106 Galoppini
within the city walls.57 At Sassari, the local population continued to live with
a large number of immigrants—the men of various nations who frequented
its markets—the most numerous and important at the time being Corsicans.
Sassari was the first to spontaneously subject itself to Aragon’s rule, but it was
also the first to rebel (1325, 1329). As a consequence, Sassari was populated by
Catalan-Aragonese, based on the model applied at Castell de Cáller. The proj-
ect basically failed, as there weren’t enough new inhabitants. Thus the original
inhabitants returned to the city.58
King Alfonso IV, the Kind (1327–1336) initiated a reorganization of the ports
and city centers of Sardinia to enhance productivity and generate greater rev-
enues. Cagliari was characterized by its dominant port structure along the
Mediterranean routes and as an international center of raw materials (hides,
wool, grains, and especially salt).59 Sassari, where the raw materials produced
in the territory arrived, was configured as an artisanal production center. The
new pre-industrial area, situated on the outskirts, was planned with the build-
ings and structures necessary for wool and leather workers, tailors, tanners,
and money changers (1330).60 Porto Torres was fortified and repopulated,
making it a depot for merchandise accessible by sea for transportation to the
merchant squares of Sassari. Moreover, a large armory able to hold at least 12
galleys, organized like that of Pisa, which was considered a model of naval
engineering, was planned for Porto Torres.61 Alghero, born under the initia-
tive of the Genoese Doria family and repopulated following the example of
Cagliari (1355), increased notably in importance as a port center that spe-
cialized in harvesting the precious coral that lies on the sea floor adjacent to
the city.
57 Angelo Castellaccio, “La zecca di Villa di Chiesa e la politica monetaria degli Aragonesi
nei primi anni della dominazione in Sardegna,” in Aspetti di storia italo-catalana (Sassari,
1983), pp. 11–72 (also published in Studi su Iglesias medioevale, ed. Francesco Artizzu (Pisa,
1985), pp. 73–134).
58 Laura Galoppini, Ricchezza e potere nella Sassari aragonese (Pisa, 1989).
59 Marco Tangheroni, Aspetti del commercio dei cereali nei Paesi della Corona d’Aragona. La
Sardegna (Pisa, 1981).
60 Antonello Mattone, ed., Corporazioni, Gremi e artigianato tra Sardegna, Spagna e Italia nel
Medioevo e nell’Età Moderna (XIV–XIX secolo) (Cagliari, 2000).
61 Laura Galoppini, “La Sardegna giudicale e catalano-aragonese,” in Storia della Sardegna,
ed. Manlio Brigaglia (Cagliari, 1998), p. 159.