The Castle of Gioiosa Guardia ( it, Castello di Gioiosa Guardia) is a medieval castle in

Villamassargia Villamassargia, Bidda Matzràxia, Bidda Massàrgia (agrarian town) in sardinian language, is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about west of Cagliari and about northeast of ...

province of South Sardinia The Province of South Sardinia ( it, provincia del Sud Sardegna; sc, provìntzia de Sud Sardigna) is an Italian province of Sardinia instituted on 4 February 2016. It includes the suppressed provinces of Province of Carbonia-Iglesias, Carbonia- ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

History

The castle was probably built by the

Della Gherardesca The House della Gherardesca was an old noble family of the Republic of Pisa, dating back as early as the 11th century of Longobard origin. They were an important one of the most prominent initially in Pisa, then of Volterra and eventually and of F ...

which became masters of the south-west of Sardinia after the partition of Giudicato of Cagliari that took place in 1258. However, according to another hypothesis, its construction would be dated to the 12th century, during the reign of William I of Cagliari. It's located on the border between the territory of

Ugolino della Gherardesca Ugolino della Gherardesca (March 1289), Count of Donoratico, was an Italian nobleman, politician and naval commander. He was frequently accused of treason and features prominently in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. Biography In the 13th century, the ...

( curatoria of Cixerri) and the heirs of Gherardo della Gherardesca (curatoria of Sulcis, Nora and Decimo). It was occupied for a short period, between 1290 and 1295 approximately, from Guelfo della Gherardesca, son of the late Count Ugolino, who was trying to conquer the land held by the other Della Gherardesca: Ranieri and Boniface. Following the wars between the

giudicato of Arborea The Judicate of Arborea ( sc, Judicadu de Arbaree, it, Giudicato di Arborea, ) or the Kingdom of Arborea (, , ) was one of the four independent judicates into which the island of Sardinia was divided in the Middle Ages. It occupied the central ...

and the Kingdom of Sardinia, the castle assumed again a military function; the documents show that it was conquered and occupied temporarily by

Brancaleone Doria Brancaleone Doria was the husband of Eleanor of Arborea. He was a scion of an influential family (the Doria) of the Republic of Genoa, the son of the elder Brancaleone and a woman named Giacomina. On 16 March 1357, he became a vassal of Peter IV o ...

, husband of

Eleanor of Arborea Eleanor of Arborea or Eleanor De Serra Bas ( Sardinian: Elianora de Arbarée / Elianora De Serra Bas, Italian: Eleonora d'Arborea / Eleonora De Serra Bas; 1347— June 1404) was one of the most powerful and important, and one of the last, judges ...

. The castle, in later centuries, passed into the hands of various Aragonese feudal lords.

Bibliography

*Anna Paola Deiana - ''Il castello di Gioiosa Guardia: fonti e testimonianze archeologiche'', Ed. S'Alvure, 2003 - 137 pagine

External links

Contusu.it Il castello di Gioiosa Guardia
{{Authority control Castles in Sardinia Buildings and structures in the Province of South Sardinia