CagliariCagliari (kælˈjɑːri, also UKˌkæliˈɑːri,_ˈkæljəri, USˈkɑːljəri, ˈkaʎʎari; Casteddu kasˈteɖːu; Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu means castle. It has about 155,000 inhabitants, while its metropolitan city (including Cagliari and 16 other nearby municipalities) has about 420,000 inhabitants. According to Eurostat, the population of the Functional urban area, the commuting zone of Cagliari, rises to 476,975.
ComuneA comune (koˈmuːne; plural: comuni koˈmuːni) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions (regioni) and provinces (province). The comune can also have the title of città ('city'). Formed praeter legem according to the principles consolidated in medieval municipalities, the comune is provided for by art. 114 of the Constitution of Italy. It can be divided into frazioni, which in turn may have limited power due to special elective assemblies.
AlgheroAlghero (alˈɡɛːɾo; L'Alguer lalˈɣe; S'Alighèra saliˈɣɛɾa; L'Aliera laˈljɛːɾa) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northwestern Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from Aleguerium, which is a mediaeval Latin word meaning "stagnation of algae" (Posidonia oceanica). The population is noted for having retained the language of the Crown of Aragon rulers from the end of the Middle Ages, when Sardinia was part of the Crown of Aragon; hence, Alguerese (the Catalan dialect spoken there) is officially recognized as a minority language.
Sardinian medieval kingdomsThe Judicates (judicadus, logus or rennus in Sardinian, judicati in Latin, regni or giudicati sardi in Italian), in English also referred to as Sardinian Kingdoms, Sardinian Judgedoms or Judicatures, were independent states that took power in Sardinia in the Middle Ages, between the ninth and fifteenth centuries. They were sovereign states with summa potestas, each with a ruler called judge (judike in Sardinian), with the powers of a king. After a relatively brief Vandal occupation (456–534), Sardinia was a province of the Byzantine Empire from 535 until the eighth century.
NurraThe Nurra is a geographical region in the northwest of Sardinia, Italy. It is the second-largest plain of the island, located between the towns of Sassari, Porto Torres and Alghero. It covers a surface of 700 km2 and is bounded by the Sardinian Sea on the west and by the Gulf of Asinara on the north. Nurra was once an important mining center, with Argentiera being the principal village, though today it is a ghost town.
OristanoOristano (oriˈstaːno; Aristanis aɾi.sta:nis) is an Italian city and comune, and capital of the Province of Oristano in the central-western part of the island of Sardinia. It is located on the northern part of the Campidano plain. It was established as the provincial capital on 16 July 1974. , the city had 31,671 inhabitants. The economy of Oristano is based mainly on services, agriculture, tourism and small industries. Oristano was previously known by the Byzantines as Aristanis (in Byzantine Greek: Αριστάνις), and founded close to the ancient Phoenician settlement of Othoca (now Santa Giusta).
Nuragic civilizationThe Nuragic civilization, also known as the Nuragic culture, was a civilization or culture on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Italy, which lasted from the 18th century BC (Middle Bronze Age) (or from the 23rd century BC ) up to the Roman colonization in 238 BC. Others date the culture as lasting at least until the 2nd century AD and in some areas, namely the Barbagia, to the 6th century AD or possibly even to the 11th century AD. The adjective "Nuragic" is neither an autonym nor an ethnonym.
Sardinian peopleThe Sardinians, or Sards (Sardos or Sardus; Italian and Sassarese: Sardi; Gallurese: Saldi), are a Romance language-speaking ethnic group native to Sardinia, from which the western Mediterranean island and autonomous region of Italy derives its name. Not much can be gathered from the classical literature about the origins of the Sardinian people. The ethnonym "S(a)rd" belongs to the Pre-Indo-European linguistic substratum, and whilst they might have derived from the Iberians, the accounts of the old authors differ greatly in this respect.
Republic of GenoaThe Republic of Genoa was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in both the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. Between the 16th and 17th centuries, it was one of the major financial centers in Europe. Throughout its history, the Genoese Republic established numerous colonies throughout the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, including Corsica from 1347 to 1768, Monaco, Southern Crimea from 1266 to 1475, and the islands of Lesbos and Chios from the 14th century to 1462 and 1566, respectively.
History of SardiniaArchaeological evidence of prehistoric human settlement on the island of Sardinia is present in the form of nuraghes and other prehistoric monuments, which dot the land. The recorded history of Sardinia begins with its contacts with the various people who sought to dominate western Mediterranean trade in classical antiquity: Phoenicians, Punics and Romans. Initially under the political and economic alliance with the Phoenician cities, it was partly conquered by Carthage in the late 6th century BC and then entirely by Rome after the First Punic War (230 BC).
