48 Hobart
of the urban texture, together with the identification of certain regional top-
onyms on both the north and south coasts of the island, strengthen the idea
that there was indeed a fragmented Islamic presence that is no longer visible.
Cadinu claims the appearance of this type of urban configuration as evidence
of the Arab presence on the island—at least since 752, when the gizah tax was
imposed on Sardinia. This chapter also provides examples of towns that reflect
this “Islamic” trend, while identifying terms for places and sites on the island
that have an Arab root. The rational linear, squared plans arrive later with Pisa,
Genoa, and Spain. In certain cases new towns were modeled on Tuscan ex-
amples, such as the Florentine San Giovanni al Vadarno.127
This volume is multidisciplinary and draws on prior and new scholarship
on Sardinia. This book does not seek to replace a much-needed synthesis of
Sardinia’s medieval and modern history, but rather it tries to provide both a
broad introduction, in English, to the major events in that history, as well as
a robust bibliography for those interested in further research. It is our hope
that this volume will constitute a plentiful overview of Sardinian history from
approximately 500 to 1500 AD for a general audience, while also stimulating
scholars to engage with the pressing questions.
127 Marco Cadinu, “Ristrutturazioni urbanistiche nel segno della croce delle Juharias della
Sardegna dopo il 1492,” in Storia dell’Urbanistica. Annuario Nazionale di Storia della Città
e del Territorio n.s. 3 (Rome, 1999), pp. 198–204; Marco Cadinu, Urbanistica medievale in
Sardegna (Rome, 2001); Marco Cadinu, “Elementi di derivazione islamica nell’architettura
e nell’urbanistica della Sardegna medievale. I segni di una presenza stabile,” in 700–1100
d.C.: storia, archeologia e arte nei “secoli bui” del Mediterraneo. Dalle fonti scritte, archeo-
logiche ed artistiche alla ricostruzione della vicenda storica: la Sardegna laboratorio di es-
perienze culturali, Cagliari, 17–19 ottobre 2012 (Cagliari, 2014), pp. 399–428; Marco Cadinu,
“Il recupero dei foundouk urbani e le trasformazioni in atto tra Marrakech e le città del
meridione europeo,” in Houses and Cities Built with Earth. Conservation, Significance and
Urban Quality, eds Maddalena Achenza, Mariana Correia, Marco Cadinu, and Amadeo
Serra Desfilis (Lisbon, 2006), pp. 111–116.