550 Cadinu
7 Conclusions
The Mediterranean-wide political and institutional crises of the early Middle
Ages profoundly diminished the structural integrity of the Roman cities in
Sardinia. Their urban form tended to disappear, although the religious and
institutional spheres preserved some legacies. The Islamic presence from the
eighth to the eleventh centuries—traditionally described as a “fleeting raid”—
influenced the local culture, the aristocracy, and subsequently the emerging
institution of the giudicati. Sardinia’s remarkable architectural and urban heri-
tage, particularly prevalent in the villages of the island’s center, bears testimo-
ny to Islamic culture in the shared planning, building, and social values of the
Middle Ages.
From the eleventh century onwards, Sardinia was opened to new interna-
tional contact and the power of the giudicati was gradually stabilized. The
weakening of relationships with the Islamic world was passed down through
historical sources as the reconquista of the island at the hands of the Christian
fleets of Pisa and Genoa. In fact, this process was a sign of the region’s involve-
ment in the vast religious reorganization implemented by Pope Gregory VII.
The giudicati participated in the reformation through their contact with the
Roman Church. Architecturally, the influence of Rome was manifested in the
gradual adoption of the Romanesque style, as well as the relinquishing of some
territorial and religious resources to Benedictine orders.
The same period saw the construction of the first giudicali cities (Santa Igia,
Oristano, and Sassari). Typically, these new foundations were built according
to new settlement principles that bore no direct relation to the urban form of
the ancient cities. However, they maintained Mediterranean dwelling typolo-
gies in a context of international relations. For instance, the island’s strategic
role in commercial contact with North Africa favored the presence of foreign
mercantile communities. The four rulers of the giudicati sanctioned the ac-
tivity of such interests through the availability of hospitality facilities in their
ports, especially during the twelfth century.
The first decades of the thirteenth century marked the beginning of the de-
cline of the giudicati. The Pisan invasion of Cagliari and their foundation of
the Castello neighborhood ushered in the devastation of the area’s previous
territorial and political balance. The consequences of this period were so im-
portant as to determine the progressive transformation of the urban structure
of the island’s cities. New walls, urban growth, and new regulations were re-
corded throughout the thirteenth century, with the adoption of modern mod-
els moving towards the formation of the urban grids that have remained to
the present day. Pisan Cagliari maintains signs of a precise European project