Urban Planning And New Towns In Medieval Sardinia 501
(Cagliari), maintained their geographical logic but changed course to serve the
new medieval centers that controlled some of the routes (Fig. 19.1). This was
the case with Sestu and Quartu, both of which emerged either during the high
medieval era of rural reorganization, or more likely during the first period of
the giudicati.10
10 Modification of the course of rivers and stagnant waters, collapsed bridges, and changes
in the system of land ownership are among the reasons for the reorganization of the road
system in the Middle Ages. Even the “name-number” of villages like Quartu or Sestu (the
fourth and sixth miles of the highway from the Roman road planning tradition) prove
to be false indicators; see Mauro Calzolari, “Contributi toponomastici alla ricostruzione
della rete stradale dell’Italia Romana,” in Atlante tematico di topografia antica. Opere di
assetto territoriale e urbano, eds Lorenzo Quilici and Stefania Quilici Gigli (Rome, 1995),
vol. 3, pp. 34–67. On the place of Sardinia in a more general overview of the Italian situ-
ation. Marco Cadinu, “Le strade medievali nel territorio periurbano tra continuità con
l’antico e ridisegno moderno dei tracciati,” in Archeologia delle strade. La viabilità in età
Figure 19.1 Medieval new towns or “Villenove.”