Owing to the variety of Sardinia'secosystems, which include mountains,[12] woods, plains, stretches of largely uninhabited territory, streams, rocky coasts, and long sandy beaches,[13][14] Sardinia has been metaphorically described as a micro-continent.[15] In the modern era, many travelers and writers have extolled the beauty of its long-untouched landscapes, which retain vestiges of theprehistoricNuragic civilization.[16]
The name Sardinia has pre-Latin roots. It comes from the pre-Romanethnonym *s(a)rd-, laterromanised assardus (femininesarda). It makes its first appearance on theNora Stone, where the wordŠRDN, or *Šardana, testifies to the name's existence when thePhoenician merchants first arrived.[17]
According toTimaeus, one ofPlato's dialogues, Sardinia (referred to by mostancient Greek authors asSardṓ,Σαρδώ) andits people as well might have been named after a legendary woman called Sardṓ (Σαρδώ), born inSardis (Σάρδεις), capital of the ancient Kingdom ofLydia.[18][19] There has also been speculation that identifies the ancientNuragic Sards with theSherden, one of theSea Peoples.[20][21][22][23][24] It is suggested that the name had a religious connotation from its use also as the adjective for the ancient Sardinian mythological hero-godSardus Pater[25] ("Sardinian Father"; a common explanation that the term means "Father of the Sardinians" is incorrect, as that would be "Sardorum Pater"), as well as being the stem of the adjective "sardonic".
Inclassical antiquity, Sardinia was called a number of names besidesSardṓ (Σαρδώ) orSardinia, likeIchnusa (the Latinised form of the GreekἸχνοῦσσα),[26]Sandaliotis (Σανδαλιῶτις[27]) andArgyrophleps (Αργυρόφλεψ).[28]
Strait of Bonifacio. The southern coast of Corsica can be seen fromSanta Teresa Gallura.Cala Goloritzé,BauneiView ofGennargentu, the highest massif of SardiniaA proportionate graph of Sardinian topography: 13.6% of the island is mountainous, 18.5% is flat, and 67.9% is hilly.
Sardinia is the second-largest island in theMediterranean Sea (afterSicily and beforeCyprus), with an area of 24,100 km2 (9,305 sq mi). It is situated between 38° 51' and 41° 18' latitude north (respectively Isola del Toro and Isola La Presa) and 8° 8' and 9° 50' east longitude (respectively Capo dell'Argentiera and Capo Comino). To the west of Sardinia is theSea of Sardinia, a unit of the Mediterranean Sea; to Sardinia's east is theTyrrhenian Sea, which is also an element of the Mediterranean Sea.[29]
The coast of Sardinia is 1,849 km (1,149 mi) long. It is generally high and rocky, with long, relatively straight stretches, outstanding headlands, wide, deep bays,rias, and inlets with various smaller islands.
The island has an ancient geoformation and, unlike Sicily and mainland Italy, is not earthquake-prone. Its rocks date in fact from thePalaeozoic Era. TheCambrian-Lower Ordovician succession of Sardinia reaches 1500–3000 m in thickness.[30] Due to long erosion processes, the island's highlands, formed of granite,schist,trachyte,basalt (calledjaras orgollei),sandstone anddolomite limestone (calledtonneri or 'heels'), average at between 300 and 1,000 m (984 and 3,281 ft). The highest peak isPunta La Marmora (Perdas Carpìas in Sardinian language) (1,834 m (6,017 ft)), part of theGennargentu Ranges in the centre of the island. Other mountain chains areMonte Limbara (1,362 m (4,469 ft)) in the northeast, theChain of Marghine and Goceano (1,259 m (4,131 ft)) running crosswise for 40 km (25 mi) towards the north, theMonte Albo (1,057 m (3,468 ft)), the Sette Fratelli Range in the southeast, and theSulcis Mountains and theMonte Linas (1,236 m (4,055 ft)). The island's ranges and plateaux are separated by wide alluvial valleys and flatlands, the main ones being theCampidano in the southwest betweenOristano andCagliari and theNurra in the northwest.
Sardinia has few major rivers, the largest being theTirso, 151 km (94 mi) long, which flows into theSea of Sardinia, theCoghinas (115 km (71 mi)) and theFlumendosa (127 km (79 mi)). There are 54artificial lakes and dams that supply water and electricity.The main ones areLake Omodeo andLake Coghinas. The only natural freshwater lake isLago di Baratz. A number of large, shallow, salt-water lagoons and pools are located along the coast.
The climate of the island is variable from area to area, due to several factors including the extension inlatitude and theelevation. It can be classified in two different macrobioclimates (Mediterranean pluviseasonal oceanic and Temperate oceanic), one macrobioclimatic variant (Submediterranean), and four classes of continentality (from weak semihyperoceanic to weak semicontinental), eight thermotypic horizons (from lower thermomediterranean to upper supratemperate), and seven ombrotypic horizons (from lower dry to lower hyperhumid), resulting in a combination of 43 different isobioclimates.[31]
During the year there is a major concentration of rainfall in the winter and autumn, some heavy showers in the spring and snowfalls in the highlands. The average temperature is between 11 and 18 °C (52 and 64 °F), with mild winters and warm summers on the coasts (9 to 16 °C (48 to 61 °F) in January, 23 to 31 °C (73 to 88 °F) in July), and cold winters and cool summers on the mountains (−2 to 4 °C (28 to 39 °F) in January, 16 to 20 °C (61 to 68 °F) in July).
Rainfall has a Mediterranean distribution all over the island, with almost totally rainless summers and wet autumns, winters and springs. However, in summer, the rare rainfalls can be characterized by short but severethunderstorms, which can causeflash floods. The climate is also heavily influenced by the vicinity of theGulf of Genoa (barometric low) and the relative proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. Low pressures in autumn can generate the formation of the so-calledMedicanes, extratropical cyclones which affect the Mediterranean basin. In 2013, the island was hit by several cyclones, included theCyclone Cleopatra, which dumped 450 mm (18 in) of rainfall within an hour and a half.[32]
Sardinia being relatively large and hilly, weather is not uniform; in particular the East is drier, but paradoxically it suffers the worst rainstorms: in autumn 2009, it rained more than 200 mm (7.9 in) in a single day in Siniscola, and 19 November 2013, locations in Sardinia were reported to have received more than 431 mm (17.0 in) within two hours. The western coast has a higher distribution of rainfalls even for modest elevations (for instance Iglesias, elevation 200 m (656 ft), average annual precipitation 815 mm (32.1 in)). The driest part of the island is the coast of Cagliari gulf, with less than 450 mm (17.7 in) per year, the minimum is at Capo Carbonara at the extreme south-east of the island 381 mm (15.0 in),[33] and the wettest is the top of theGennargentu mountain with almost 1,500 mm (59.1 in) per year. The average for the entire island is about 800 mm (31.5 in) per year, which is more than enough for the needs of the population and vegetation.[34] TheMistral from the northwest is the dominant wind on and off throughout the year, though it is most prevalent in winter and spring. It can blow quite strongly, but it is usually dry and cool.
Sardinia has been inhabited by humans since the end of thePaleolithic era, around 20–10,000 years ago. The island's most notable civilization is the indigenousNuragic, which flourished from the 18th century BC to either 238 BC or the 2nd century AD in some parts of the island,[37] and to the 6th century AD in that part of the island known asBarbagia.[38][39][40]
After a period in which the island was ruled by a political and economic alliance between the Nuragic Sardinians and thePhoenicians, parts of it were conquered byCarthage in the late 6th century BC, and byRome in 238 BC. The Roman occupation lasted for 700 years.
Beginning in theEarly Middle Ages, the island was ruled by theVandals and theByzantines. In practice, the island was disconnected from Byzantium's territorial influence, which allowed the Sardinians to provide themselves with a self-ruling political organization, the four kingdoms known asJudicates. TheItalian maritime republics ofPisa andGenoa struggled to impose political control over these indigenous kingdoms, but it was the IberianCrown of Aragon which, in 1324, succeeded in bringing the island under its control, consolidating it into theKingdom of Sardinia.
Map of Sardinia, 1779
This Iberian kingdom endured until 1718, when it was ceded to theAlpineHouse of Savoy; the Savoyards wouldpolitically merge their insular possession with their domains on theItalian Mainland which, during the period ofItalian unification, they would go on to expand to include the whole Italian peninsula; their territory was so renamed into theKingdom of Italy in 1861, and it was reconstituted as the present-dayItalian Republic in 1946.
Sardinia is one of the most geologically ancient bodies of land in Europe. The island was populated in various waves of immigration from prehistory until recent times.
Remains fromCorbeddu Cave in eastern Sardinia have been suggested by some authors to represent the earliest evidence of human presence on Sardinia, around 20,000 years ago, during theLast Glacial Maximum. However, other authors contend that there is no solid evidence for the occupation of the island until the earlyMesolithic, around 10,000 years ago.[41]
During the lateChalcolithic the so-calledBeaker culture, coming from various parts ofContinental Europe, appeared in Sardinia. These new people predominantly settled on the west coast, where the majority of the sites attributed to them had been found.[44] The Beaker culture was followed in the earlyBronze Age by theBonnanaro culture which showed both reminiscences of the Beaker and influences by thePolada culture.
As time passed the different Sardinian populations appear to have become united in customs, yet remained politically divided into various small, tribal groupings, at times banding together against invading forces from the sea, and at others waging war against each other. Habitations consisted of round thatched stone huts.
From about 1500 BC onwards, villages were built around a kind of round tower-fortress callednuraghe[45] (usually pluralized asnuraghes in English and asnuraghi in Italian). These towers were often reinforced and enlarged with battlements. Tribal boundaries were guarded by smaller lookout Nuraghes erected on strategic hills commanding a view of other territories.
Today, some 7,000 Nuraghes dot the Sardinian landscape. While initially these Nuraghes had a relatively simple structure, with time they became extremely complex and monumental (see for example theNuraghe Santu Antine,Su Nuraxi, orNuraghe Arrubiu). The scale, complexity and territorial spread of these buildings attest to the level of wealth accumulated by the Nuragic Sardinians, their advances in technology and the complexity of their society, which was able to coordinate large numbers of people with different roles for the purpose of building the monumental Nuraghes.
The Nuraghes are not the only Nuragic buildings that stand in place, as there are several sacred wells around Sardinia and other buildings with religious purposes such as theGiants' grave (monumental collective tombs) and collections of religious buildings that probably served as destinations for pilgrimage and mass religious rites (e.g.Su Romanzesu nearBitti).
At the time, Sardinia was at the centre of several commercial routes and it was an important provider of raw materials such ascopper and lead, which were pivotal for the manufacture of the time. By controlling the extraction of these raw materials and by trading them with other countries, the ancient Sardinians were able to accumulate wealth and reach a level of sophistication that is not only reflected in the complexity of its surviving buildings, but also in its artworks (e.g. the votivebronze statuettes found across Sardinia or the statues of Mont'e Prama).
According to some scholars, the Nuragic people(s) are identifiable with theSherden, a tribe of theSea Peoples.[46][37]
The Nuragic civilization was linked with other contemporaneous megalithic civilization of the western Mediterranean, such as theTalaiotic culture of theBalearic Islands and theTorrean civilization ofSouthern Corsica. Evidence of trade with the other civilizations of the time is attested by several artefacts (e.g. pots), coming from as far asCyprus,Crete,Mainland Greece, Spain and Italy, that have been found in Nuragic sites, bearing witness to the scope of commercial relations between the Nuragic people and other peoples in Europe and beyond.
Around the 9th century BC thePhoenicians began visiting Sardinia with increasing frequency, presumably initially needing safe overnight and all-weather anchorages along their trade routes from the coast of modern-day Lebanon as far afield as the African and European Atlantic coasts and beyond. The most common ports of call wereCaralis,Nora,Bithia,Sulci, andTharros.Claudian, a 4th-century Latin poet, in his poemDe bello Gildonico, stated that Caralis was founded by people fromTyre, probably in the same time of the foundation ofCarthage, in the 9th or 8th century BC.[47]In the 6th century BC, after the conquest of western Sicily, theCarthaginians planned to annex Sardinia.[48] A first invasion attempt led byMalchus was foiled by the victorious Nuraghic resistance. However, from 510 BC, the southern and west-central part of the island were invaded a second time and came under Carthaginian rule.[48][49]
In 238 BC, taking advantage of Carthage having to face a rebellion of her mercenaries (theMercenary War) after theFirst Punic War (264–241 BC), theRomans annexed Corsica and Sardinia from the Carthaginians. The two islands became the province ofCorsica and Sardinia. They were not given a provincial governor until 227 BC. The Romans faced many rebellions, and it took them many years to pacify both islands. The existing coastal cities were enlarged and embellished, and Romancolonies such asTurris Lybissonis andFeronia were founded. These were populated by Roman immigrants. The Roman military occupation brought the Nuragic civilization to an end, except for the mountainous interior of the island, which the Romans calledBarbaria, meaning 'Barbarian land'. Roman rule in Sardinia lasted 694 years, during which time the province was an important source of grain for the capital.Latin came to be the dominant spoken language during this period, though Roman culture was slower to take hold, and Roman rule was often contested by the Sardinian tribes from the mountainous regions.[50]
A Vandal-period coin found in Sardinia depicting Godas. Latin legend: REX CVDA.
TheEast Germanic tribe of theVandals conquered Sardinia in 456. Their rule lasted for 78 years until 534, when, in theVandalic War 400Eastern Roman troops led by Cyril, one of the officers of thefoederati, retook the island. It is known that the Vandal government continued the forms of the existing Roman Imperial structure. The governor of Sardinia continued to be called thepraeses and apparently continued to manage military, judicial, and civil governmental functions via imperial procedures. The only Vandal governor of Sardinia about whom there is substantial record is the last,Godas, aVisigoth noble. In AD 530, acoup d'état inCarthage removed KingHilderic, a convert toNicene Christianity, in favor of his cousinGelimer, anArian Christian like most of the elite in his kingdom. Godas was sent to take charge and ensure the loyalty of Sardinia. He did the exact opposite, declaring the island's independence from Carthage[51] and opening negotiations with EmperorJustinian I, who had declared war on Hilderic's behalf. In AD 533, Gelimer sent the bulk of his army and navy (120 vessels and 5,000 men) to Sardinia to subdue Godas, with the catastrophic result that the Vandal Kingdom was overwhelmed when Justinian's own army underBelisarius arrived at Carthage in their absence. The Vandal Kingdom ended and Sardinia was returned to Roman rule.[52]
In 533, Sardinia returned to the rule of theByzantine Empire when theVandals were defeated by the armies ofJustinian I under the GeneralBelisarius in theBattle of Tricamarum, in their African kingdom Belisarius sent his general Cyril to Sardinia to retake the island. Sardinia remained in Byzantine hands for the next 300 years[53] aside from a short period in which it was invaded by theOstrogoths in 551.
Under Byzantine rule, the island was divided into districts calledmereíai (μερείαι) inByzantine Greek, which were governed by a judge residing in Caralis and garrisoned by an army stationed inForum Traiani (todayFordongianus) under the command of adux.[54] During this time,Christianity took deeper root on the island, supplanting thePaganism which had survived into the earlyMiddle Ages in the culturally conservative hinterlands. Along with lay Christianity, the followers of monastic figures such asBasil of Caesarea became established in Sardinia. While Christianity penetrated the majority of the population, the region ofBarbagia remained largely pagan and, probably, partially non-Latin speaking. They re-established a short-lived independent domain with Sardinian-heathen lay and religious traditions, one of its kings beingHospito.[55][56]Pope Gregory I wrote a letter to Hospito defining him "Dux Barbaricinorum" and, being Christian, the leader and best of his people.[57] In this unique letter about Hospito, the Pope prompts him to convert his people who "living all like irrational animals, ignore the true God and worship wood and stone" (Barbaricini omnes, ut insensata animalia vivant, Deum verum nesciant, ligna autem et lapides adorent).[58]
Santa Sabina Byzantine church and nuraghe inSilanus
Elsewhere in the central Mediterranean, theAghlabidsconquered the island ofMalta in 870.[61]: 208 They also attacked or raided Sardinia andCorsica.[62][63]: 153, 244 Some modern references state that Sardinia came under Aghlabid control around 810 or after the beginning of the conquest of Sicily in 827.[64][65][66][67] Historian Corrado Zedda argues that the island hosted a Muslim presence during the Aghlabid period, possibly a limited foothold along the coasts that forcibly coexisted with the local Byzantine government.[68] Historian Alex Metcalfe argues that the available evidence for any Muslim occupation or colonisation of the island during this period is limited and inconclusive, and that Muslim attacks were limited to raids.[63]
Communication with the central government became daunting if not impossible during and after theMuslim conquest of Sicily between 827 and 902. A letter byPope Nicholas I as early as 864 mentions the "Sardinian judges",[69] without reference to the empire and a letter byPope John VIII (r. 872–882) refers to them asprincipes ("princes"). By the time ofDe Administrando Imperio, completed in 952, the Byzantine authorities no longer listed Sardinia as an imperial province, suggesting they considered it lost.[59]In all likelihood a local noble family, theLacon-Gunale, acceded to the power ofArchon, still identifying themselves as vassals of the Byzantines, butde facto independent as communications with Constantinople were very difficult. Only two names of those rulers are known: Salousios (Σαλούσιος) and theprotospatharios Tourkotourios (Tουρκοτούριος) from two inscriptions),[70][71][72] who probably reigned between the 10th and the 11th century. These rulers were still closely linked to the Byzantines, both for a pact of ancient vassalage,[73] and from the ideological point of view, with the use of theByzantine Greek language (in aRomance country), and the use of art of Byzantine inspiration.
In the early 11th century, anattempt to conquer the island was made byMujahid al-Amiri al-Ṣaqlabī, theruler of Dénia and the Balearic Islands based in theIberian Peninsula.[74] The only records of that war are from Pisan and Genoese chronicles.[75] The Christians won but, after that, the previous Sardinian kingdom was undermined and subsequently divided into four smaller states: Cagliari (Calari), Arborea (Arbaree), Gallura, and Torres or Logudoro.
Whether this final transformation from imperial civil servant to independent sovereign bodies resulted from imperial abandonment or local assertion, by the 10th century, the so-called "Judges" (Sardinian:judikes /Latin:iudices, a Byzantine administrative title) had emerged as the autonomous rulers of Sardinia. The title ofiudice changed with the language and local understanding of the position, becoming the Sardinianjudike, essentially a king or sovereign, whileJudicate (Sardinian:logu) came to mean 'state'.[76]
Early medieval Sardinian political institutions evolved from the millennium-old Roman imperial structures with relatively little Germanic influence.
Although theJudicates were hereditary lordships, the old Byzantine imperial notion that personal title or honor was separate from the state still remained, so the Judicate was not regarded as the personal property of the monarch as was common in later Europeanfeudalism. Like the imperial systems, the new order also preserved "semi-democratic" forms, with national assemblies called theCrown of the Realm. Each Judicate saw to its own defense, maintained its own laws and administration, and looked after its own foreign and trading affairs.[77]
The history of the four Judicates would be defined by the contest for influence between the two Italianmaritime powers ofGenoa andPisa, and later the ambitions of theKingdom of Aragon.
The Sardinian Judicates
TheJudicate of Cagliari orPluminos, during the regency ofTorchitorio V of Cagliari and his successor,William III, was allied with theRepublic of Genoa. Because of this it was brought to an end in 1258, when its capital,Santa Igia, was stormed and destroyed by an alliance of Sardinian and Pisan forces. The territory then was divided between theRepublic of Pisa, theDella Gherardesca family from Italy, and the Sardinian Judicates of Arborea and Gallura. Pisa maintained the control over the fortress of Castel di Cagliari founded by Pisan merchants in 1216–1217 east of Santa Igia;[78] in the south-west the countUgolino della Gherardesca promoted the birth of the town ofVilla di Chiesa (todayIglesias) to exploit the nearby richsilver deposits.[79]
TheJudicate of Arborea, havingOristano as its capital, had the longest life compared to the other kingdoms. Its later history is entwined with the attempt to unify the island into a single Sardinian state (Republica sardisca 'Sardinian Republic' in Sardinian,Nació sarda orsardesca 'Sardinian Nation' in Catalan) against their relatives and formerAragonese allies.
The proclamation of the Republic ofSassari. The Sassarese republic lasted from 1272 until 1323, when it sided with the new born Kingdom of Sardinia.
In 1324, in alliance with the Kingdom of Arborea[82] and following amilitary campaign that lasted a year or so, the Aragon Crown PrinceAlfonso led an Aragonese army that occupied the Pisan territories of Cagliari and Gallura along with the allied city of Sassari, naming them "The Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica". The kingdom was to remain a dominion of the Crown of Aragon (under the 16th-century kings of Spain) until thePeace of Utrecht.
During this period, the Judicate of Arborea promulgated the legal code of the kingdom in theCarta de Logu ('Charter of the Land'). The Carta de Logu was originally compiled byMarianus IV of Arborea, and was amended and updated by Mariano's daughter, Female Judge (judikessa orjuighissa)Eleanor of Arborea. The legal code was written inSardinian and established a whole range of citizens' rights. Among the revolutionary concepts in this Carta de Logu was the right of women to refuse marriage and to own property. In terms of civil liberties, the code made provincial 14th century Sardinia one of the most developed societies in all of Europe.[83]
In 1353,Peter IV of Aragon, following Aragonese customs, granted a parliament to the kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica, which was followed by some degree of self-government under a viceroy and judicial independence. This parliament, however, had limited powers. It consisted of high-ranking military commanders, the clergy and the nobility. The kingdom of Aragon also introduced thefeudal system into the areas of Sardinia that it ruled.
The Sardinian Judicates never adopted feudalism, and Arborea maintained its parliament, called theCorona de Logu 'Crown of the Realm'. In this parliament, apart from the nobles and military commanders, also sat the representatives of each township and village. The Corona de Logu exercised some control over the king: under the rule of thebannus consensus the king could be deposed or even executed if he did not follow the rules of the kingdom.
In 1409,Martin I of Sicily, king of Sicily and heir to the crown of Aragon, defeated the Sardinians at theBattle of Sanluri. The battle was fought by about 20,000 Sardinian, Genoese and French knights, enrolled from their kingdom at a time when the population of Sardinia had been greatly depleted by the plague. Despite the Sardinian army outnumbering the Aragonese army, they were defeated.
The Judicate of Arborea disappeared in 1420, when its rights were sold by the last king for 100,000gold florins,[85] and after some of its most notable men switched sides in exchange for privileges. For example, Leonardo Cubello, with some claim to the crown being from a family related to the Kings of Arborea, was granted the title ofMarquis of Oristano and feudal rights on a territory that partly overlapped with the original extension of the Kingdom of Arborea in exchange for his subjection to theAragonese monarchs.
The conquest of Sardinia by theKingdom of Aragon meant the introduction of the feudal system throughout Sardinia. Thus Sardinia is probably the only European country where feudalism was introduced in the transition period from the Middle Ages to theearly modern period, at a time when feudalism had already been abandoned by many other European countries.
Flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia (center) at the funeral of Charles I of SpainSpanish era coastal tower inStintino calledTorre della Pelosa
In 1469, the heir to Sardinia,Ferdinand II of Aragon, marriedIsabel of Castile, and the "Kingdom of Sardinia" (which was separated from Corsica) was to be inherited by their Habsburg grandson,Charles I of Spain, with the state symbol of theFour Moors. The successors ofCharles I of Spain, in order to defend their Mediterranean territories from raids of theBarbary pirates, fortified the Sardinian shores with a system of coastal lookout towers, allowing the gradual resettlement of some coastal areas.
The Kingdom of Sardinia remained Aragonese-Spanish for about 400 years, from 1323 to 1708, assimilating a number of Spanish traditions, customs and linguistic expressions, nowadays vividly portrayed in the folklore parades of Saint Efisio in Cagliari (1 May), the Cavalcade on Sassari (last but one Sunday in May), and the Redeemer in Nuoro (28 August). To this day Catalan is still spoken in the north-western city ofAlghero (l'Alguer).
Manyfamines have been reported in Sardinia. According to Stephen L. Dyson and Robert J. Rowland, "TheJesuits ofCagliari recorded years during the late 16th century "of such hunger and so sterile that the majority of the people could sustain life only with wild ferns and other weeds" ... During the terrible famine of 1680, some 80,000 people, out of a total population of 250,000, are said to have died, and entire villages were devastated ... "[86]
In 1718, with the Treaty of London, Sardinia was eventually handed over to theHouse of Savoy; this Alpine dynasty would go on to introduce theItalian language on the island forty years later in 1760, thereby starting a process ofItalianization amongst the islanders.[87][88][89]
In 1793, Sardinians repelled the FrenchExpédition de Sardaigne during theFrench Revolutionary Wars. On 23 February 1793,Domenico Millelire, commanding the Sardinian fleet, defeated the fleets of the French Republic near theMaddalena archipelago, of which then-lieutenantNapoleon Bonaparte was a leader.[90] Millelire became the first recipient of theGold Medal of Military Valor of theItalian Armed Forces. In the same month, Sardinians stopped the attempted French landing on the beach ofQuartu Sant'Elena, near the Capital ofCagliari. Because of these successes, the representatives of the nobility and clergy (Stamenti) formulated five requests addressed to the KingVictor Amadeus III of Sardinia, but they were all met with rejection. Because of this discontent, on 28 April 1794, during an uprising inCagliari, two Savoyard officials were killed; that was the spark that ignited a revolt (called the "Sardinian Vespers") throughout the island, which started on 28 April 1794 (commemorated today assa die de sa Sardigna) with the expulsion and execution of the Piedmontese officers for a few days from the CapitalCagliari.
G.M. Angioy entry into Sassari
On 28 December 1795Sassari insurgents demonstrating against feudalism, mainly from the region ofLogudoro, occupied the city. On 13 February 1796, in order to prevent the spread of the revolt, the viceroy Filippo Vivalda gave the Sardinian magistrateGiovanni Maria Angioy the role of Alternos, which meant a substitute of the viceroy himself. Angioy moved from Cagliari to Sassari, and during his journey almost all the villages joined the uprising, demanding an end to feudalism and aiming to declare the island to be an independent republic,[91][92] but once he was outnumbered byloyalist forces he fled to Paris and sought support for a French annexation of the island.
In 1798, the islet near Sardinia was attacked by theTunisians and over 900 inhabitants were taken away asslaves.[93] The final Muslim attack on the island was onSant'Antioco on 16 October 1815, over a millennium since the first.[94]
In 1799, as a consequence of theNapoleonic Wars in Italy, the Savoy royal family leftTurin and took refuge in Cagliari for some fifteen years.[95] In 1847, the Sardinian parliaments (Stamenti), in order to get the Piedmontese liberal reforms they could not afford due to their separated legal system, renounced their state autonomy and agreed toform a union with the Italian Mainland States (Stati di Terraferma), ending up with a single parliament, a single magistracy and a single government in Turin; this move aggravated the island's peripheral condition[96] and most of the pro-union supporters, including its leader Giovanni Siotto Pintor, would later regret it.[97]
In 1820, the Savoyards imposed the Enclosures Act (Editto delle Chiudende) on the island, aimed at turning the land's traditional collective ownership, a cultural and economic cornerstone of Sardinia since the Nuragic times,[98] to private property. This gave rise to many abuses, as the reform ended up favouring the landholders while excluding the poor Sardinian farmers and shepherds, who witnessed the abolition of the communal rights and the sale of their lands. Many local rebellions like theNuoreseSu Connottu ('The Already Known' in Sardinian) riot in 1868,[99][100] all repressed by the King's army, resulted in an attempt to return to the past and reaffirm the right to use the once common land. However thecommon lands (calledademprivios) were never completely abolished, and they are still present in large number to this day (500,000 hectares of common lands were counted in 1956, of which 345,000 constituted by woods).[101]
With thePerfect Fusion in 1848, the confederation of states powered by the Savoyard kings of Sardinia became a unitary and constitutional state and moved to theItalian Wars of Independence for theUnification of Italy, that were led for thirteen years. In 1861, being Italy united by a debated war campaign, the parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia decided by law to change its name and the title of its king toKingdom of Italy andKing of Italy. Most Sardinian forests were cut down at this time, in order to provide the Piedmontese with raw materials, like wood, used to make railway sleepers on the mainland. The primary natural forests, praised by every[citation needed] traveller visiting Sardinia, would in fact be reduced to one-fifth of their original number, being little more than 100,000 hectares at the end of the century.[102] From 1850 onward, taxes more than doubled in Sardinia, which compounded the already severe financial hardships facing the islanders, due to the Italo-French tariff war: between 1885 and 1897, the Sardinians saw their land being confiscated more than the rest of Italy combined as a result of tax evasion.[103]
During theFirst World War, the Sardinian soldiers of theBrigata Sassari distinguished themselves. It was the first and only regional military unit in Italy, since the people enrolled were only Sardinians. The brigade suffered heavy losses and earned fourGold Medals of Military Valor. Sardinia lost more young people than any other Italian region on the front, with 138 casualties per 1000 soldiers compared to the Italian average of 100 casualties.
During theFascist period, with the implementation of the policy ofautarky, several swamps around the island were reclaimed and agrarian communities founded. The main communities were the village of Mussolinia (now calledArborea), populated by farmers fromVeneto andFriuli, in the area of Oristano andFertilia, populated at first by settlers from theFerrara area, followed, afterWorld War II, by a notable number ofIstrian Italians andDalmatian Italians hailing from territories lost toYugoslavia, in the area adjacent the city ofAlghero, within the region ofNurra. Also established during that time (1938) was the city ofCarbonia, which became the main centre ofcoal mining activity, that attracted thousand of workers from the rest of the Island and the Italian mainland. The Sardinian writerGrazia Deledda won theNobel Prize for Literature in 1926.
During theSecond World War, Sardinia was an important air and naval base and was heavily bombed by theAllies, especially the city of Cagliari. German troops left the island on 8 September 1943, a few days after theArmistice of Cassibile, and retired to Corsica without fighting and bloodshed, after a bilateral agreement between the general Antonio Basso (Commander of the Armed Forces of Sardinia) and the GermanKarl Hans Lungerhausen, general of the90th Panzergrenadier Division.[104]
In 1946, by popular referendum, Italy became a republic, with Sardinia being administered since 1948 by a special statute of autonomy. By 1951,malaria was successfully eliminated by the ERLAAS, Anti-malaric Regional Authority, and the support of theRockefeller Foundation, which facilitated the commencement of the Sardinian tourist boom.[105] With the increase intourism, coal decreased in importance but Sardinia followed theItalian economic miracle.
In the early 1960s, anindustrialisation effort was commenced, the so-calledPiani di Rinascita (rebirth plans), with the initiation of major infrastructure projects on the island. These included the construction of new dams and roads, reforestation, agricultural zones on reclaimed marshland, and large industrial complexes (primarily oil refineries and related petrochemical operations). With the creation ofpetrochemicalindustries, thousands of ex-farmers became industrial workers. The1973 oil crisis caused the termination of employment for thousands of workers employed in the petrochemical industries, which aggravated the emigration already present in the 1950s and 1960s.
Sardinia faced the creation ofmilitary bases on the island,[106][107] likeDecimomannu Air Base andSalto di Quirra (the biggest scientific military base in Europe) in the same decades.[108] Even now, around 60% of all Italian and NATO military installations in Italy are on Sardinia, whose area is less than one-tenth of all the Italian territory and whose population is little more than the 2.5%;[109] furthermore, they comprise over 35,000 hectares used for experimental weapons testing,[110][111] where 80% of the military explosives in Italy are used.[112]
Sardinian nationalism and localprotest movements became stronger in the 1970s, and a number ofbandits (anonima sarda) started a long series ofkidnappings, which ended only in the 1990s.[113] This also gave rise to various militant groups that blended separatist andcommunist ideas, the most famous beingBarbagia Rossa and theSardinian Armed Movement,[114] which perpetrated several bombings and terrorist actions between the 1970s and the 1980s.[115][116][117] In the span of just two years (1987–1988), 224 bombing attacks were reported.[118]
In 1983 a prominent activist of a separatist party, theSardinian Action Party (Partidu Sardu – Partito Sardo d'Azione), was elected president of the regional parliament, and in the 1980s several other movements calling for independence from Italy were born; in the 1990s some of them became political parties, even if in a rather disjointed manner. It was not until 1999 that the island's languages (Sardinian,Sassarese,Gallurese,Algherese andTabarchino) were recognised, even if just formally, together withItalian. The35th G8 summit was planned byProdi II Cabinet to be held in Sardinia, on the island ofLa Maddalena, in July 2009; however, in April 2009, the Italian Prime Minister,Silvio Berlusconi, decided, without convoking the Italian parliament or consulting the Sardinian governor ofhis own party, to move the summit, even though the works were almost completed, toL'Aquila, provoking heavy protests.
Today Sardinia is phasing in as anEU region, with a diversified economy focused on tourism and the tertiary sector. The economic efforts of the last twenty years have reduced the handicap of insularity, especially in the fields oflow-cost air travel and advancedinformation technology. For example, theCRS4 (Center for Advanced Studies, Research and Development in Sardinia) developed the second Europeanwebsite and 1st in Italy in 1991[119] andwebmail in 1995. CRS4 allowed several telecommunication companies and internet service providers based on the island to flourish, such as Videonline in 1994,Tiscali in 1998 andAndala Umts in 1999.
Following an enormous reforestation plan Sardinia has become the Italian region with the largest forest extension. 1,213,250 hectares (12,132 km2) or 50% of the island is covered by forested areas.[120][121] TheCorpo forestale e di vigilanza ambientale della Regione Sarda is the Sardinian Forestry Corps. Sardinia is one of the regions in Italy which are most affected byforest fires during the summer.[122]
The Regional Landscape Plan prohibits new building activities on the coast (except in urban centers), next to forests, lakes or other environmental or cultural sites and theCoastal conservation agency ensures the protection of natural areas on the Sardinian coast.
Giara horsesAlbino donkeys in AsinaraThe Sardinian feral cat, long considered a subspecies of theAfrican wildcat, are descended from domesticated cats.[125]
During the Late Pleistocene, Sardinia and Corsica had a highly endemic terrestrial mammal fauna, all of which is now extinct, which included a field mouse (Rhagamys orthodon), a vole (Microtus henseli), a shrew (Asoriculus similis), a mole (Talpa tyrrhenica), a dwarf mammoth (Mammuthuslamarmorai), theSardinian pika (Prolagus sardus), a jackal-sized canine, theSardinian dhole (Cynotherium sardus), amustelid (Enhydrictis galictoides), three species of otter (Algarolutra majori,Sardolutra ichnusae, and the giganticMegalenhydris barbaricina) and a deer (Praemegaceros cazioti).[129] Some of these animals were extinct by the beginning of the Holocene, with the deer species suggested to have persisted until around 7,600 years ago,[130] and the shrew into the Neolithic, while the Sardinian pika, vole and field mouse are suggested to have persisted until around 3000–2000 years ago.[131] The Sardinian pika in particular was historically abundant on the island, and was used by early inhabitants as a source of food.[132] On the present-day island, itsfauna includes a variety of introduced mammal species, such as theCorsican red deer.
Conversely, Sardinia lacks many species common on the European continent, such as theviper,wolf,bear andmarmot.
The island has also long been used for grazing flocks of indigenousSardinian sheep. TheSardinian Anglo-Arab is a horse breed that was established in Sardinia, where it has been selectively bred for more than one hundred years.
Over 600,000 hectares (1,500,000 acres) of Sardinian territory is environmentally preserved[134][135] (about 25% of the island's territory).The island has threenational parks:[136]
There are 60 wildlife reserves, 5 W.W.F oases, 25 natural monuments and one Geomineral Park, preserved byUNESCO.[137]
Northern Sardinian Coasts are included in thePelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals, a Marine Protected Area, that covers a surface of about 84,000 km2 (32,433 sq mi), aimed at the protection of marine mammals.
Main building of theUniversity of Sassari (which started the university courses in 1562)
According to theISTAT census of 2001, the literacy rate in Sardinia among people below 65 years old is 99.5 percent. Total literacy rate (including people over 65) is 98.2 percent.[138][139]The illiteracy rate among males below 65 years old is 0.24 percent and among women 0.25 percent;[138] the number of women that annually graduate at secondary high schools and universities is about 10–20 percent higher than men.[139][140] Sardinia has the 2nd highest rate of school drop-out in Italy.[141]
Sardinia has two public universities: theUniversity of Sassari and theUniversity of Cagliari, founded in the 16th and 17th century. 48,979 students were enrolled at universities in 2007–2008.[142]
Economic classification of European regions according toEurostat
Less developed regions
Transition regions
More developed regions
Of the Italian regions located south ofRome, Sardinia's economy is in the best state. The greatest amount of economic development took place inland, in the provinces ofCagliari andSassari, characterized by a certain amount of enterprise. According toEurostat, the 2014 nominalgross domestic product (GDP) was €33,356 million, €33,085 million inpurchasing power parity, resulting in a GDP per capita of €19,900, which is 72% of the EU average. Theper capita income in Sardinia is the highest of the southern half of Italy. The most populated provincial chief towns have higher incomes: in Cagliari the income per capita is €27,545, in Sassari €24,006, inOristano €23,887, inNuoro is €23,316 and inOlbia is €20,827.[143] Sardinia isthe 14th most productive region in the country and isthe 16th for GRP per capita among Italian regions.[144]
The Sardinian economy is, however, constrained due to the high costs of the transportation of goods and electricity, which is twice that of the continental Italian regions, and triple that of the EU average. Sardinia is the only Italian region that produces a surplus of electricity, and exports electricity toCorsica and theItalian mainland: in 2009, the newsubmarine power cableSapei entered into operation. It links the Fiume Santo Power Station, in Sardinia, to the converter stations inLatina, in the Italian peninsula. TheSACOI is another submarine power cable that links Sardinia to Italy, crossing Corsica, from 1965.
Small scaleliquified natural gas terminals and a 404 km (251 mi) gas pipeline were under construction, and became operational in 2018. They will decrease the current high cost of the electric power in the island.[145][146] As of 2021[update], Sardinia has 2 GigaWatts (GW) ofthermal power plants, 1 GW each of wind and solar power, and over 450 MW ofhydropower.[147]
Tourism in Sardinia is one of the fastest growing sectors of the regional economy.
There are chances for Sardinia to become atax haven as the whole island territory is free ofcustom duties,value added tax (VAT) and excise taxes on fuel; since February 2013, the town ofPortoscuso has become the first free trade zone.[148][149][150][151][152] According to the article 12 of the Sardinian Statute modified by the regional parliament in October 2013: "The Territory of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia is located off the customs line and constitutes a Free Trade Zone enclosed by the surrounding sea; the access points consist of the seaports and the airports. The Sardinian Free Trade Zone is regulated by the laws of the European Union and Italy that are in force also in Livigno, Campione D'Italia, Gorizia, Savogna d'Isonzo and the Region of Aosta Valley".
This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2024)
Theunemployment rate for the fourth quarter of 2008 was 8.6%; by 2012, the unemployment rate had increased to 14.6%.[153] Its rise was due to theGreat Recession that reduced Sardinian exports, mainly focused on refined oil, chemical products, and also mining and metallurgical products.
This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2024)
Percentage distribution of employees in different economic sectors in Sardinia: 8.7% the primary sector (fishing, agriculture, farming), 23.5% the secondary sector (industry, machinery, manufacturing), and 67.8% the tertiary sector (tourism, services, finance)
This table shows the sectors of the Sardinian economy in 2011:[159]
Economic activity
GDP (mil. €)
% sector
Agriculture, farming, fishing
908
3%
Industry
2,828
9.4%
Constructions
1,722
5.7%
Commerce, hotels and restaurants, transport, services and (tele)communications
Sardinia is home to nearly four millionsheep,[160] almost half of the entire Italian assets and that makes the island one of the areas of the world with the highest density of sheep along with some parts of the United Kingdom and New Zealand (135 sheep every square kilometer versus 129 in UK and 116 in New Zealand). Sardinia has been for thousands of years specializing in sheep breeding, and, to a lesser extent,goats andcattle that is less productive of agriculture in relation to land use. It is probably in breeding and cattle ownership the economic base of the early proto-historic and monumental Sardinian civilization fromNeolithic to the Iron Age.
Agriculture has also played a very important role in the economic history of the island, especially in the great plain ofCampidano, particularly suitable forwheat farming. Sardinian soil often has insufficient or brackish water aquifers, even on its more permeable plains. As such, water scarcity was the first problem that was faced for the modernization of the sector, with the construction of a great barrier system of dams, which today contains nearly 2 billioncubic meters of water.[161] The Sardinian agriculture is now linked to specific products such as cheese, wine,olive oil,artichoke,tomato for a growing product export. The reclamations have helped to extend the crops and to introduce other ones such as vegetables and fruit, next to the historical ones,olive andgrapes that are present in the hilly areas. The Campidano plain, the largest lowland Sardinian producesoats,barley anddurum, of which is one of the most important Italian producers. Among the vegetables, as well as artichokes, has a certain weight the production oforanges, and, before the reform of thesugar sector from the European Union, the cultivation ofsugar beet.
In the forests there is thecork oak, which grows naturally; Sardinia produces about 80% of Italian cork. Thecork district, in the northern part of theGallura region, aroundCalangianus andTempio Pausania, is composed of 130 companies. Every year in Sardinia 200,000 quintals (20,000 tonnes) of cork are carved, and 40% of the end products are exported.
In fresh food, as well as artichokes, the production of tomatoes (including Camoni tomato) andcitrus fruit are of a certain weight. Sardinia is the 5th Italian region forrice production, the main paddy fields are located in theArborea Plain.[162]
In addition to meat, Sardinia produces a wide variety of cheese, considering that half of the sheep milk produced in Italy is produced in Sardinia, and is largely worked by the cooperatives of the shepherds and small industries.[163] Sardinia also produces most of thepecorino romano, a non-original product of the island, much of which is traditionally addressed to the Italian overseas communities. Sardinia boasts a centuries-old tradition ofhorse breeding since theAragonese domination, whosecavalry drew from equine heritage of the island to strengthen their own army or to make a gift to the other sovereigns of Europe.[164] Today the island boasts the highest number of horse herds in Italy.[165]
There is little fishing (and no real maritime tradition),Portoscusotunas are exported worldwide, but primarily to Japan.
In Sardinia is located the DASS (Distretto Aerospaziale della Sardegna), a consortium of companies, research centers and universities focused on aerospace industry and research.[171][172][173] The aerospace manufacturerVitrociset, inVillaputzu, is involved in the production of the stealth multirole fighterLockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.[174][175]
Plans related to industrial conversion are in progress in the main industrial sites, like in Porto Torres, where seven research centres are developing the transformation from traditional fossil fuel related industry to an integrated production chain from vegetable oil using oleaginous seeds to bio-plastics.[176][177]
Sardinia is involved in the industrial production of theAIRPod, an innovative car powered by compressed air, with the first factory being built inBolotana.[178][179][180][181]
Craft industries include rugs, jewelry, textile, lacework, basket making and coral.
Yachts inPorto Cervo. Luxury tourism has been an important source of income in Sardinia since the 1960s.
The Sardinian economy is today focused on the overdeveloped tertiary sector (67.8% of employment), withcommerce,services,information technology,public administration and especially ontourism (mainly seaside tourism), which represents the main industry of the island with 2,721 active companies and 189,239 rooms. In 2008 there were 2,363,496 arrivals (up 1.4% on 2007). In the same year, the airports of the island registered 11,896,674 passengers (up 1.24% on 2007).[182]
Due to its isolated and insular location, Sardinia focused part of its economy on the development of digital technologies since the dawn of internet era: the first Italian website, one of the first webmail system and one of the first and largest internet providers (Video On Line) were realised by theCRS4,[183][184] the first European online newspaper was developed byL'Unione Sarda[185][186] and also the first Italian UMTS company was founded on the island. Today Sardinia is the second Italian region, after Lombardy, for investments instartups (owning the 20% of the Italian venture capital).[187][188]
Sardinia has many small and picturesque villages, nine of them have been selected byI Borghi più belli d'Italia (English:The most beautiful Villages of Italy),[189] a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest,[190] that was founded on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.[191]
On the island are headquartered some telecommunication companies and internet service providers, such asTiscali and the Mediterranean Skylogic Teleport, aground station controlled by satellite providerEutelsat.[192] Sardinia is the Italian region with the highest e-intensity index after theAosta Valley[193][194] (index measuring the relative maturity of Internet economies on the basis of three factors: enablement, engagement, and expenditure) and the region with the highest internet performances, such as fastest broadband connection in Italy.[195]Sardinia is also the Italian region with the highest percentage (41%) of 4GLTE users.[196]The Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and systems companiesZTE andHuawei have development centers and innovation labs in Sardinia.[197]
Sardinia has become Europe's first region to fully adopt the newDigital Terrestrial Television broadcasting standard. From 1 November 2008 TV channels are broadcast only in digital.[198]
Airone - Compagnia Trasporti Aerei S.A. was an airline established in Cagliari in October 1944, its founders intended it to be the answer to the need for fast connections between Sardinia and mainland Italy. The name itself recalled one of the most typical animals of the island's wetlands. It is remembered as the first airline founded in Italy after the Second World War.[200]
Air Italy (formerly known asMeridiana) was an airline headquartered in the airport ofOlbia; it was founded asAlisarda in 1963 by theAga Khan IV. The development ofAlisarda followed the development ofCosta Smeralda in the northeast part of the island, a well known vacation spot among billionaires and film actors worldwide.
Porto Torres is the largest port of Sardinia, while Olbia, Santa Teresa Gallura and Palau are the most popular arrival ports, based on passenger data between 2020–2024.[201]
Caronte & Tourist and Delcomar links the main island to the islands ofLa Maddalena andSan Pietro.
About 40 tourist harbours are located along the Sardinian coasts.
Cable-stayed bridge of the Monserrato University Campus interchange SS 554A bus of Sardinia public transport authorities (Arst) in Sassari
Sardinia is the only Italian region withoutAutostrade (en:motorways), but the road network is well developed with a system of no-toll roads withdual carriageway, calledsuperstrade ('super roads') that connect the principal towns and the main airports and seaports; the speed limit is 90 km/h (56 mph)/110 km/h (68 mph). The principal road is theSS131 "Carlo Felice", linking the south with the north of the island, crossing the most historic regions ofPorto Torres andCagliari; it is part ofEuropean route E25. TheSS 131 d.c.n linksOristano withOlbia, crossing the hinterlandNuoro region. Other roads designed for high-capacity traffic linkSassari withAlghero,Sassari withTempio Pausania,Sassari –Olbia,Cagliari –Tortolì,Cagliari –Iglesias,Nuoro –Lanusei. A work in progress is converting the main routes tohighway standards, with the elimination of allintersections. The secondary inland and mountain roads are generally narrow with manyhairpin turns, so the speed limits are very low.
Public transportbuses reach every town and village at least once a day; however, due to the low density of population, the smallest territories are reachable only by car. The Azienda Regionale Sarda Trasporti (ARST) is the public regional bus transport agency. Networks of city buses serve the main towns (Cagliari,Iglesias,Oristano,Alghero,Sassari,Nuoro,Carbonia andOlbia).
In Sardinia 1,295,462 vehicles circulate, equal to 613 per 1,000 inhabitants.[202]
ATR 365 owned by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia in CagliariTourist railway betweenAritzo andBelvì
The Sardinian railway system was developed starting from the 19th century by the Welsh engineerBenjamin Piercy.
Today there are two different railway operators:
Trenitalia which connects the most populated towns and the main ports. This network is the most modern on the island, running primarily diesel locomotives such as theAlstom Minuetto and, from 2015 the fastertilting trainCAF ATR365 and ATR 465, specifically designed for the Sardinian railway network;[203]
ARST: the trains run onnarrow-gauge track, are generally slow, due to the tortuosity of the lines, except for the electrifiedtram-trains operating in the metropolitan areas ofSassari andCagliari.
TheTrenino Verde (Little Green Train) is arailway tourism service operated by ARST. Vintagerailcars andsteam locomotives run through the wildest parts of the island. They allow the traveller to have scenic views impossible to see from the main roads.
Source:ISTAT,[204][205] D.Angioni-S.Loi-G.Puggioni, La popolazione dei comuni sardi dal 1688 al 1991, CUEC, Cagliari, 1997 – F. Corridore, Storia documentata della popolazione di Sardegna, Carlo Clausen, Torino, 1902
With apopulation density of 65/km2, slightly less than a third of the national average, Sardinia is the fourth least-populated region in Italy. In the recent past the population distribution was similar to that of other Italian coastal regions. In fact, contrary to the general trend, most urban settlement, with the exception of the fortified cities ofCagliari,Alghero,Castelsardo and few others, has taken place not primarily along the coast but in the subcoastal areas and towards the centre of the island. Historical reasons for this include the repeatedSaracen raids during theMiddle Ages and thenBarbary raids until the early 19th century which made the coast unsafe, widespread pastoral activities inland, and the swampy nature of the coastal plains, which were reclaimed definitively only in the 20th century. The situation has been reversed with the expansion of seaside tourism; all of Sardinia's major urban centres are now located near the coasts, and the island's interior is very sparsely populated.
At 1.087 births per woman, Sardinia has the lowesttotal fertility rate of any Italian region,[206] and the second lowestbirth rate in Italy,[207] which is already one of the lowest in the world. Combined with the rapid aging of the population—in 2009, 18.7% of the population were older than 65—ruraldepopulation is a significant issue: between 1991 and 2001, 71.4% of Sardinian villages lost population (32 more than 20% and 115 between 10% and 20%), with over 30 at risk of becomingghost towns.[208] It is predicted that at that rate Sardinia will be the European island with the second-lowest population density, immediately afterIceland, by 2080.[209][210]
Nonetheless, the overall population estimate has remained relatively stable because of a considerable immigration flow, mainly from the Italian mainland but also from Eastern Europe (especially Romania), Africa and Asia.
Averagelife expectancy is slightly over 82 years (85 for women and 79.7 for men[211]). Sardinia shares with the Japanese island ofOkinawa the highest rate ofcentenarians in the world (22 centenarians per 100,000 inhabitants). Sardinia is the first discoveredBlue Zone, a demographic or geographic area in the world with an oversize concentration of centenarians and supercentenarians.
In 2023, there were 50,211 foreign national residents, forming 3,2% of the total Sardinian population.[212] The most represented nationalities were:[212]
Sardinia's most populated cities are Cagliari and Sassari. TheMetropolitan City of Cagliari has 431,302 inhabitants, or about a quarter of the population of the entire island.Eurostat has identified in Sardinia twoFunctional Urban Areas:[213] Cagliari, with 477,000 inhabitants, and Sassari, with 222,000 inhabitants.
In April 2021, under Sardinian Regional Council's Regional Law Nr. 7,[216] Sardinian administrative divisions were reorganized; the former provinces of Olbia-Tempio (now bearing the name Gallura-North East Sardinia), Ogliastra, Medio Campidano and Carbonia-Iglesias (now bearing the name Sulcis Iglesiente) were restored, the metropolitan city of Cagliari would be expanded with other municipalities from the to-be eliminated Province of South Sardinia, and the western part of the Province of Sassari would be reorganized into the new metropolitan city of Sassari.[217] Whilst the Italian government challenged the law,[218] thus stalling its implementation,[219] on 12 March 2022, the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia.[220] On 13 April 2023, the regional council, at the proposal of the regional government, approved an amendment to the 2021 reform, defining the timeframe and manner of its implementation, which would see its full implementation in 2025.[221]
US Artillery Live Fire Exercise in CapoTeulada 2015 during NATO exercise Trident Juncture
Around 60% of all the military installations in Italy are in Sardinia, whose area is less than one-tenth of all the Italian territory and whose population is little more than the 2,5%.[222] The island hostsNATO joint forces andIsraeli military forces, which use the island's territory to simulate war games; the Inter-service Test and Training Range of Salto di Quirra (PISQ) is one of the most important experimentalmilitary training centres in Europe.[223] The bases, used for manufacturing plants and military testing grounds, totally take up more than 350 km2 of the island's land,[224] making Sardinia the most militarized region in Italy and the most militarized island in Europe.[225][226][227]
Besides the land-occupying installations, where 80% of the military explosives in Italy are used,[112] there are also other military structures located on the sea and along the coastline, roughly equivalent to 20,000 km2 (little less than the island's surface), being made inaccessible to the civil population when military exercises are held.[224][227]
Among the most notable military bases on the island are the Interagency Polygons in Quirra, Capo Teulada and Capo Frasca, used by Italian and NATO forces to test-fire ballistic missiles and weapons and byItalian andEuropean Space Agency to test space vehicles and for orbital launches. Until 2008, the US navy also had a nuclear submarine base in theMaddalena Archipelago.[224][107]
Depleted uranium and thorium dust from missile tests has been linked to an increase in cancers according to activists and local politicians.[228] In the late 1980s, a high level of birth defects occurred near theSalto di Quirra weapons testing site after old munitions were destroyed.[229]
Sardinia is the onlyautonomous region in Italy where its specialStatute uses the termpopolo (distinct people) to refer to its inhabitants. While this formula is also used byVeneto, which unlike Sardinia is anordinary region, the Sardinian Statute is adopted with aconstitutional law. In both cases, such term is not meant to imply any legal difference between Sardinians and any other citizen of the country.
Santa Cristina holy well ofPaulilatino, tholosFacade of Nostra Signora di Tergu (SS)Interior of San Pietro di Sorres, Borutta (SS)
Of the prehistoric architecture in Sardinia there are numerous testimonies such as thedomus de janas (hypogeic tombs), theGiants' grave, the megalithic circles, themenhirs, thedolmens and thewell temples;[230] however, the element that more than any other characterizes the Sardinian prehistoric landscape are thenuraghe;[231] the remains of thousands of theseBronze Age buildings of various types (simple and complex) are still visible today. There are also numerous traces left by thePhoenicians andPunics who introduced new urban forms on the coasts.
TheRomans gave a new administrative structure to the whole island through the restructuring of several cities, the creation of new centers and the construction of many infrastructures of which the ruins remain, such as the palace of Re Barbaro inPorto Torres or theRoman Amphitheatre of Cagliari. Even from theearly Christian andByzantine epoch there are several testimonies throughout the territory both on the coasts and inside, especially linked to buildings of worship.
A particular development hadRomanesque architecture during theJudicates period. Starting from 1063 the Sardinian Judges (judikes), through substantial donations, had favored the arrival to the island of monks of different orders from various regions ofItaly and France. These circumstances favored in turn the arrival to the island of workers fromPisa,Lombardy,Provence andMuslim Spain, giving rise to unprecedented artistic manifestations, marked by the fusion of these experiences.
After their arrival in 1324, the Aragonese concentrated the first realizations inCagliari; the oldestCatalan Gothic church in Sardinia is theshrine of Our Lady of Bonaria.[233] Also in Cagliari in the same years the Aragonese chapel was built inside the cathedral. In the first half of the fifteenth century a real Gothic jewel was built, the complex of San Domenico, which included the church and the convent, almost completely destroyed during the air raids of 1943, and of which only the cloister remains. Other works were the churches of San Francesco of Stampace (of which only a part of the cloister remains), Sant'Eulalia and San Giacomo. InAlghero in the second half of the fifteenth century the construction of the church of San Francesco and in the sixteenth century of thecathedral began.
Crypt of the Cagliari Cathedral
Renaissance architecture, although poorly represented, includes notable examples such as the installation of thecathedral of San Nicola diSassari (late Gothic but with a strong Renaissance influence), the church of Sant'Agostino di Cagliari (designed by Palearo Fratino), the church of Santa Caterina in Sassari (designed by Bernardoni, a pupil of Vignola).
On the contrary, theBaroque architecture has found wide prominence,[234] interesting examples are the Collegiata di Sant'Anna in Cagliari, the facade of the Cathedral of San Nicola in Sassari, the church of San Michele in Cagliari, as well as thecathedral of Cagliari,Ales andOristano, rebuilt or modified between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Starting from the nineteenth century, new architectural forms ofneoclassical inspiration spread throughout the island. Among the most important figures of this architectural and urban phase is that of the architect from CagliariGaetano Cima, whose works are scattered throughout the Sardinian territory.[235] Alongside the works of Cima, it is worth mentioning those of Giuseppe Cominotti (Palazzo and Civic Theater of Sassari) and Antonio Cano (dome of S. Maria di Betlem in Sassari and the cathedral of Santa Maria della Neve in Nuoro). In the second half of the nineteenth century in Sassari was built theneo Gothic palace Giordano (1878) which is one of the earliest examples ofrevivalism in the island.
An interesting realization ofeclectic style, derived from the union between revivalist andArt Nouveau models, appears to be theCity hall of Cagliari, completed in the early twentieth century. The advent offascism has strongly influenced architecture in Sardinia in the twenties and thirties:[236] interesting achievements of that period are the new centers ofFertilia,Arborea and the city ofCarbonia, one of the greatest examples ofrationalist architecture.
The union between the nuragic populations and the merchants coming from every part of theMediterranean led to a refined production ofgold artifacts,rings,earrings and jewelry of all kinds, but also votive steles and wall decorations. In addition to architecture linked to public works, the Romans introduced themosaics and decorated the rich villas of thepatricians with sculptures and paintings.[238]
La madre dell'ucciso ("the mother of the killed") by Francesco Ciusa (1907)
In the nineteenth century and in early twentieth century originated the myths of an uncontaminated and timeless island. Recounted by the many travelers who visited Sardinia in that period, likeD. H. Lawrence, such myths were celebrated mainly by Sardinian artists such asGiuseppe Biasi,Francesco Ciusa, Filippo Figari, Mario Delitala and Stanis Dessy. In their works they highlighted the autochthonous values of the agro-pastoral world, not yet homologated to the modernity that was pressing from the outside. Other important Sardinian artists of the second half of the twentieth century wereCostantino Nivola, Maria Lai, Albino Manca andPinuccio Sciola.
In July 2025, thedomus de janas were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site under the listing "Funerary Tradition in the Prehistory of Sardinia –The domus de janas".[240]
Italian, which is the official language throughout Italy, is the most widely spoken language today, followed by the island's indigenous language,Sardinian (sardu).[241]
Sardinian is a distinct branch of theRomance language family, going either by the same name or bySouthern Romance: it is therefore a separate language rather than an Italian dialect,[242] and it is by some measures more phonologically similar to itsVulgar Latin roots than Italian itself.[243] Sardinian has been formally recognized as one of Italy's twelve historicalethnolinguistic minorities since 1997, by regional and Italian law.[244][245] The language has been influenced byCatalan, Spanish and recently Italian, while the once spokenPaleo-Sardinian language contributes many features to it in many ancient remnants.
In 2006 the regional administration has approved the use of a single standardised writing system, the so-calledLimba Sarda Comuna,[246] in official acts. As a literary language, Sardinian is gaining importance, despite heated debate about the lack of a commonly acknowledged standard orthography and controversial proposed solutions to this problem.[247] The two main orthographies of the language are in factCampidanese (sardu campidanesu), used in central southern Sardinia, andLogudorese (sardu logudoresu), extending northwards almost to the suburbs ofSassari. The Sardinian language is quite different from the otherRomance languages and is homogeneous in terms ofmorphology,syntax andlexicon, but it also shows a spectrum of variation in terms ofphonetics between the Northern and the Southerndialects.
Due to the Italian assimilation policies carried out since the late 18th century[248] and the ongoingabsorption into the Italian culture, over the course of time the once prevalent indigenous language has been increasingly losing ground to Italian and the process of ongoinglanguage shift has led to itsendangerment.[249] In fact, according to the data published byISTAT in 2006,[250] 52.5% of the Sardinian population speaks only Italian in the family environment, while 29.3% alternates Italian and Sardinian and only 16.6% uses Sardinian or other non-Italian languages; outside the circle of family and friends, the last option drops to 5.2%. The resultingItalianization has led to a steep decline of the Sardinian language as well as produced a new non-standard variety of today's majority idiom, Italian:regional Italian of Sardinia (italiano regionale sardo,IrS).
Following the recent growth of the foreign-born population, the presence of other languages, principallyRomanian,Arabic,Wolof andChinese, is also expanding in some urban areas.
The first literary work in Sardinian language dates back to the second half of the 15th century: a poem inspired by the life of the holy Porto Torres martyrs by the archbishop of Sassari Antonio Cano. Literary production had a remarkable development in the 16th century, the protagonist wasAntonio Lo Frasso, hisLos diez libros de Fortuna de Amor is mentioned in theDon Quixote byMiguel de Cervantes. This work is written mainly in Spanish, but there are parts written in Catalan and in the Sardinian language.[251]Multilingualism was a characteristic trait of the islanders of that time, among them Sigismondo Arquer,Giovanni Francesco Fara andPietro Delitala stood out. Delitala wrote in Italian, then Tuscan, andGerolamo Araolla in all the three languages (Sardinian, Spanish and Italian).[251] But already in the 17th century there was a total integration in the Iberian world as demonstrated by the works in Spanish of the poets José Delitala y Castelvì,Joseph Zatrillas Vico and the writers Francesco Angelo de Vico and Salvatore Vidal.
From 1720, with the passage of theKingdom of Sardinia, to theHouse of Savoy, Italian became the official language. In the 19th century there is an interest of Sardinian authors for the history and culture of Sardinia:Giovanni Spano undertakes the first archaeological excavations,Giuseppe Manno writes the first great general history of the island,Pasquale Tola publishes important documents of the past and writes biographies of illustrious Sardinians.Alberto La Marmora travels the island far and wide, studying in detail and writing a four-part work entitledVoyage en Sardaigne.
The Sardinian society of the Early 20th century is told byGrazia Deledda, the only italian woman to win aNobel Prize in Literature to date, Enrico Costa, and the poetSebastiano Satta. In this century, we must remember also the literary production of political characters of great value such asAntonio Gramsci andEmilio Lussu. After the Second World War,Giuseppe Dessì emerged, known mainly for his novelPaese d'ombre. In more recent years, the autobiographical novels ofGavino LeddaPadre Padrone andSalvatore SattaIl Giorno del Giudici had a wide echo, in addition to the works ofSergio Atzeni and other writers active in the recent decades.[251]
Colourful and of various and original forms, the Sardinian traditional clothes are a clear symbol of belonging to specific collective identities. Although the basic model is homogeneous and common throughout the island, each town or village has its own traditional clothing which differentiates it from the others.
Sardinia is home to one of the oldest forms of vocalpolyphony, generally known ascantu a tenore. In 2005,Unesco classed thecantu a tenore among intangible world heritage. Several famous musicians have found it irresistible, includingFrank Zappa,Ornette Coleman, andPeter Gabriel. The latter travelled to the town ofBitti in the central mountainous region and recorded the now world-famousTenores di BittiCD on his Real World label. The guttural sounds produced in this form make a remarkable sound, similar toTuvan throat singing. Another polyphonic style of singing, more like theCorsicanpaghjella and liturgic in nature, is found in Sardinia and is known ascantu a cuncordu.
Another unique instrument is thelauneddas. Three reed-canes (two of them glued together withbeeswax) produce distinctive harmonies, which have their roots many thousands of years ago, as demonstrated by the bronze statuettes fromIttiri, of a man playing the three reed canes, dated to 2000 BC.
Beyond this, the tradition ofcantu a chiterra (guitar songs) has its origins in town squares, when artists would compete against one another. The most famous singer of this genre areMaria Carta andElena Ledda.
Sardinian culture is alive and well, and young people are actively involved in their own music and dancing. In 2004,BBC presenterAndy Kershaw travelled to the island with Sardinian music specialist Pablo Farba and interviewed many artists. His programme can be heard on BBC Radio 3.[252] Sardinia has produced a number of notable jazz musicians such as Antonello Salis, Marcello Melis, andPaolo Fresu.
A range of different cakes, pastries, meals, dishes and sweets which are common elements of Sardinian cuisine
Meat, dairy products, grains and vegetables constitute the most basic elements of the traditional Sardinian diet, along with, to a lesser extent, seafoods such asrock lobster (aligusta),scampi,bottarga (butàriga), squid, and tuna.[citation needed]
Suckling pig (porcheddu) and wild boar (sirbone) are roasted on the spit or boiled in stews of beans and vegetables, thickened with bread.Herbs such asmint and myrtle are used. Much Sardinian bread is made dry, which keeps longer than high-moisture breads.Those are baked as well, includingcivraxiu,coccoi pintau, a highly decorative bread andpistoccu made with flour and water only, originally meant for herders, but often served at home with tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic and a strong cheese.[253] Traditional cheeses includepecorino sardo,pecorino romano,casizolu,ricotta and thecasu martzu (notable for containing live insect larvae).
One of the most famous of foods ispane carasau, the flat bread of Sardinia, famous for its thin crunchiness.[254] Originally the making of this bread was a hard process which needed three women to do the job. This flat bread is always made by hand as it gives a different flavor the more the dough is worked. After working the dough it is rolled out in very thin circles and placed in an extremely hot stone oven where the dough will blow up into a ball shape. Once the dough achieves that state it is then removed from the oven where it is then cut into two thin sheets and stacked to go back into the oven.[255]
Alcoholic beverages include many indigenous wines such asCannonau,Malvasia,Vernaccia,Vermentino, various liquors likeAbbardente,Filu Ferru andMirto. Beer is the most drunk alcoholic beverage; Sardinia boasts the highest consumption per capita of beer in Italy (twice higher than the national average).[256]Birra Ichnusa is the most commercialized beer produced in Sardinia.
Cagliari is home toCagliari Calcio, which was founded in 1920 and play inSerie A, the Italian first division; it won the Italian Championship in the1969–70 Serie A season, becoming the first club inSouthern Italy to achieve such a result. Today, home matches are played at theUnipol Domus.
Sassari is home toDinamo Basket Sassari, the only Sardinian professionalbasketball club playing in theLega Basket Serie A, the highest level club competition in Italian professional basketball.It was founded in 1960, and is also known as Dinamo Banco di Sardegna thanks to a long sponsorship deal with the Sardinian bank. Since its promotion in Lega A in 2010, it has been enjoying the support of fans from Sassari and all over Sardinia with full-house matches on every game played at home. Dinamo Sassari achieved the highest titles in the Italian basketball in 2015, winning theCoppa Italia, theSupercoppa and theItalian basketball championship.[260]
Sardinia is well known forscuba diving andsnorkeling activities also due to the many underwater caves and caverns located inAlghero andCala Gonone,Capo Caccia and Punta Giglio limestone cliffs, and many sunken shipwrecks. Around the island there are many diving centers offering scuba diving services with equipment rental and guided tours.
Vento di Sardegna ('Wind of Sardinia') was a sailboat sponsored by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia. Its skipper, Andrea Mura, won theSingle-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race in 2013 and in 2017, the Two Handed Transatlantic Race (Twostar) regatta in 2012 and the Route du Rhum.
Porto Pollo, north ofPalau, is a bay well known bywindsurfers andkitesurfers. The bay is divided by a thin tongue of land that separates it into areas for advanced and beginner/intermediate windsurfers. There is also a restricted area for kitesurfing. Many freestyle windsurfers went to Porto Pollo for training and 2007 saw the finale of the freestyle Pro Kids Europe 2007 contest. Because of theVenturi effect between Sardinia andCorsica, the western wind accelerates between the islands and creates the wind that makes Porto Pollo popular among windsurfing enthusiasts.
Cagliari hosts regularly internationalregattas, such as the RC44 championship,Farr 40 World championship,Audi MedCup and Kite Championships.[261] In view of the 36th America's Cup, scheduled to take place in New Zealand in 2021,Luna Rossa Challenge[262] has chosen Cagliari as place for its preparation.[needs update]
Four ski resorts are located on theGennargentu Range at Separadorgiu, Monte Spada, S'Arena and Bruncu Spina; they are equipped with ski schools, chairlifts, skilifts and ski equipment hire.[263]
S'Istrumpa, also known as Sardinian Wrestling, is a traditional Sardinian sport, officially recognized by theItalian National Olympic Committee (C.O.N.I.) and the International Federation of Celtic Wrestling (I.F.C.W.).[264] It shows similarities toScottish Backhold and thegouren. Istrumpa's wrestlers participate annually at the championships for Celtic wrestling stiles.
Sardinia boasts ancient equestrian traditions and is the Italian region with the highest number of horse riders (29% of population)[265] and boasts also finedarts tradition, which many believe originated in theSassari region of the country towards the end of the 15th century. In those days, the darts were carved frombeech (fagus) wood and the flights were feathers drawn from the indigenouspurple swamphen (named in Italianpollo sultano, 'sultana bird'), famed for its spectacular violet-blue plumage.
^Hogan, C. Michael (2011)."Balearic Sea". In Saundry, P.; Cleveland, C. J. (eds.).Encyclopedia of Earth. Washington DC: National Council for Science and the Environment – via eoearth.org.
^abUgas, Giovanni (2016). "Shardana e Sardegna. I popoli del mare, gli alleati del Nordafrica e la fine dei Grandi Regni".Cagliari, Edizioni Della Torre.
^Rowland, R. J. "When Did the Nuragic Period in Sardinia End." Sardinia Antiqua. Studi in Onore Di Piero Meloni in Occasione Del Suo Settantesimo Compleanno, 1992, 165–175.
^<<Da parte imperiale era dunque implicito il riconoscimento di una Sardegna barbaricina indomita se non libera e già in qualche modo statualmente conformata, dove continuava a esistere una civiltà o almeno una cultura d'origine nuragica, certo mutata ed evoluta per influenze esterne romane e vandaliche di cui nulla conosciamo tranne alcuni tardi effetti politici.>>Casula, Francesco Cèsare (2017).La storia di Sardegna, I, Evo Antico Sardo : Dalla Sardegna Medio-Nuragica (100 a.C. c.) alla Sardegna Bizantina (900 d.C. c.), p.281
^Claudian, De Bello Gildonico, IV A.D.: city located in front of Libya (Africa), founded by the powerful Tyro, Karalis extends in length, between the waves, with a small bumpy hill, disperses headwinds. It follows a port in the mid of the sea, and all strong winds are softened in the shelter of the pond.(521.Urbs Lybiam contra Tyrio fundata potenti 521. Tenditur in longum Caralis, tenuemque per undas 522. Obvia dimittit fracturum flamina collem. 523. Efficitur portus medium mare: tutaque ventis 524. Omnibus, ingenti mansuescunt stagna recessu)
^Wolf Heinz J., 1998, Toponomastica barbaricina. Microtoponomastica dei comuni di Fonni, Gavoi, Lodine, Mamoiada, Oliena, Ollolai, Olzai, Orgósolo, Ovodda, Insula Edizioni
^Gregorius I, Epistolae, Liber Quartus, Epistola XXIII: "Ad Hospitonem ducem barbaricinorum: Gregorius Hospitoni duci Barbaricinorum.Cum de gente vestra nemo Christianus sit, in hoc scio quia omni gente tua es melior, quia tu in ea Christianus inveniris. Dum enim Barbaricini omnes, ut insensata animalia vivant, Deum verum nesciant, ligna autem et lapides adorent, in eo ipso quod Deum verum colis, quantum omnes antecedas ostendis. Sed fidem quam percepisti etiam bonis actibus exsequere et verbis, et Christo, cui credis, offer quod praevales, ut ad eum quoscunque potueris adducas, eosque baptizari facias, et aeternam vitam diligere admoneas. Quod si fortasse ipse agere non potes, quia ad aliud occuparis, salutans peto ut hominibus (0692C) nostris, quos illuc transmisimus, fratri scilicet et coepiscopo meo Felici, filioque meo Cyriaco servo Dei, solatiari in omnibus debeas, ut dum eorum labores adiuvas, devotionem tuam omnipotenti Domino ostendas; et ipse tibi in bonis actibus adiutor sit, cuius tu in bono opere famulis solatiaris. Benedictionem vero sancti Petri apostoli per eos vobis transmisimus, quam peto ut debeatis benigne suscipere. Mense Iunio, indictione 12"
^Edwardes, Charles (1889).Sardinia and the Sardes. London: R. Bentley and Son. p. 249.
^abP. Grierson & L.Travaini, Medieval European Coinage, Cambridge University Press, 1998, p. 287.
^Consentino, Salvatore (16 December 2004). "Byzantine Sardinia between West and East: Features of a Regional Culture".Millennium – Jahrbuch (2004).1 (2004): 351.doi:10.1515/9783110180350.329.S2CID201121903.... Walter Kaegi has convincingly argued that an Arab raid against Sardinia took place in the second half of the seventh century. This is an important contribution, because until now scholars commonly believe the first Arab raids against Sardinia to have taken place in 703. The majority of Muslim raids against the island, according to Muslims sources, is concentrated in the first half of the eighth century (703–704, 705–706, 707–708, 710–711, 732, 735, 752), at the same time of one of the most enduring period of Arab pressure against Anatolia and Constantinople.
^Κύριε βοήθε τοῦ δοῦλου σου Tουρκοτουρίου ἅρχωντος Σαρδινίας καί τής δούλης σου Γετιτ 2) Tουρκοτουρίου βασιλικου πρωτοσπαθαρίου και Σαλουσίου των ευγενεστάτων αρχόντων. R. CORONEO, Scultura mediobizantina in Sardegna, Nuoro, Poliedro, 2000
^Antiquitas nostra primum Calarense iudicatum, quod tunc erat caput tocius Sardinie, armis subiugavit, et regem Sardinie Musaitum nomine civitati Ianue captum adduxerunt, quem per episcopum qui tunc Ianue erat, aule sacri palatii in Alamanniam mandaverunt, intimantes regnum illius nuper esse additum ditioni Romani imperii." – Oberti Cancellarii, Annales p 71, Georg Heinrich (a cura di) MGH, Scriptores, Hannoverae, 1863, XVIII, pp. 56–96
^Crónica del califa 'Abd ar-Rahmân III an-Nâsir entre los años 912–942,(al-Muqtabis V), édicion. a cura de P. CHALMETA – F. CORRIENTE, Madrid,1979, p. 365 Tuesday, 24 August 942 (A.D.), a messenger of the Lord of the island of Sardinia appeared at the gate of al-Nasir (...) asking for a treaty of peace and friendship. With him were the merchants, people Malfat, known in al-Andalus as from Amalfi, with the whole range of their precious goods, ingots of pure silver, brocades etc. ... transactions which drew gain and great benefits
^To the Archont of Sardinia: a bulla worth two goldsolidi with this written: from the very Christian Lords to the Archont of Sardinia. (εὶς τὸν ἄρχοντα Σαρδανίας. βούλλα κρυσῆ δισολδία. "κέλευσις ὲκ τῶν φιλοχρίστων δεσποτῶν πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα Σαρδανίας.") Reiske, Johann Jakob: Leich, Johannes Heinrich, eds. (1829). Constantini Porphyrogeniti Imperatoris De Ceremoniis Aulae Byzantinae libri duo graece et latini e recensione Io. Iac. Reiskii cum eiusdem commentariis integris. Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae 1 (Leipzig (1751–54) ed.). Bonn: Weber. pag. 690
^F. CODERA, Mochéid, conquistador de Cerdeña, in Centenario della nascita di Michele Amari. Scritti di filologia e storia araba; geografia, storia, diritto della Sicilia medioevale; studi bizantini e giudaici relativi all'Italia meridionale nel medio evo; documenti sulle relazioni fra gli Stati italiani e il Levante, vol. II, Palermo 1910, pp. 115–33, p. 124
^B. Maragonis,Annales pisani a. 1004–1175, ed. K. PERTZ, in MGH, Scriptores, 19, Hannoverae, 1861/1963, pp. 236–2 andGli Annales Pisani di Bernardo Maragone, a cura di M. L. Gentile, in Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, n.e., VI/2, Bologna 1930, pp. 4–7. 1017. «Fuit Mugietus reversus in Sardineam, et cepit civitatem edificare ibi atque homines Sardos vivos in cruce murare. Et tunc Pisani et Ianuenses illuc venere, et ille propter pavorem eorum fugit in Africam. Pisani vero et Ianuenses reversi sunt Turrim, in quo insurrexerunt Ianuenses in Pisanos, et Pisani vicerunt illos et eiecerunt eos de Sardinea».
^Dyson, Stephen L; Rowland, Robert J. (2007).Archaeology and history in Sardinia from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages: shepherds, sailors & conquerors. Philadelphia: UPenn Museum of Archaeology, 2007. p. 136.ISBN978-1-934536-02-5.
^The phonology of Campidanian Sardinian : a unitary account of a self-organizing structure, Roberto Bolognesi, The Hague : Holland Academic Graphics
^Colpi di scure e sensi di colpa. Storia del disboscamento della Sardegna dalle origini a oggi, Fiorenzo Caterini, Carlo Delfino editore,ISBN978-88-7138-704-8
^Roy Domenico (2002).The Regions of Italy. A Reference Guide to History and Culture. London: Greenwood Press. p. 258.
^Antonio Basso, Generale Antonio Basso, L'armistizio del settembre 1943 in Sardegna, Napoli, Rispoli, 1947. no ISBN, page 57
^Spartaco Gippoliti & Giovanni Amori, "Ancient introductions of mammals in the Mediterranean Basin and their implications for conservation",Mammal Review 36 (1) (January 2006): 37–48.
^P.Y. Sondaar, A.A.E. van der Geer Mesolithic environment and animal exploitation on Cyprus and Sardinia/Corsica M. Mashkour, A. Choyke, M. Buitenhuis (Eds.), Proceedings of the IVth ASWA Symposium, IVA (2000), pp. 67–73 (Paris)
^Camillo, Lisa (2019).Una ferita italiana. I veleni e i segreti delle basi NATO in Sardegna: l'inquinamento radioattivo e l'omertà delle istituzioni. Ponte alle Grazie.
^Amos Cardia (2006).S'italianu in Sardìnnia candu, cumenti e poita d'ant impostu : 1720-1848; poderi e lìngua in Sardìnnia in edadi spanniola. Ghilarza: Iskra.
^La Nuova Sardegna, 04/11/10, Per salvare i segni dell'identità – di Paolo Coretti
^Bourdain, Anthony (14 September 2009)."No Reservations- Sardinia".Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations Season 5 Episode 20: Sardinia. Retrieved24 October 2015.
Brigaglia, Manlio; Mastino, Attilio; Ortu, Gian Giacomo (2006).Storia della Sardegna. Dalle origini al Settecento. Roma-Bari: Laterza Editore.ISBN978-88-420-7839-5.
Jeff Biggers.In Sardinia: An Unexpected Journey in Italy (2023)ISBN978-1-68589-026-1
Edward Burman.Sardinia: Island of Myths, Giants and Magic (2019)ISBN978-1-78831-432-9
Robert Tennant.Sardinia and its Resources (2010)
Nick Bruno.Insight Guide Sardinia(2010)
Tracey Heatherington.Wild Sardinia: Indigeneity and the Global Dreamtimes of Environmentalism (2010) 314 pages; examines the clash between conservation efforts and traditional commons; focuses on resistance in the town of Orgosolo to Gennargentu National Park.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sardinia".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
._Emory_S._Land_is_the_only_forward_deployed_submarine_tender_in_the_Western_hemisphere.jpg)
.jpg)
.svg)
_SRD.svg)
_(22126481703).jpg)
.JPG)
%2c_cappella_centrale_della_madonna_05.jpg)
.JPG)
