries AD. Tharros, Nora, Bithia, Antas and Monte Sirai are now important archaeological monuments where architecture and city planning can be studied.
During the
Roman periodAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, the geographer
PtolemyClaudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Greek ancestry. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer and a poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under the Roman Empire, and is believed to have been born in the town of...
noted that Sardinia was inhabited by the following peoples, from north to south: the
TibulatiThe Tibulati , also called Tibulates and Tibulatii, were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt at the extreme north of the island, about the ancient city of Tibula, near the Corsi and immediately north of the Coracenses.-References:*...
and the
CorsiThe Corsi were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt at the extreme north of the island, near the Tibulati and immediately north of the Coracenses. The Corsi gave their name to the island of Corsica.-References:*...
, the
CoracensesThe Coracenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt south of the Tibulati and the Corsi and north of the Carenses and the Cunusitani.-References:*...
, the
CarensesThe Carenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt south of the Coracenses and north of the Salcitani and the Lucuidonenses.-References:*...
and the
CunusitaniThe Cunusitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt south of the Coracenses and north of the Salcitani and the Lucuidonenses.-References:*...
, the
SalcitaniThe Salcitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt south of the Carenses and the Cunusitani and north of the Æsaronenses.-References:*...
and the
LucuidonensesThe Lucuidonenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt south of the Carenses and the Cunusitani and north of the Æsaronenses.-References:*...
, the
ÆsaronensesThe Æsaronenses or Aesaronenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt south of the Salcitani and the Lucuidonenses and north of the Æchilenenses or Cornenses.-References:*...
, the
ÆchilenensesThe Æchilenenses also called the Cornenses and Æchilenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt south of the Æsaronenses and north of the Rucensi.-References:*...
(also called Cornenses), the
RucensiThe Rucensi were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt south of the Æchilenenses and north of the Celsitani and the Corpicenses.-References:*...
, the
CelsitaniThe Celsitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt south of the Rucensi and north of the Scapitani and the Siculensi.-References:*...
and the
CorpicensesThe Corpicenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt south of the Rucensi and north of the Scapitani and the Siculensi.-References:*...
, the
ScapitaniThe Scapitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt south of the Celsitani and the Corpicenses and north of the Neapolitani and the Valentini.-References:*...
and the
SiculensiThe Siculensi were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt south of the Celsitani and the Corpicenses and north of the Neapolitani and the Valentini.-References:*...
, the
NeapolitaniThe Neapolitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt south of the Scapitani and the Siculensi and north of the Solcitani and the Noritani. Their chief city was Neapolis, located approximately 20 km north of modern Guspini....
and the
Valentini-Surname:* Giovanni Valentini , Italian baroque composer, teacher of Johann Kaspar Kerll* Giovanni Valentini -Surname:* Giovanni Valentini (c.1582–1649), Italian baroque composer, teacher of Johann Kaspar Kerll* Giovanni Valentini (classical composer) -Surname:* Giovanni Valentini...
, the
SolcitaniThe Solcitani also called the Sulcitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt at the extreme south part of the island, immediately south of the Neapolitani and the Valentini. Their chief city was Sulci, adjacent to the modern Sant'Antioco.-References:*...
and the
NoritaniThe Noritani also called Norenses the were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy . They dwelt at the extreme south part of the island, immediately south of the Neapolitani and the Valentini. Their chief town was Nora ....
.
Barbarian Invasions and Byzantines
After the fall of the
Western Roman EmpireThe Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire....
, Sardinia was subject to several conquests. In
456-Western Roman Empire:* Capua is destroyed by the Vandals.* Ricimer beats the Vandals in a sea battle near Corsica.* 5 October—Theodoric II of the Visigoths, in the name of the emperor Avitus, defeats the Sueves on the river Urbicus near Astorga in Gallaecia; this shatters the power of the Sueves.*...
, the
VandalsThe Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Goth Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths and regent of the Visigoths, was allied by marriage with the Vandals as well as with the Burgundians and the Franks under .The Vandals are perhaps...
, an East Germanic tribe, coming from North Africa, occupied the coastal cities of the island. A brief Eastern Roman reconquest did not last long, and the Vandals imposed garrisons guarded by African auxiliaries, like the
MauriMauri may refer to:*In the Māori language of New Zealand and the Rotuman language of Rotuma, Mauri means the life force which all objects contain.*In the Finnish language, Mauri is a male name....
of what was later called
BarbagiaBarbagia is an mountain area of inner Sardinia, western Italy. It is mostly comprised in the province of Nuoro....
, whose troublesome presence lasted probably for centuries. In
533-Byzantine Empire:*June 21 – Belisarius sails from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in North Africa.*September 13—Battle of Ad Decimum: Belisarius defeats the Vandals under Gelimer. Gelimer, forced to flee, leaves Carthage unprotected....
, Sardinia rebelled under
GoddasGoddas or Godas was a Gothic nobleman of the Vandal kingdom in Africa. He was sent by Gelimer to collect an outstanding tax from the people of Sardinia....
, a Goth.
In 534 the small Vandal forces surrendered immediately to the Byzantines when news of the Vandal collapse; thenceforth the island was part of the
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
, included in the African
prefectPrefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
ure. The local governor sat in Caralis. During the Gothic Wars much of the island fell easily to the Ostrogoths, but an army sent from Carthage and the final fall of German resistance in the mainland reassured the
ByzantineThe word Byzantine may refer to:Topics directly related to the Byzantine Empire* A citizen of The Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
control.
One of the few ethnic Sardinians known from this period was one
OspitoneOspitone was a Christian chief of Barbagia in Sardinia in the late sixth century. Gregory the Great, in a letter dated to 594, commended Ospitone for his Christianity at a time when most Barbaricini were still pagans "living, all like irrational animals, ignorant of the truth of God and worshiping...
, a leader of the Barbaricini (people of
BarbagiaBarbagia is an mountain area of inner Sardinia, western Italy. It is mostly comprised in the province of Nuoro....
). According to the
Pope Gregory IPope St. Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death...
's letters, in the island co-existed a Romanized and Christianized area (that of the
provinciales) with, in the interior, pagan or semi-pagan cultures (
Gens Barbaricina). The ruler of one of the latter,
OspitoneOspitone was a Christian chief of Barbagia in Sardinia in the late sixth century. Gregory the Great, in a letter dated to 594, commended Ospitone for his Christianity at a time when most Barbaricini were still pagans "living, all like irrational animals, ignorant of the truth of God and worshiping...
, converted to Christianity in 594 after a diplomatic exchange. Christianization however remained for long influenced by eastern and Byzantine culture.
Saracens
Starting from
705Alternate meanings: Area code 705; Project 705; Life 705-Asia:* February 20—In a coup d'état, Chinese Chancellor Zhang Jianzhi executes the Zhang brothers and restores Emperor Zhongzong...
–
706-By region:*July 2 – In China, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang had the remains of his mother and recently deceased ruling empress Wu Zetian, her son Li Xian, her grandson Li Chongrun, and granddaughter Li Xianhui all interred in at the same tomb complex as his father and Wu Zetian's husband Emperor...
, the Saracens from North Africa (recently conquered by the Arab armies) harassed the population of the coastal cities. News about the political situation of Sardinia in the following centuries is scarce. Due to Saracen attacks, in the 9th century Tharros was abandoned in favor of Oristano, after more than 1800 years of occupation; Caralis and numerous other coastal centres suffered the same fate. There was news of another massive Saracen sea attack in 1015 from Spain, led by Mujahid (Latinized in
Museto), who established a colony in the north in 1018-1028. Pope Benedict VIII asked the aid of the
maritime republicsMaritime republics is the collective name of a number of important city-states which flourished in Italy and Dalmatia in the Middle Ages. The major four are taken to be Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa and Venice. These states competed with each other both militarily and commercially...
of Pisa and Genoa in the struggle against the Arabs.
Giudicati
From the mid-11th century the
GiudicatiThe giudicati were the indigenous kingdoms of Sardinia from about 900 until 1410, when the last fell to the Aragonese. The rulers of the giudicati were giudici , from the Latin iudice , often translates as "judge". The Latin for giudicato was iudicatus The giudicati (singular giudicato) were the...
("held by judges") appeared. The title of
giudice ("judge"; "iudike" in sardu) was an heir of that of the Byzantine governor after the creation of the
Exarchate of AfricaThe Exarchate of Africa or of Carthage, after its capital, was the name of an administrative division of the Eastern Roman Empire encompassing its possessions on the Western Mediterranean, ruled by an exarch, or viceroy...
in 582 (
Prases or
Judex Provinciae). In the 8th-9th centuries the four
partes depending from Caralis grew increasingly independent, the Byzantines being totally cut off from the Tyrrhenian Sea by the Muslim conquest of Sicily in
827-Europe:*Arabs invade Sicily.*Agnellus Iustinianus Particiacus appointed Roman consul and duke of Venice.-Religion:* August—Pope Valentine succeeds Pope Eugene II as the 100th pope.* Pope Gregory IV succeeds Pope Valentine as the 101st pope ....
. A letter from
Pope Nicholas IPope Saint Nicholas I, , or Nicholas the Great, reigned from April 24, 858 until his death. He is remembered as a consolidator of papal authority and power, exerting decisive influence upon the historical development of the papacy and its position among the Christian nations of Western Europe, and...
in 864 mentions for the first time the "Sardinian judges", their autonomy now clear in a later letter by
Pope John VIIIJohn VIII was pope from December 13, 872 to December 16, 882. He is often considered one of the ablest pontiffs of the ninth century and the last bright spot on the papacy until Leo IX two centuries later....
, which defined them as "Princes".
At the dawn of the judicial era Sardinia had some 330,000 inhabitants, of which 120,000 were free. These were subjected to the authority of local
curators (administrators), in turn subjected to the judge (who also administrated justice and was the commander of the army). The church was also powerful, and at this time it had completely abandoned the
Eastern RiteThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
. The late eleventh century arrival of
BenedictineBenedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
,
CamaldoleseThe Camaldolese are part of the Benedictine family of monastic communities which follow the way of life outlined in the Rule of St. Benedict, written in the 6th century....
and other monks from the
MezzogiornoSouthern Italy or the Mezzogiorno generally refers to the southern portion of the continental Italian peninsula and Sicily, historically forming the Kingdom of Two Sicilies plus the island of Sardinia...
,
LombardyLombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region...
, and
ProvenceProvence is a region of southeastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, especially the monasteries Montecassino, Saint-Victor de Marseille, Vallombrosa, boosted the agriculture in a land which was extremely underdeveloped. The
Condaghi (catalogues, cartularies) of the monasteries, which record property transactions, are an important source for the study of the island in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Evidence from the
Condaghi of San Pietro di Silki, in Sassari, and Santa Maria di Bonarcado concerning the children of slaves has been adduced to show that differences in agricultural lifestyles between regions may affect the survival rate of females, hypothetically through increased infanticide of baby girls. The abbacy of Santa Maria di Bonarcado contained more central, upland regions where a pastoral economy dominated and women were less economically useful; among children in that region, sex ratios are highly skewed in favour of men. On the other hand, in the region of San Pietro di Silki, less pastoral, child sex ratios are not skewed abnormally.
There were five (historically known) Giudicati:
AgugliastraThe Giudicato of Agugliastra or Ogliastra was a small and short-lived giudicato in Sardinia probably in the tenth and eleventh centuries. It lay south of Gallura, east of Arborea, and north of Cagliari along the Tyrrhenian Sea on the east of the island. Its capital was Ogliastra.Agugliastra is the...
, Logudoro,
CagliariThe Giudicato of Cagliari was one of the four Sardinian giudicati of the Middle Ages. It covered the entire south and central east portion of the island and was composed of thirteen subdivisions called curatoriae. To its north and west lay Arborea and north and on the east lay Gallura and Logudoro...
, Arborea and
GalluraThe Giudicato of Gallura was one of four Sardinian giudicati of the Middle Ages. These were de facto independent states ruled by judges bearing the title iudex . Gallura, a name which comes from gallus, meaning rooster , was subdivided into ten curatoriae governed by curatores under the judge...
. Agugliastra was early on absorbed by Cagliari and Arborea and Logudoro (and perhaps Gallura) were united for a time in the eleventh century.
The initiatives of the
Gregorian reformThe Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, circa 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy...
ers led to greater contact between Sardinia and the continent, especially through the desires of the judges to establish monasteries with monks from continental monasteries at Montecassino and
MarseilleMarseille , formerly known as Massalia , is the 2nd most populous French city as well as the oldest city in France...
. By the twelfth century, the Sardinian
Giudicati, though obscure, are visible through the mists of time. They professed allegiance to the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
, which put them under the authority of the Archdiocese of Pisa, superseding the ancient primacy of the Archdiocese of Cagliari on the island. Some historians have even hypothesised that Sardinia was more or less a theocracy under the Cagliaritan diocese until their power was replaced by the Pisan.
Often warring between one another, the
Giudicati made a great number of commercial concessions to the Pisans and the
GenoeseThe Most Serene Republic of Genoa was an independent state in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast from 1005 to 1797, when it was invaded by armies of Revolutionary France under Napoleon. It was then succeeded by the Ligurian Republic, which existed until 1805 before being annexed by the...
. The
Repubbliche MarinareMaritime republics is the collective name of a number of important city-states which flourished in Italy and Dalmatia in the Middle Ages. The major four are taken to be Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa and Venice. These states competed with each other both militarily and commercially...
soon became the true masters of the Sardinian economy.
In the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, all four
Giudicati passed to foreign dynasties and the local families were relegated to minor positions. Arborea passed to the
CatalanThe Catalans are the people from, or with origins in Catalonia, an Autonomous Community in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France –known in Catalonia proper as Catalunya Nord, and in France as the Pays Catalan– are often included in this definition.-Extended concept:The...
House of Cervera (Cervera-Bas) in 1185, though this was contested for the next few decades. In 1188, Cagliari was conquered by the House of Massa from the
Republic of PisaThe Republic of Pisa was a de facto independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa during the late tenth and eleventh centuries. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated Mediterranean and Italian trade for a century before being surpassed and...
. Gallura became by marriage — it had been inherited by a woman,
ElenaElena was the daughter and successor of Barisone II of Gallura and was named after her mother of the Lacon family. She ruled Gallura from the death of her father until her own death, though she was eclipsed by her husband after 1207....
— a possession of the
House of ViscontiVisconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. Two distinct Visconti families are known: the first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century, who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia, where they became rulers of Gallura; the...
, another Pisan family, in 1207. Only Logudoro survived to the end under local Sardinian rulers. However, its end was early. It passed to Genoa in 1259 after the death of its last judge (
Giudicessa),
AdelasiaAdelasia , eldest child of Marianus II of Logudoro by Agnes of Massa, daughter of William I of Cagliari, and successor of her brother, Barisone III, in 1236, was the Judge of Logudoro from 1236 and Judge of Gallura from 1238....
, only a year after the Pisans deposed the last ruler of Cagliari. Gallura survived longer, but the enemies of the Visconti in Pisa soon removed the last judge,
NinoUgolino Visconti , better known as Nino, was the Giudice of Gallura from 1275 or 1276 to his death. He was a son of Giovanni Visconti and nephew of Ugolino della Gherardesca. He was the first husband of Beatrice, daughter of Obizzo II d'Este...
, a friend of
Dante AlighieriDurante degli Alighieri , commonly known as Dante, was an Italian poet of the Middle Ages. His central work, the Divina Commedia , is often considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature.In...
, in 1288.
About the same time,
SassariSassari is an Italian city in Sardinia . It is the second-largest in terms of number of inhabitants and one of the most...
declared itself a free commune allied to Genoa. In the early fourteenth century, much of Eastern Sardinia was under Pisan authority. Arborea, however, survived until 1420. The most remarkable Sardinian figure of the Middle Ages,
Eleanor of ArboreaEleanor was the giudicessa of Arborea from 1383 to her death. Known to English historians as the "Gloriana" of the Italian States, a comparison to Elizabeth the First of England,she was one of the last — and most powerful and significant — Sardinian "Judges", ; as...
, was co-ruler of that region in the late 14th century; she laid the foundations for the laws that remained valid until 1827, the
Carta de LoguThe Carta de Logu was legal code of the Giudicato of Arborea promulgated by the giudicessa Eleanor in 1392. It was in force in Sardinia until it was superseded by the code of Charles Felix in April 1827....
.
Kingdom of the Crown of Aragon
In 1323 the Catalan, under Peter, son of
King James IIJames II , called the Just was the King of Sicily from 1285 to 1296 and King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. In 1297 he was granted the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica...
, disembarked near
IglesiasIglesias is a comune of Carbonia-Iglesias province in Sardinia, Italy. Situated at 190 m in the hills in the southwest of Sardinia, it was a centre of a mining district, with lead, zinc, and silver being extracted, as well as for the distillation of sulfuric acid...
, in Southern Sardinia. The Pisane intervened but were defeated both by sea and land, and were forced to leave the Cagliari area as well as Gallura, maintaining only their castle in Carali. In 1353
Marianus IV of ArboreaMarianus IV , called the Great, was the Judge of Arborea from 1347 to his death. He was, as his nickname indicates, the greatest sovereign of Arborea. He was a legislator and a warrior whose reign saw the commencement of massive codification of the laws of his realm and incessant warfare with the...
, allied with the
DoriaDoria, originally de Auria , meaning "the sons of Auria", and then de Oria or d'Oria, is the name of an old and extremely wealthy Genoese family who played a major role in the history of the Republic of Genoa from the 12th century to the 16th century.-Origins:According to legend, a noble Genoese...
family, waged war against the Catalan, defeating them at Decimum and besieging Sassari, but unable to capture Cagliari. The Peace of Sanluri (1355) ushered in a period of tranquillity, but hostilities were resumed in 1395, with Arborea initially able to capture much of the Island. However, in 1409 the Aragonese crushed a Genoese fleet coming in support the Sardinians, and destroyed the Giudicato army at the
Battle of SanluriThe Battle of Sanluri was fought on June 30, 1409 between the armies of the Giudicato of Arborea and the Catalan-Sicilian army of King Martin I of Sicily....
.
OristanoOristano is a town and municipality, chef-lieu of the province of Oristano, on the island of Sardinia, Italy. It has approximately 33,000 inhabitants.Its economy is mainly based on fishing, agriculture and, to a certain extent, tourism.- History :...
, the Arborean capital, fell on March 29, 1410. The last
Giudice of Arborea sold his remaining territories in 1420, in exchange for 100,000
florinsThe Italian florin was a coin struck from 1252 to 1523 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard. It had 54 grains of gold . The "fiorino d'oro" of the Republic of Florence was the first European gold coin struck in sufficient quantities to play a significant commercial...
.
The watchtowers all along the coast are called Catalan Towers and served to protect the island against the Arab incursions. Some of these towers were built with the stones of the Phoenician cities because they lay on strategic sites. A nice example of re-use for secular and ecclesiastical architecture can also be found in the church of Santa Giusta where the old city of Othoca had been.
The loss of the independence, the firm Catalan (later Spanish) rule, with the introduction of a sterile feudalism, as well as the discovery of the
AmericasThe Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere or New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America...
, provoked an unstoppable decline of Sardinia. A short period of resurgence occurred under the local noble Leonardo Alagon, marquess of Oristano, who managed to defeat the viceroyal army in the 1470s but was later crushed at the Battle of Macomer (1478), ending any further hope of independence for the island. The unceasing attacks from North African pirates and a series of plagues (from 1582, 1652 and 1655) further worsened the situation. In 1637 a French fleet sacked Oristano.
Kingdom of Sardinia
The
treaty of UtrechtThe Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713. The treaties among several European states, including France, Spain, Great Britain,...
(1713) assigned Sardinia to the Austrian Habsburg and Sicily to the
PiedmontPiedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,399 km
2 and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the so-called Occitan Valleys...
ese
SavoyThe House of Savoy was formed in the early eleventh century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy until the end of the Second World War...
ards.
Philip V of SpainPhilip V of Spain , fils de France and duc d'Anjou, was king of Spain from 1700 to 14 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son, Louis I of Spain, and from 31 August 1724 to 1746, assuming the throne again upon his son's death. Philip was the first Bourbon king of Spain...
however, briefly recovered the island in 1717, but in 1720 the European powers assigned Sicily to Emperor Charles VII and Sardinia to the
House of SavoyThe House of Savoy was formed in the early eleventh century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy until the end of the Second World War...
, so Vittorio Amedeo II became the King of Sardinia.
The 28 of April 1794 in Cagliari during an uprising were killed two piedmont officials. That was the start of a revolt (called Anti-Feudal Motions or
Moti rivoluzionari sardi) all over the island that culminated in the expulsion of the tyrants. The 28 of December 1795 in Sassari the insurgents, occurred mainly from the region of
LogudoroThe Logudoro is a large traditional region in central-northern Sardinia, Italy. The local dialect is known as Logudorese....
to demonstrate against
feudalismFeudalism is a decentralized sociopolitical structure in which a weak monarchy attempts to control the lands of the realm through reciprocal agreements with regional leaders...
, occupied the city.
The 13 of February 1796, in order to suppress a riot, the viceroy Filippo Vivalda gave to the Sardinian magistrate
Giovanni Maria AngioyGiovanni Maria Angioy was a Sardinian politician and patriot and to this day he is considered a national hero in Sardinia....
the role of
Alternos, that meant a substitute of the viceroy himself. So Angioy moved from Cagliari to Sassari and during is in journey almost all the villages started the uprising, asking for the end of feudalism and for the independence of Sardinia's people.
In 1799 King Victor Emmanuel I was ousted from Piedmont by the
French armyThe Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts declared against Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played...
, and moved his court to Cagliari, then in 1814 the King returned to
TurinTurin is a major city as well as a business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River surrounded by the Alpine arch...
.
In the end of 18th century were restored the two Universities of
SassariThe University of Sassari is a university located in Sassari, Italy. It was founded in 1562 and is organized in 11 Faculties.
...
and
CagliariThe University of Cagliari is a university located in Cagliari, Italy. It was founded in 1620 and is organized in 11 Faculties.-History:The Studium Generalis Kalaritanum was founded in 1606 along the lines of the old Spanish Universities of Salamanca, Valladolid and Lérida...
.
With the "Editto delle Chiudende" (a legislative act), under the King Victor Emmanuel I, in 1823, were abolished all community latifundias, introducing the
public propertyPublic property is property which is jointly owned by a whole community of individuals or by a non-communistic, dictatorial, or totalitarian government, as opposed to private property, which is owned exclusively by an individual or individuals jointly that do not constitute the whole community.In...
.
The concession obtained by Sardinians of the same rights of Piedmont happened in 1847, under King Charles Albert, with the so-called
Unione Perfetta (Perfect Union).
New infrastructure was built, from 1800, under King Carlo Felice. The existing main road from south (Cagliari) to north (Sassari), was enhanced. Today it still bears his name. Also, the first ferry route between the island and
GenoaGenoa is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. The city has a population of about 610,000 and the urban area has a population of about 900,000...
was established, using steamboats, such as the Gulnara. The first railway was inaugurated in 1871. By the end of the century the Royal Railways had received 30 locomotives, 106 passenger railroad cars and 436 cargo cars.
New urban plans and new villages (as Santa Teresa di Gallura) were realised, following the urban model of the new capital of the Reign (
TurinTurin is a major city as well as a business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River surrounded by the Alpine arch...
).
The economy was focused mainly on primary sector (agriculture and sheep husbandry) and mining. The majority of mining societies operating in Sardinia dependeded then on a non-Sardinian capital money, but the Sardinian entrepreneur Giovanni Antonio Sanna, in 1848, achieved the property of Montevecchio's mine, becoming the 3rd richest man of Kingdom.
Kingdom of Italy
With the Unification of Italy in 1861, the Kingdom of Sardinia became the
Kingdom of ItalyThere have been several distinct entities known as the Kingdom of Italy. Italy under the rule of Odoacer from 476 to 493 is often called the kingdom of Italy, since it encompassed the Roman province of Italy and Odoacer is periodically styled rex...
.
In 1883 the first train travelled between Cagliari and Sassari.
During the
first world warWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
the Sardinian soldiers of the Brigata Sassari distinguished themselves, with several being decorated with gold medals and other honours. Following the war, Italian Parliament passed a bill (called
la legge del milione) to establish a budget of one million
lire to develop infrastructure in order to encourage economic development. However, only a portion of the designated funds were ever distributed.
The writer
Grazia DeleddaGrazia Deledda was a Sardinian writer whose works won her a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1926.-Biography:...
won Nobel Prize for Literature in 1926.
During the
fascistFascism, , comprises a radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideology and a corporatist economic ideology developed in Italy. Fascists believe that nations and/or races are in perpetual conflict whereby only the strong can survive by being healthy, vital, and by asserting themselves in...
period, and implementation of the policy of
autarkyAutarky is the quality of being self-sufficient. Usually the term is applied to political states or their economic policies. Autarky exists whenever an entity can survive or continue its activities without external assistance. Autarky is not necessarily economic. For example, a military autarky...
, several swamps were reclaimed around the island and agrarian communities founded. The main communities were in the area of Oristano, where the village of Mussolinia (now called
ArboreaArborea is a town in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture, with production of vegetables and fruit....
) was located, and in the area adjacent the city of Alghero, within the region of
NurraThe Nurra is a geographical region in the northwest of Sardinia, Italy. It is the second largest plain of the island, located between the towns of Sassari, Porto Torres and Alghero...
,
FertiliaFertilia [fer-tì-lia] is a village on the municipality of Alghero in the province of Sassari, Sardinia, Italy.-History:Fertilia was built by the Fascist government of Italy in the 1930s, after the draining of the marshes which covered the area....
was founded. Also established during that time was the city of Carbonia, which became the main centre of mining activity. Works to dry the numerous waste lands and the reprise of mining activities favoured the arrival of settlers and immigrants, from
VenetoVeneto , is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 4.8 million, and its capital is Venice....
, and after after the
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Istrians and Dalmatians, from
YugoslaviaYugoslavia is a term that describes three political entities that existed successively on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century.The first country to be known by this...
.
The repression by the fascist regime of its opponents within the region was ruthless.
Antonio GramsciAntonio Gramsci was an Italian philosopher, writer, politician and political theorist. A founding member and onetime leader of the Communist Party of Italy, he was imprisoned by Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime...
, one of the founders of
Italian Communist PartyThe Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party...
, was arrested and died in prison. The anarchist Michele Schirru was executed after a failed assassination plot against
Benito MussoliniBenito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini,
KSMOM GCTE was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism. He became the Prime Minister of Italy in 1922 and began using the title Il Duce by...
.
During the
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Sardinia had been theater of bombing, the city of Cagliari was almost totally destroyed.
Italian Republic and Sardinian Autonomy
In 1948 Sardinia was declared an autonomous region. The first regional elections were held on may 8, 1949.
By 1951,
malariaMalaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 350–500 million cases of malaria, killing between one and...
was successfully eliminated with the support of the
Rockefeller FoundationThe Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
, which facilitated the commencement of the Sardinian tourist boom, mainly focused on beach holidays and elite tourism. Today about ten million people visit the island every year.
With the increase in tourism, coal decreased in importance. However, shortly after the second World War a ponderous industrialization effort was commenced, the so-called "
Piani di Rinascita" (Rebirth Plans), with the initiation of major infrastructure projects on the island. This included the realization of new dams and roads, reforestation, agricultural zones on reclaimed marsh land, and large industrial complexes (primarily oil refineries and related petrochemical operations). These efforts to create jobs have largely failed due to the high costs of transportation that could not compensate the cheap labor.
In the 1950s and 1960s the first great Sardinian migration began. In the early 1960s with the creation of petrochemical industries, thousands of ex-farmers became specialised workers. Nevertheless since 1973 the international oil crisis caused the firing of thousands of workers employed in the petrochemical industry.
The economic crisis,
unemploymentUnemployment occurs when a person is available to work and seeking work but currently without work. The prevalence of unemployment is usually measured using the unemployment rate, which is defined as the percentage of those in the labor force who are unemployed...
, the forced
militarizationMilitarization, or militarisation, is the process by which a society organizes itself for military conflict and violence. It is related to militarism, which is an ideology that reflects the level of militarization of a state...
of the island territory (70% of Italian military bases were located in Sardinia) aggravated the crime rate, as evidenced by the increasing frequency of phenomena such as kidnappings and political subversion, with the birth of some communist groups, the most famous were Barbagia Rossa, and the Sardinian Fighting Movement, that claimed several terrorist attempts, between the 1970s and the early 1980s.
In the 1983 for the once a militant of an autonomist party, the
Sardinian Action PartyThe Sardinian Action Party is a regionalist social-democratic Italian political party active in Sardinia.-History:...
(
Partito Sardo d'Azione), was elected president of the regional parliament. Neverteless in the 1980s several
independenceIndependence is the self-government of a nation, country, or state by its residents and population, or some portion thereof, generally exercising sovereignty....
movements were born, evolving into parties in the 1990s. In 2006, the first independentist was elected to public office in the the Province of Sassari.
In 1999
SardinianSardinian is, after Italian, the main language spoken on the island of Sardinia, Italy. It is considered the most conservative of the Romance languages in terms of phonology and is noted for its Paleosardinian substratum....
was granted co-official status alongside the Italian language.
Sardinia's history is still visible in language and culture. Also noticeable is the difference between coastal regions and the inland. Coastal regions have always been more open to outside influences. Nowadays Sardinia is most known for its coasts (La Maddalena, Costa Smeralda), the north-western coast near Sassari (Alghero, Stintino, Castelsardo) and Cagliari, because these are easily reachable by ship and by plane.
Today Sardinia is a phasing-in EU region, featured by a diversified economy, mainly focused on tourism and the tertiary, the economic efforts of last twenty years have reduced the handicap of insularity, for example with low cost air companies and information and informatic technologies, thanks to the
CRS4The CRS4 also known as Center for Advanced Studies, Research and Development in Sardinia is an interdisciplinary research center, founded by the Sardinia Autonomous Region, in the November 30, 1990...
(Center for Advanced Studies, Research and Development in Sardinia), which developed the first Italian
websiteA website is a collection of related web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that are addressed with a common domain name or IP address in an Internet Protocol-based network...
, and invented the webmail, in 1995, that brought to the birth of several telecommunication companies and internet service providers based on the island, as Video On Line, in 1993,
TiscaliTiscali may refer to:*Tiscali, an archaeological village of Nuragici people, in Sardinia, Italy, notable because it was completely inside a huge cavern*Tiscali SpA, a telecom company based in Italy*Tiscali TV, a UK Digital TV Service....
, in 1998 and Andala UMTS, in 1999.