Contribution Of Archaeology To Medieval And Modern Sardinia 295
occupying himself with the region of lower Piedmont and assuming an impor-
tant position in the political life and chief military actions of the commune of
Genoa, as in the case of his participation in the victorious battle against Pisa
near Meloria under Oberto Doria’s command on 6 August 1284. Jacopo Doria
chronicled that famous battle, which was also commemorated by an inscrip-
tion embedded in the facade of San Matteo in Genoa (Fig. 11.8).83
The powerful Doria family, with its vast economic operation, was guided in
its choice of sites for fortification by the desire to exert control over strategic
resources, such as coral, wheat, and silver. The Doria castles were built on a
peninsula close to a natural inlet near Alghero on Sardinia’s northwest coast,
in order to control the harvesting of rich coral reefs and manage commercial
traffic. From the castle called Castrum Ianuense (or Castelgenovese), they
also managed Anglona’s wheat trade and created a network with the nearby
Genoese colony of Bonifacio on the coast of Corsica, a speculative venture be-
ginning after 1195 (Fig. 11.9). This link between Bonifacio and Castelgenovese,
which is also apparent in its Genovese architectural style, was likewise re-
vealed by archaeological excavations of the two “twin” centers, particularly in
83 D’Oria and Gadducci (2005), pp. 63–65.
Figure 11.8 Piazza of San Matteo in Genoa, headquarters of the Doria family; in the
background, the church of San Matteo.