510 Cadinu
structures. Some rural churches continue to preserve in their decorations a
continental (Pisan) architectural Islamic language (Fig. 19.5).
Finally, some of the traditions on the use of water in the medieval period
are similar to those of the Islamic world. The “official” mentioned in a late thir-
teenth-century document in Sassari is called “partidore de abba,” the person
who divides the water between land owners, mills, and horticultural gardens,
a similar role to those present in Valencia, Palermo, and Murcia: to these one
might add buildings for water named or modeled after the Islamic “Cuba”27
and other fountains with names that refer to Moors and Saracens, known to be
skilled with water: Fontana del Moro (Teti), Funtana su Moru (Austis), Fontana
Maurreddus (Pula); Fontana Saraxinu (Gadoni).
Accordingly, south-central Sardinia and the Campidano area, from historic
and urban points of view, can be considered akin to the Maghreb. Along with
some Iberian regions and minor, southern Italian areas, Sardinia is among the
few European examples of archaic Islamic urbanism. The historic relation-
ships between this area of Sardinia and Islamic culture can still be found in
27 Cadinu, Urbanistica medievale, p. 158.
Figure 19.5 The Romanesque church of San Pietro di Sorres in Borutta (second half of the
eleventh century–second half of the twelfth century) has a double lancet window
of Islamic inspiration.
photo: author.