Sassari 337
Byzantine city of Aristianis, documented in written sources as early as the sev-
enth century,7 was related to the transfer of the episcopal seat from Tharros
in the eleventh century, and the subsequent role it played as the capital of the
giudicato of Arborea.
2 Sassari: The Birth of the City
Sassari, the principal city of northern Sardinia, is located near the island’s
northwest corner, around 15 km from the sea, on an ample calcareous plateau
with a steep slope running from east to west, and bordered by three valleys
(Fig. 13.1). Specialized historical and, to a lesser extent, archaeological studies
7 Pier Giorgio Spanu, La Sardegna bizantina tra VI e VII secolo (Oristano, 1998), pp. 60–65;
Raimondo Zucca, “Le origini di Oristano,” Quaderni della Soprintendenza Archeologica delle
Province di Cagliari e Oristano 4 (1988), pp. 125–132; Maria Grazia Mele, Oristano giudicale.
Topografia e insediamento (Cagliari, 1999).
Figure 13.1 Aerial view of Sassari’s historical center.
With kind permission of the Archaeological Superintendence
of Sardinia, Italian Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism.