Sardinia As A Crossroads In The Mediterranean 17
began to rethink the history of their island. They revisited the Spanish archives
with a more scientific approach to better understand what was collected in
them. Monographs and other publications on Sardinian history flourished
in the years around 1950, which also strengthened the identity of the island.
In reconstructing Sardinian history, Alberto Boscolo, who deserves special
mention, developed two distinct approaches: the first was Sardinia-oriented,
and recounts the history of the island from a non-colonial point of view that
focused on its inner force and uniqueness. To accomplish this, Boscolo and
his school began reviewing the Catalan-Aragonese archives in Barcelona,
Madrid, Simancas, and Seville. The second goal of the post-war generation was
to actively interact with non-Sardinian scholars, mostly Spanish, who were
interested in the Mediterranean—for instance, through the Crown of Aragon
conferences. Here, and in his extensive published work, Boscolo reintegrated
Sardinia into the center of the Mediterranean from a historical perspective.
A true pioneer, Boscolo was also the first to address the Jewish—and later
the Muslim—communities on the island, which, until then, had barely been
mentioned.33 He facilitated access to studying abroad for his students, by
underlining that, to better understand Sardinia, one has to leave the island.
This era raised a wide range of topics, many of which continue to stimulate
discussion.34 In 1980, Alberto Boscolo and historian Giovanni Lilliu founded
Sassaresi (1901–), Studi Sardi (1934–), and the Archivio storico e giuridico sardo di Sassari
(1975–). More recently, to facilitate access and reduce publication costs, the online journal
RiMe: Rivista dell’Istituto di Storia dell’Europa Mediterranea is available to all and a favorite
among the younger generation.
33 Alberto Boscolo, “Gli ebrei in Sardegna durante la dominazione aragonese,” Annali della
Facoltà di lettere, Filosofia e Magistero dell’Università di Cagliari 19 (1952), pp. 162–171;
Alberto Boscolo, “Gli scavi di Piscina Nuxedda in Sardegna,” in Atti del colloquio internazi-
onale di Archeologia medievale (Palermo—Erice 20–22 settembre 1974), I (Palermo, 1976),
pp. 251–255.
34 Alberto Boscolo, Medioevo aragonese (Padua, 1958); Antonello Mattone, “Problemi di sto-
ria del parlamento sardo (XIV–XVII secolo),” Università di Perugia, Annali della Facoltà di
Scienze politiche 19:9 (1982–1983), pp. 151–184; Guidetti, Storia dei Sardi e della Sardegna;
Giuseppe Meloni, “La Sardegna nel quadro della politica mediterranea di Pisa, Genova e
l’Aragona,” in Guidetti, Storia dei Sardi e della Sardegna, vol. 2, pp. 49–96; and from the
Spanish point of view, Rafael Conde y Delgado de Molina, “La Sardegna aragonese,” in
Guidetti, Storia dei Sardi e della Sardegna, vol. 2, pp. 251–278; Laura Galoppini, Sardegna
e Mediterraneo: dai vandali agli aragonesi. Antologia di fonti scritte (Pisa, 1994); Marco
Tangheroni, La Sardegna e Alghero nel sistema dell’economia catalana (Sassari, 1994); for
the latest Catalan-Aragonese publication, see Anna Maria Oliva and Olivetta Schena, eds,
Sardegna Catalana (Barcelona, 2014); see, in particular, Olivetta Schena’s introduction,