Overview Of Sardinian History 89
In the late sixth century, Sardinia was described in part in letters sent by
Pope Gregory I (590–604) to bishops, people he trusted, and imperial func-
tionaries in Sardinia (infra Turtas).11 The pontiff appointed the bishoprics of
Carales (Cagliari), Turris Libisonis (Porto Torres), and Fausania (Olbia), add-
ing them to those of Sulci (Sant’Antioco), Tharros (on the peninsula of Sinis),
Cornus-Senafer, and Forum Traiani (Fordongianus), all spread along the
coastal areas. Christianity was practiced in the urban centers, diffusing slowly
and with difficulty into the countryside and central territories of the island.
Further, in Cagliari there was also an ancient Jewish community, which was
active and well organized around the synagogue (infra Tasca).12
Gregory the Great made persistent efforts to Christianize the large sections
of the Sardinian population that retained connections to pagan beliefs. In
May 594, the pontiff wrote to Bishop Felix that he had learned from Ciriaco,
the Roman abbot sent to the island, how “almost all of your peasants practice
the cult of idolatry.” Gregory therefore turned to the great landowners, hold-
ing them responsible for the behavior of their subordinates who worshiped
stones (lapides adorari). Conversely, he lauded Zabarda (dux Sardinae) for his
policies towards the Barbaricini, which aimed at making peace with them and
converting them to Christianity. He also wrote another letter in May directly to
Ospitone (594), the leader of the Barbaricini (dux Barbaricinorum), who had
become Christian. In this letter, Gregory invited Ospitone to support the mis-
sionary efforts of Felix and Ciriaco to convert the people who still lived like
animals (insensata animalia), ignoring the true God and adoring the trees and
rocks.13
In October 598, the pope directed Januarius, bishop of Carales, not only to
care for the souls of his diocesans, but also to watch over the fortifications of
the city walls to counter the Lombards’ attempts to conquer the city. Moreover,
he requested that the synagogue that had been occupied by the Christians
be returned to the Jewish community, which remained present and impor-
tant. The entire population had to remain united in order to face the new
11 Turtas, Storia della Chiesa in Sardegna, pp. 102–122; Mauro Sanna, “L’epistolario sardo-
corso di Gregorio Magno,” Gregorio Magno e la Sardegna. Atti del Convegno internazionale
di studio di Sassari, 15–16 aprile 2005, ed. Luigi Giovanni Giuseppe Ricci (Florence, 2007),
pp. 69–116.
12 Tomasino Pinna, Gregorio Magno e la Sardegna (Sassari, 1989), pp. 62–90.
13 Dag Ludvig Norberg, ed., S. Gregorii Magni Registrum epistolarum (Turnhout, 1982), vol. 1,
IV, 23, 25, 27; Raimondo Turtas, “Gregorio Magno e la Sardegna: gli informatori del ponte-
fice,” in Mastino, Sotgiu, and Spaccapelo, La Sardegna paleocristiana, pp. 497–513; Pinna,
Gregorio Magno e la Sardegna, pp. 161–174.