498 Cadinu
between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, is still open. The distinction be-
tween the various settlement patterns, often with evidence attributable to very
different cultural contexts, is a first element for assessment and dating.
It is first necessary to examine the legacy of the ancient world that remains
inscribed in medieval settlements. In their earliest forms, many of Sardinia’s
medieval villages also bear the mark of Mediterranean Islamic culture. Yet, the
birth of cities such as Sassari, Oristano, Bosa, and Santa Igia (Cagliari) between
the eleventh and twelfth centuries evidences the power of the local govern-
ment forces, known as the giudicati.2 During their rule, the island underwent
important cultural changes that contributed to significant evolution in the
fields of urban planning and architecture. The giudici were sensitive to inter-
national cultures and, when they came into contact with the Roman Church,
they managed the island through a transition that entailed a momentous dis-
tancing from Islamic cultural dominance and an opening up to new models.
This strategy is reflected in the island’s European Romanesque architecture.
The thirteenth century began with a serious Pisan incursion that resulted
in the re-foundation of Cagliari, which replaced the giudicato’s former capital
Santa Igia in the space of just a few decades. Institutional tensions gave way
to new historic scenarios, which had important consequences for architecture
and urbanism. New military, economic, and fiscal assets marked the progres-
sive crisis for the giudicati and led to the Aragonese invasion in the early four-
teenth century.3 However, it is important to analyze some of these factors in
order to better define the island’s medieval urban conditions.
1 The Legacy of the Ancient World
The traces of the buildings, streets, and walls of the Phoenician/Punic and
Roman cities in Sardinia disappeared during the early Middle Ages. The trans-
formation of their original functions, after continuity in some sites, was a
(Rome-Bari, 1989); Enrico Guidoni, La città europea: formazione e significato dal IV all’XI
secolo (Milan, 1978).
2 The political role of the Giudicati was very similar to that of a kingdom. Sardinia was divided
into four giudicati, and led by giudici ( judges). Zedda, Corrado, and Raimondo Pinna, “La nas-
cita dei giudicati: proposta per lo scioglimento di un enigma storiografico,” Archivio storico
e giuridico sardo di Sassari n.s. 12 (2007), pp. 27–118; Raimondo Turtas, Storia della Chiesa in
Sardegna dalle origini al Duemila (Rome, 1999). A general overview of the medieval giudicati
can be found in Gian Giacomo Ortu, La Sardegna dei giudici (Nuoro, 2005). See also his chap-
ter “Society and Power in Medieval Sardinia” in this volume.
3 Zedda and Pinna, “La nascita dei giudicati,” pp. 125–187.