Neptune's Needle

Sardinia (area; 9,302 sq mi/24,092 sq km; 1991 pop. 1,648,248), W Italy, mostly on the Mediterranean isl. of Sardinia, which is separated in the N from Corsica by the Strait of Bonifacio; (cap.) Cagliari ; 40º00'N 09º00'E. The region also includes Asinara, Caprera, San Pietro, and La Maddalena isls. The highest point of the mostly mountainous isl. is Mt. Gennargentu (6,016 ft/1,834 m).

Natural pastures cover more than 1/2 the area of Sardinia; sheep and goats are widely raised. Wheat, barley, grapes, olives, cork, and tobacco are produced. Sardinia is endowed with minerals, including zinc, talc, lead, antimony, high-sulphur coal, lignite, copper, and salt. Fishing for tuna, lobster, and sardines is important. Sardinia is a troubled economic region with a low per capita income and high unemployment. There is still little industry, although hydroelectric plants, all-weather roads, and reclamation projects have been completed since 1945. Mfg. includes non-ferrous metals, refined petroleum, chemicals, processed food, wine, textiles, and leather and wood prods. Tourism is also an important industry. The Costa Smeralda, a series of luxurious NW coastal tourist villages constructed in the 1960s by investor Aga Khan, had a major economic impact on the coastal pops. and the island’s economy.

An early center of trade, Sardinia was mentioned in Egyptian sources in the 13th cent. B.C., and many traces of its prehistoric inhabitants remain. Phoenicians (c.800 B.C.) and Carthaginians (c.500 B.C.) settled here before Rome conquered (238 B.C.) the isl. Sardinia was a source of grain and salt for the Romans, who governed the isl. harshly. After the fall of Rome, Sardinia passed to the Vandals (mid-5th cent. A.D.) and then to the Byzantines (early 6th cent.). The Byzantines neglected Sardinia, and the popes gained considerable power there; they claimed suzerainty over it and helped repel Arab attacks (8th-11th cent.). Later, Pisa and Genoa often fought (11th-14th cent.) for supremacy over the isl., but neither held sway for long. Pisa had much influence on the art and architecture of Sardinia. In 1297, Pope Boniface VIII bestowed the isl. on the house of Aragon, from which it passed (late 15th cent.) to Spain. By the Peace of Utrecht (1713) Spain ceded it to Austria, but in 1717 Cardinal Alberoni sent a Span. force to occupy the isl. The settlement of 1720 awarded Sardinia to Victor Amadeus II of Savoy (who styled himself king of Sardinia) in exchange for Sicily, which was given to Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. The kings of Sardinia usually resided at Turin. They tried to establish some order out of chaos on Sardinia with judicial, agrarian, and ecclesiastic reforms. Feudal privileges caused much unrest until they were abolished in 1835. Administrative autonomy was ended in 1847; however, the region received some autonomy under the Ital. constitution of 1947. There are univ. at Cagliari and Sassari.

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Compiler

Peter Richards