Kingdom Of Sardinia (1700–1720)
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The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
in
Southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...
from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of this kingdom. The kingdom was a member of the Council of Aragon and initially consisted of the islands of
Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
and
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
, sovereignty over both of which was claimed by the
papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
, which granted them as a fief, the (Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica), to King
James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Aragonese: ''Chaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just, was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He was also the King of Sicily (as James I) f ...
in 1297. Beginning in 1324, James and his successors conquered the island of Sardinia and established '' de facto'' their ''
de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...
'' authority. In 1420, after the Sardinian–Aragonese war, the last competing claim to the island was bought out. After the union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile, Sardinia became a part of the burgeoning
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
. In 1720, the island and its kingdom were ceded by the
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
and Bourbon claimants from the Spanish throne to the
Duke of Savoy The titles of the count of Savoy, and then duke of Savoy, are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the House of Savoy held the county. Several of these rulers ruled as kings at ...
,
Victor Amadeus II Victor Amadeus II (; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was the head of the House of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 12 June 1675 until his abdication in 1730. He was the first of his house to acquire a royal crown, ruling first as King o ...
. The Savoyards united it with their historical possessions on the Italian mainland, and the kingdom came to be progressively identified with the mainland states, which included, besides Savoy and
Aosta Aosta ( , , ; ; , or ; or ) is the principal city of the Aosta Valley, a bilingual Regions of Italy, region in the Italy, Italian Alps, north-northwest of Turin. It is situated near the Italian entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel and the G ...
, dynastic possessions like the
Principality of Piedmont A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchical state or feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "principality" is often ...
and the
County of Nice The County of Nice (; ; Niçard ) was a historical region of France and Italy located around the southeastern city of Nice and roughly equivalent to the modern arrondissement of Nice. It was part of the Savoyard state within the Holy Roman Emp ...
, over both of which the Savoyards had been exercising their control since the 13th century and 1388, respectively. The formal name of this composite state was the " States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia", and it was and is referred to as either Sardinia–Piedmont, Piedmont–Sardinia, or erroneously the Kingdom of Piedmont, since the island of Sardinia had always been of secondary importance to the monarchy. Under Savoyard rule, the kingdom's government, ruling class, cultural models, and centre of population were entirely situated in the mainland. Therefore, while the capital of the island of Sardinia and the seat of its viceroys had always been ''de jure''
Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...
, it was the
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
ese city of
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
, the capital of Savoy since the mid 16th century, which was the ''de facto'' seat of power. This situation would be conferred official status with the
Perfect Fusion The Perfect Fusion () was the 1847 act of the Savoyard King Charles Albert of Sardinia which abolished the administrative differences between the mainland states (Savoy and Piedmont) and the island of Sardinia within the Kingdom of Sardinia, i ...
of 1847, when all the kingdom's governmental institutions would be centralized in Turin. When the mainland domains of the House of Savoy were occupied and eventually annexed by
Napoleonic France The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...
, the
king of Sardinia Sardinia is traditionally known to have been initially ruled by the Nuragic civilization, which was followed by Greek colonization, conquest by the Carthagians, Carthaginians, and occupied by the Ancient Rome, Romans for around a thousand years, ...
temporarily resided on the island for the first time in Sardinia's history under Savoyard rule. The
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
(1814–1815), which restructured Europe after Napoleon's defeat, returned to Savoy its mainland possessions and augmented them with
Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...
, taken from the
Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...
. Following
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
's accession to
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, the Treaty of Turin (1816) transferred
Carouge Carouge () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. History Carouge is first mentioned in the Early Middle Ages as ''Quadruvium'' and ''Quatruvio''. In 1248 it was mentioned as ''Carrogium'' while i ...
and adjacent areas to the newly created Swiss
Canton of Geneva The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of forty-five Municipality, municipalities, and the seat of the governme ...
. In 1847–1848, through an act of union analogous to the one between Great Britain and Ireland, the various Savoyard states were unified under one legal system with their capital in Turin, and granted a constitution, the ''
Statuto Albertino The Statuto Albertino ( English: ''Albertine Statute'') was the constitution granted by King Charles Albert of Sardinia to the Kingdom of Sardinia on 4 March 1848 and written in Italian and French. The Statute later became the constitution of ...
''. By the time of the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
in 1853, the Savoyards had built the kingdom into a strong power. There followed the annexation of
Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
(1859), the central Italian states and the
Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and land are ...
(1860), Venetia (1866), and the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
(1870). On 17 March 1861, to more accurately reflect its new geographic, cultural and political extent, the Kingdom of Sardinia changed its name to the Kingdom of Italy, and its capital was eventually moved first to
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
and then to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
. The Savoy-led Kingdom of Sardinia was thus the legal predecessor state of the Kingdom of Italy, which in turn is the predecessor of the present-day
Italian Republic Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.


Early history

In 238 BC Sardinia became, along with Corsica, a
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
. The Romans ruled the island until the middle of the 5th century when it was occupied by the
Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...
, who had also settled in north Africa. In 534 AD it was reconquered by the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. It remained a Byzantine province until the Arab conquest of Sicily in the 9th century. After that, communications with Constantinople became very difficult, and powerful families of the island assumed control of the land.


Resisting Zaragozan Muslims

Facing Zaragozan Muslims attempts to sack and conquer, while having almost no outside help, Sardinia used the principle of ''
translatio imperii is a historiographical concept that was prominent among medieval thinkers and intellectuals in Europe, but which originated from earlier concepts in antiquity. According to this concept, the notion of ''decline and fall'' of an empire is theor ...
'' ("transfer of rule") and continued to organize itself along the ancient Roman and Byzantine model. The island was not the personal property of the ruler and of his family, as was then the dominant practice in western Europe, but rather a separate entity and during the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
, a monarchical republic, as it had been since Roman times. Information about the Sardinian political situation in the following centuries is scarce. Due to Zaragozan attacks, in the 9th century
Tharros Tharros (also spelled Tharras, , , ''Tárrai/Tárras''; ) was an ancient city and former bishopric on the west coast of Sardinia, Italy. It is currently a Latin Catholic titular see and an archaeological site near the village of San Giovanni d ...
was abandoned in favor of
Oristano Oristano (; ) is an Italian city and (municipality), the 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 ...
, after more than 1800 years of occupation; Caralis,
Porto Torres Porto Torres (; ) is a (municipality) and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as , it was the first Roman colony of the entire Sardinia, island. It is situated on the coast at abo ...
, and numerous other coastal centres suffered the same fate.


Taifa of Denia invasions

There is a record of another massive Denian Muslims sea attack in 1015–16 from the Balearics, commanded by
Mujāhid al-ʿĀmirī Abu ʾl-Jaysh Mujāhid ibn ʿAbd Allāh Amirids, al-ʿĀmirī, surnamed ''al-Muwaffaḳ'' (died AD 1044/5 nno Hegirae, AH 436, was the Taifa of Dénia, ruler of Dénia and the Balearic Islands from late 1014 (early AH 405) until his death. Wi ...
the Slavic Muslim Emir of Taifa of Denia (Latinized as ''Museto''). The Denian first attempt to invade the island was stopped by the Judicates with the support of the fleets of the
maritime republics The maritime republics (), also called merchant republics (), were Italian Thalassocracy , thalassocratic Port city, port cities which, starting from the Middle Ages, enjoyed political autonomy and economic prosperity brought about by their mar ...
of
Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
and
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
. Pope Benedict VIII also requested aid from the two maritime republics in the struggle against the Denian muslims. After the
East–West Schism The East–West Schism, also known as the Great Schism or the Schism of 1054, is the break of communion (Christian), communion between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. A series of Eastern Orthodox – Roman Catholic eccle ...
, Rome made many efforts to restore Latinity to the Sardinian church, politics and society, and to finally reunify the island under one Catholic ruler, as it had been for all of southern Italy, when the Byzantines had been driven away by Catholic
Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
. Even the title of "Judge" was a Byzantine reminder of the Greek church and state, in times of harsh relations between eastern and western churches (
Massacre of the Latins The Massacre of the Latins was a large-scale massacre of Italian-descent Catholics (called " Latins") in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, by the Eastern Orthodox population of the city in April 1182.. The Catholics of Const ...
, 1182,
Siege of Constantinople (1204) The sack of Constantinople occurred in April 1204 and marked the culmination of the Fourth Crusade. Crusaders sacked and destroyed most of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. After the capture of the city, the Latin Empire ( ...
, Recapture of Constantinople, 1261). Before the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica, the
archon ''Archon'' (, plural: , ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem , meaning "to be first, to rule", derived from the same ...
s (), or in Latin, who reigned in the island from the 9th or 10th century until the beginning of the 11th century, can be considered real kings of all Sardinia (), even though nominal vassals of the Byzantine emperors. Of these sovereigns, only two names are known: Turcoturiu and Salusiu ( (), who probably ruled in the 10th century. The archons still wrote in Greek or Latin, but one of the oldest documents left of the Judicate of Cagliari (the ''Carta Volgare''), issued by Torchitorio I de Lacon-Gunale in 1070, was already written in the Romance
Sardinian language Sardinian or Sard ( , , , , or , ) is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken by the Sardinians on the Western Mediterranean island of Sardinia. The original character of the Sardinian language among the Romance idioms has long been know ...
, albeit with the
Greek alphabet The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BC. It was derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and is the earliest known alphabetic script to systematically write vowels as wel ...
. The realm was divided into four small kingdoms, the Judicates of
Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...
,
Arborea Arborea is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding with production of vegetables, rice, fruit and milk (notably the local milk product Arborea). Histo ...
,
Gallura Gallura ( or ; ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy. The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area". Geography Gallùra has an area of . It is from the Italian peninsula and from the French island of Corsica. ...
and
Logudoro The Logudoro (; ) is a large historical region Sardinia, Italy. It is the namesake of the Logudorese dialect of Sardinian language, Sardinian, which covers a large area of northern-central Sardinia. The first denomination of the area is contai ...
, perfectly organized as was the previous realm, but was now under the influence of the
papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
, which claimed sovereignty over the entire island, and in particular of the
Italian states Italy, up until its unification in 1861, was a conglomeration of city-states, republics, and other independent entities. The following is a list of the various Italian states during that period. Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
of Genoa and Pisa, that through alliances with the "judges" (the local rulers), secured their political and economic zones of influence. While Genoa was mostly, but not always, in the north and west regions of Sardinia, that is, in the Judicates of Gallura and Logudoro; Pisa was mostly, but not always, in the south and east, in the Judicates of Cagliari and Arborea. That was the cause of conflicts leading to a long war between the Judges, who regarded themselves as kings fighting against rebellious nobles.


Resisting Kingdom of Aragon

Later, the title of King of Sardinia was granted by the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire to Barisone II of Arborea, and subsequently also to Enzio of Sardinia. The first could not reunify the island under his rule, despite years of war against the other Sardinian judges, and he finally concluded a peace treaty with them in 1172. The second did not have the opportunity. Invested with the title from his father,
Emperor Frederick II Frederick II (, , , ; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusalem from 1225. He was the son of Emperor Henry VI of the Ho ...
in 1239, he was soon recalled by his parent and appointed Imperial Vicar for Italy. He died in 1272 without direct recognized heirs after a detention of 23 years in a prison in Bologna. The Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica, later only the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1460, was a state whose king was the
King of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre in ...
, who started to conquer it in 1324, gained full control in 1410, and directly ruled it until 1460. In that year it was incorporated into a sort of confederation of states, each with its own institutions, called the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...
, and united only in the person of the king. The Crown of Aragon was made by a council of representatives of the various states and grew in importance for the main purpose of separating the legacy of
Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...
from that of
Isabella I of Castile Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...
when they married in 1469. The idea of the kingdom was created in 1297 by
Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII (; born Benedetto Caetani; – 11 October 1303) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of baronial origin with connections t ...
, as a hypothetical entity created for
James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Aragonese: ''Chaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just, was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He was also the King of Sicily (as James I) f ...
under a secret clause in the
Treaty of Anagni The Treaty of Anagni was an accord between the Pope Boniface VIII, James II of Aragon, Philip IV of France, Charles II of Naples, and James II of Majorca. It was signed on 20 June 1295 at Anagni, in central Italy. The chief purpose was to confirm t ...
. This was an inducement to join in the effort to restore
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, then under the rule of James's brother
Frederick III of Sicily Frederick III (also Frederick II, ', ', '); 13 December 1272 – 25 June 1337) was the regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1291 until 1295 and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Ara ...
, to the Angevin dynasty over the oppositions of the Sicilians. The two islands proposed for this new kingdom were occupied by other states and fiefs at the time. In Sardinia, three of the four states that had succeeded Byzantine imperial rule in the 9th century had passed through marriage and partition under the direct or indirect control of Pisa and Genoa in the 40 years preceding the Treaty of Anagni. Genoa had also ruled
Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
since conquering the island nearly two centuries before (''c''. 1133). There were other reasons beside this papal decision: it was the final successful result of the long fight against the
Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th and 13th centu ...
(pro-imperial) city of Pisa and the Holy Roman Empire itself. Furthermore, Sardinia was then under the control of the very Catholic kings of Aragon, and the last result of rapprochement of the island to Rome. The Sardinian church had never been under the control of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...
; it was an autonomous province loyal to Rome and belonging to the
Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...
, but during the Byzantine period became influenced by Byzantine liturgy and culture.


Aragonese and Spanish kingdom


Foundation of the Kingdom of Sardinia

In 1297,
Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII (; born Benedetto Caetani; – 11 October 1303) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of baronial origin with connections t ...
, intervening between the Houses of Anjou and
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
, established on paper a ''Regnum Sardiniae et Corsicae'' that would be a
fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
of the papacy. Then, ignoring the indigenous states which already existed, the Pope offered his newly created fief to
James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Aragonese: ''Chaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just, was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He was also the King of Sicily (as James I) f ...
, promising him papal support should he wish to conquer Pisan Sardinia in exchange for Sicily. In 1323, James II formed an alliance with Hugh II of Arborea and, following a military campaign which lasted a year or so, occupied the Pisan territories of
Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...
and
Gallura Gallura ( or ; ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy. The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area". Geography Gallùra has an area of . It is from the Italian peninsula and from the French island of Corsica. ...
along with the city of
Sassari Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...
, claiming the territory as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica. In 1353,
Arborea Arborea is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding with production of vegetables, rice, fruit and milk (notably the local milk product Arborea). Histo ...
waged war on Aragon. The Crown of Aragon did not reduce the last of the judicates (indigenous kingdoms of Sardinia) until 1420. The Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica retained its separate character as part of the Crown of Aragon and was not merely incorporated into the Kingdom of Aragon. At the time of his struggles with Arborea,
Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...
granted an autonomous legislature to the kingdom and its legal traditions. The kingdom was governed in the king's name by a
viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
. In 1420,
Alfonso V of Aragon Alfonso the Magnanimous (Alfons el Magnànim in Catalan language, Catalan) (139627 June 1458) was King of Aragon and King of Sicily (as Alfons V) and the ruler of the Crown of Aragon from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfons I) from 1442 until his ...
, king of Sicily and heir to Aragon, bought the remaining territories for 100,000 gold florins of the Judicate of Arborea in the 1420 from the last judge, William III of Narbonne, and the Kingdom of Sardinia extended throughout the island, except for the city of
Castelsardo Castelsardo (; Castellanese : Calteddu; ) is a town and ''comune'' in Sardinia, Italy, located in the northwest of the island within the Province of Sassari, at the east end of the Gulf of Asinara. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The ...
(at that time called ''Casteldoria'' or ''Castelgenovese'') that was stolen from the Doria in 1448, and renamed ''Castillo Aragonés'' (''Aragonese Castle''). Corsica, which had never been conquered, was dropped from the formal title and Sardinia passed with the Crown of Aragon to a united Spain. The defeat of the local kingdoms,
communes A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
and
signorie A ''signoria'' () was the governing authority in many of the Italian city-states during the Middle Ages, Medieval and Renaissance periods. The word ''signoria'' comes from ''signore'' (), or "lord", an abstract noun meaning (roughly) "governme ...
, the firm Aragonese (later Spanish) rule, the introduction of a sterile
feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
, as well as the discovery of the Americas, provoked an unstoppable decline of the Kingdom of Sardinia. A short period of uprisings occurred under the local noble Leonardo Alagon, marquess of Oristano, who defended his territories against Viceroy Nicolò Carroz and managed to defeat the viceroy's army in the 1470s, but was later crushed at the Battle of Macomer in 1478, ending any further revolts in the island. The unceasing attacks from north African pirates and a series of plagues (in 1582, 1652 and 1655) further worsened the situation.


Aragonese conquest of Sardinia

Although the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica could be said to have started as a questionable and extraordinary ''de jure'' state in 1297, its ''de facto'' existence began in 1324 when, called by their allies of the
Judicate of Arborea The Judicate of 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-west portion of the island, wedged between Logud ...
in the course of war with the
Republic of Pisa The Republic of Pisa () was an independent state existing from the 11th to the 15th century centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated Mediterranean and Italian t ...
, James II seized the Pisan territories in the former states of
Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...
and
Gallura Gallura ( or ; ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy. The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area". Geography Gallùra has an area of . It is from the Italian peninsula and from the French island of Corsica. ...
and asserted his papally-approved title. In 1347, Aragon made war on landlords of the Doria House and the Malaspina House, who were citizens of the
Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...
, which controlled most of the lands of the former
Logudoro The Logudoro (; ) is a large historical region Sardinia, Italy. It is the namesake of the Logudorese dialect of Sardinian language, Sardinian, which covers a large area of northern-central Sardinia. The first denomination of the area is contai ...
state in north-western Sardinia, including the city of
Alghero Alghero (; ; ; ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian province of Sassari in the north west of the island of Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ''Aleguerium'', which is a mediaeval Latin word m ...
and the semiautonomous
Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
of
Sassari Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...
, and added them to its direct domains. The
Judicate of Arborea The Judicate of 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-west portion of the island, wedged between Logud ...
, the only Sardinian state that remained independent of foreign domination, proved far more difficult to subdue. Threatened by the Aragonese claims of suzerainty and consolidation of the rest of the island, in 1353 Arborea, under the leadership of Marianus IV, started the conquest of the remaining Sardinian territories, which formed the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1368 an Arborean offensive succeeded in nearly driving the Aragonese from the island, reducing the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica to just the port cities of
Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...
and
Alghero Alghero (; ; ; ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian province of Sassari in the north west of the island of Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ''Aleguerium'', which is a mediaeval Latin word m ...
, and incorporating everything else into their own kingdom. A peace treaty returned the Aragonese their previous possessions in 1388 but tensions continued. In 1382, the Arborean army led by Brancaleone Doria again swept most of the island into Arborean rule. This situation lasted until 1409 when the army of the Judicate of Arborea suffered a heavy defeat by the Aragonese army in the Battle of Sanluri. After the sale of the remaining territories for 100,000 gold florins to the Judicate of Arborea in 1420, the Kingdom of Sardinia extended throughout the island, except for the city of
Castelsardo Castelsardo (; Castellanese : Calteddu; ) is a town and ''comune'' in Sardinia, Italy, located in the northwest of the island within the Province of Sassari, at the east end of the Gulf of Asinara. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The ...
(at that time called ''Casteldoria'' or ''Castelgenovese''), which had been stolen from the Doria in 1448. The subduing of Sardinia having taken a century, Corsica, which had never been wrested from the Genoese, was dropped from the formal title of the kingdom.


Spanish Sardinia

Under the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...
Sardinia continued to be governed as a semi-independent kingdom, retaining its own parliament and a
Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
governing the island on the king's behalf. This arrangement continued after the personal union of the crowns of Castile and Aragon to form
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
under the
Habsburg dynasty The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
. During this time, the island became a target for
Barbary pirates The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...
due to the frequent wars between Spain and the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. From the 1570s onward a series of towers, known today as the Spanish Towers, were built around the island's coast to guard against pirate raids.


Savoyard period


Exchange of Sardinia for Sicily

The Spanish domination of Sardinia ended at the beginning of the 18th century, as a result of the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
. By the
Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...
(1713), Spain's European empire was divided: the
House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...
received
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
and parts of the
Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan (; ) was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti of Milan, Visconti family, which had been ruling the city since 1277. At that time, ...
, while Charles VI (the
Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
and
Archduke of Austria Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...
), received the
Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
, the
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...
, Sardinia, and the bulk of the Duchy of Milan. During the
War of the Quadruple Alliance The War of the Quadruple Alliance, 1718 to 1720, was a conflict between Spain and a coalition of Austria, Great Britain, France, and Savoy, joined in 1719 by the Dutch Republic. Most of the fighting took place in Sicily and Spain, with minor engag ...
,
Victor Amadeus II Victor Amadeus II (; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was the head of the House of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 12 June 1675 until his abdication in 1730. He was the first of his house to acquire a royal crown, ruling first as King o ...
, Duke of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, and by now also King of Sicily, had to agree to yield Sicily to the Austrian Habsburgs and receive Sardinia in exchange. The exchange was formally ratified in the Treaty of The Hague of 17 February 1720. Because the Kingdom of Sardinia had existed since the 14th century, the exchange allowed Victor Amadeus to retain the title of king in spite of the loss of Sicily. From 1720 to 1798, when
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
invaded Italy, the ''de facto'' government resided in Turin; Cagliari, which had been the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia since 1324, returned to be the ''de facto'' government during the Savoy exile from 1798 to 1814. When Napoleon was first resided, the ''de facto'' government returned to Turin but did not officially became the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia until 1847. Victor Amadeus initially resisted the exchange of Sardinia for Sicilia in 1720. Until 1723, he continued to style himself King of Sicily rather than King of Sardinia. The state took the official title of Kingdom of Sardinia, Cyprus, and Jerusalem, as the House of Savoy still claimed the thrones of
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
and
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, although both had long been under Ottoman rule. In 1767–1769,
Charles Emmanuel III Charles Emmanuel III (27 April 1701 – 20 February 1773) was Duke of Savoy, List of monarchs of Sardinia, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from his Victor Amadeus II, father's abdication on 3 September 1730 until his death ...
annexed the Maddalena archipelago in the
Strait of Bonifacio The Strait of Bonifacio (; ; ; ; ; ; ) is the strait between Corsica and Sardinia, named after the Corsican town Bonifacio. It is wide and divides the Tyrrhenian Sea from the western Mediterranean Sea. The strait is notorious among sailors for i ...
from the
Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...
and claimed it as part of Sardinia, which became a part of the Sardinian region since then. Since the Iberian period in Sardinia, common languages included Sardinian, Corsican, Catalan, and
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
. Other languages included French,
Piedmontese Piedmontese ( ; autonym: or ; ) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, a region of Northwest Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regarded as an Italian ...
, Ligurian,
Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...
, and Arpitan. During the Savoyard period as a composite state,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
, which alongside French had already been made official in the peninsula since the 16th century via the Rivoli Edict, was introduced to Sardinia in 1760. With the Regio Biglietto of 25 July 1760, Italian was made a priority over French in Piedmont. The Kingdom of Sardinia's attempt of promotion of a unitary language was incisive, and also the replacement of Spanish with Italian has been described as a "revolution of ideas". Since French was still in use in some provinces, the ''
Statuto Albertino The Statuto Albertino ( English: ''Albertine Statute'') was the constitution granted by King Charles Albert of Sardinia to the Kingdom of Sardinia on 4 March 1848 and written in Italian and French. The Statute later became the constitution of ...
'' (1848) authorised the use of French.


Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna

In 1792, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the other states of the Savoy Crown joined the
First Coalition The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that succeeded it. They were only loosely allied ...
against the
French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted un ...
, but was beaten in 1796 by
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
and forced to conclude the disadvantageous
Treaty of Paris (1796) The Treaty of Paris of 15 May 1796 was a treaty between the French Republic and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia during the War of the First Coalition. After four years of fighting, the French under Napoleon had finally beaten the Piedmontese a ...
, giving the French army free passage through Piedmont. On 6 December 1798 Joubert occupied Turin and forced Charles Emmanuel IV to abdicate and leave for the island of Sardinia. The provisionary government voted to unite Piedmont with France. In 1799, the Austro-Russians briefly occupied the city, but with the
Battle of Marengo The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. Near the end of the day, the French overcame General ...
(1800), the French regained control. The island of Sardinia stayed out of the reach of the French for the rest of the war and was, for the first time in centuries governed directly by its king instead of a viceroy. In 1814, the Crown of Savoy enlarged its territories with the addition of the former
Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...
, now a duchy, and it served as a
buffer state A buffer state is a country geographically lying between two rival or potentially hostile great powers. Its existence can sometimes be thought to prevent conflict between them. A buffer state is sometimes a mutually agreed upon area lying between t ...
against France. This was confirmed by the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
, which returned the region of
Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...
to its borders after it had been annexed by France in 1792. By the Treaty of Stupinigi (1817), the Kingdom of Sardinia extended its protectorate over the
Principality of Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a semi-enclave borde ...
. In 1821, the Kingdom of Sardinia's reported population amounted to 3,974,500. In the reaction after Napoleon, the country was ruled by the conservative monarchs
Victor Emmanuel I Victor Emmanuel I (; 24 July 1759 – 10 January 1824) was the Duke of Savoy, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from 4 June 1802 until his reign ended in 1821 upon abdication due to a liberal revolution. Shortly thereafter, hi ...
(1802–1821), Charles Felix (1821–1831), and Charles Albert (1831–1849), who fought at the head of a contingent of his own troops at the
Battle of Trocadero The Battle of Trocadero, fought on 31 August 1823, was a significant battle in France's expedition in support of the Spanish King Ferdinand VII. The French defeated the Spanish liberal forces and restored Ferdinand to absolute rule. Prelude Af ...
, which set the reactionary
Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...
on the Spanish throne. Victor Emmanuel I disbanded the entire
Code Napoléon The Napoleonic Code (), officially the Civil Code of the French (; simply referred to as ), is the French civil code established during the French Consulate in 1804 and still in force in France, although heavily and frequently amended since it ...
and returned the lands and power to the nobility and the Church. This reactionary policy went as far as discouraging the use of roads built by the French. These changes typified Sardinia. The Kingdom of Sardinia industrialized from 1830 onward. A constitution, the ''
Statuto Albertino The Statuto Albertino ( English: ''Albertine Statute'') was the constitution granted by King Charles Albert of Sardinia to the Kingdom of Sardinia on 4 March 1848 and written in Italian and French. The Statute later became the constitution of ...
'', was enacted during the
Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...
under liberal pressure. In addition to make Turin its official capital, the ''Statuto Albertino'' made
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
"the only State religion". Earlier in 1847, the island of Sardinia, a Piedmontese dependency for more than a century, lost its own residual autonomy to the peninsula through the
Perfect Fusion The Perfect Fusion () was the 1847 act of the Savoyard King Charles Albert of Sardinia which abolished the administrative differences between the mainland states (Savoy and Piedmont) and the island of Sardinia within the Kingdom of Sardinia, i ...
issued by Charles Albert. As a result, the kingdom's fundamental institutions were deeply transformed, assuming the shape of a constitutional and centralized monarchy on the French model; under the same pressure, Charles Albert
declared war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the public signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national govern ...
on
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. After initial success, the war took a turn for the worse and Charles Albert was defeated by Marshal Radetzky at the Battle of Custozza (1848).


Savoyard struggle for the Italian unification

Like all the various duchies and
city-states A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...
on the Apennine peninsula and associated islands, the Kingdom of Sardinia was troubled with political instability under alternating governments. After a short and disastrous renewal of the war with Austria in 1849, Charles Albert abdicated on 23 March 1849 in favour of his son
Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 until 17 March ...
. In 1852, a liberal ministry under Count Camillo Benso di Cavour was installed and the Kingdom of Sardinia became the engine driving Italian unification. The Kingdom of Sardinia took part in the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
, allied with the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain, and France, and fighting against Russia. In 1859, France sided with the Kingdom of Sardinia in a war against
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, the Austro-Sardinian War. Napoleon III did not keep his promises to Cavour to fight until all of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia had been conquered. Following the bloody battles of Battle of Magenta, Magenta and Battle of Solferino, Solferino, both French victories, Napoleon thought the war too costly to continue and made a separate peace behind Cavour's back in which only Lombardy would be ceded. Due to the Austrian government's refusal to cede any lands to the Kingdom of Sardinia, they agreed to cede
Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
to Napoleon, who in turn then ceded the territory to the Kingdom of Sardinia to avoid "embarrassing" the defeated Austrians. Cavour angrily resigned from office when it became clear that Victor Emmanuel would accept this arrangement.


Garibaldi and the Thousand

On 5 March 1860, Piacenza, Parma, Tuscany, Modena, and Romagna voted in referendums to join the Kingdom of Sardinia. This alarmed Napoleon III, who feared a strong Savoyard state on his south-eastern border and he insisted that if the Kingdom of Sardinia were to keep the new acquisitions they would have to cede Savoy and Nice to France. This was done through the Treaty of Turin (1860), Treaty of Turin, which also called for referendums to confirm the annexation. Subsequently, Italian irredentism in Savoy, somewhat controversial referendums showed over 99.5% majorities in both areas in favour of joining France. In 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi started his campaign to conquer the southern Apennines in the name of the Kingdom of Sardinia. The Thousand quickly toppled the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which was the largest of the states in the region, stretching from Abruzzo and Naples on the mainland to Messina and Palermo on Sicily. He then marched to Gaeta in the central peninsula. Cavour was satisfied with the unification while Garibaldi, who was too revolutionary for the king and his prime minister, also wanted to conquer Rome. Garibaldi was disappointed in this development, as well as in the loss of his home province, Nice, to France. He also failed to fulfill the promises that had gained him popular and military support by the Sicilians: that the new nation would be a republic, not a kingdom, and that the Sicilians would see great economic gains after unification. The former did not come to pass until 1946.


Towards the Kingdom of Italy

On 17 March 1861, law no. 4671 of the Sardinian Parliament Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy, so ratifying the annexations of all other Apennine states, plus Sicily, to the Kingdom of Sardinia. The institutions and laws of the kingdom were quickly extended to all of Italy, abolishing the administrations of the other regions. Piedmont became the most dominant and wealthiest region in Italy and the capital of Piedmont, Turin, remained the Italian capital until 1865, when the capital was moved to
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
. As part of the Brigandage in the Two Sicilies, many revolts exploded throughout the peninsula, especially in southern Italy and on the island of Sicily, because of the perceived unfair treatment of the south by the Piedmontese ruling class. The
House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...
ruled the Kingdom of Italy until 1946, when Italy was declared a republic by referendum. The result of the 1946 Italian institutional referendum was 54.3% in favor of a republic.


Flags, royal standards, and coats of arms

When the Duchy of Savoy acquired the Kingdom of Sicily under Savoy, Kingdom of Sicily in 1713 and the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1723, the flag of Savoy became the flag of a naval power. This posed the problem that the same flag was already in use by the Knights of Malta. Because of this, the Savoyards modified their flag for use as a naval ensign in various ways, adding the letters FERT in the four cantons, or adding a blue border, or using a blue flag with the Savoy cross in one canton. Eventually, King Charles Albert of Savoy adopted from Revolutionary France the Italian tricolor, surmounted by the Savoyard shield, as his flag. This flag would later become the flag of the Kingdom of Italy, and the tricolor without the Savoyard escutcheon remains the flag of Italy. File:Arms of Sardinia.svg, Middle Ages
(union with Aragon) File:Aquila imperiale bicefala di Carlo V.jpg, Imperial Eagle of Roman Holy Emperor Charles V with the four Moors of the Kingdom of Sardinia (16th century) File:Greater coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720-1815).svg, (1720–1815) File:Greater coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1815-1831).svg, (1815–1831) File:Stemma del Regno di Sardegna 1831.svg, (1831–1848) File:Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy variant (1848-1870).svg, (1848–1861)
File:Flag Kingdom of Sardinia 1324-1848.jpg, Flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1568 File:State Flag of the Savoyard States (late 16th - late 18th century).svg, Royal standard of the Savoyard kings of Sardinia of Savoy dynasty (1720–1848) and state flag of the Savoyard states (late 16th–late 18th century) File:State Flag and War Ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1816-1848).svg, State flag and war ensign (1816–1848), civil flag crowned File:Flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848-1851).svg, State and war flag (1848–1851) File:Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg, State flag and war ensign (1851–1861) File:Merchant Flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia (c.1799-1802).svg, Merchant Flag
(–1802) File:War Ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1785-1802).svg, War ensign of the Royal Sardinian Navy (1785–1802) File:Merchant Flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1802-1814).svg, Merchant flag
(1802–1814) File:War Ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1802-1814).svg, War ensign
(1802–1814) File:Merchant Flag and War Ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1814-1816).svg, Merchant flag and war ensign (1814–1816) File:Civil Flag and Civil Ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1816-1848).svg, Civil flag and civil ensign (1816–1848) File:War Ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1816-1848) aspect ratio 31-76.svg, War ensign of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1816–1848), aspect ratio 31:76 File:Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg, Civil and merchant flag (1851–1861), the Italian tricolore with the coat of arms of Savoy as an inescutcheon
File:Royal standard of Italy (1861 - 1880).svg, (1848–1861) and Kingdom of Italy (1861–1880) File:Royal Standard of the Crown Prince of Italy (1861–1880).svg, Crown Prince (1848–1861) and Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1880) * Sources: ** ** ** **


Maps


Territorial evolution of Sardinia from 1324 to 1720

File:Sardinia_1324.png, The political situation in
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
after 1324 when the Crown of Aragon, Aragonese conquered the Republic of Pisa, Pisan territories of
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
, which included the defunct Judicate of Cagliari and
Gallura Gallura ( or ; ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy. The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area". Geography Gallùra has an area of . It is from the Italian peninsula and from the French island of Corsica. ...
. File:Kingdom of Sardinia 1368-1388 -- 1392-1409.png, The Kingdom of Sardinia from 1368 to 1388 and 1392 to 1409, after the wars with Arborea, consisted of only the cities of Cagliari and Alghero. File:Kingdom of Sardinia 1410-1420.png, The Kingdom of Sardinia from 1410 to 1420, after the defeat of the Judicate of Arborea, Arborean Judicate in the Battle of Sanluri (1409) File:Kingdom of Sardinia & Royal cities - 16th century.png, The Kingdom of Sardinia from 1448 to 1720; the Maddalena archipelago was conquered in 1767–1769.


Territorial evolution of Italy from 1796 to 1860

File:Italy 1796.svg, 1796 File:Italia1859.png, alt=1859: .mw-parser-output .legend.mw-parser-output .legend-color.mw-parser-output .legend-text  Kingdom of Sardinia .mw-parser-output .legend.mw-parser-output .legend-color.mw-parser-output .legend-text  Kingdom Lombardy–Venetia .mw-parser-output .legend.mw-parser-output .legend-color.mw-parser-output .legend-text  Duchies Parma–Modena-Tuscany .mw-parser-output .legend.mw-parser-output .legend-color.mw-parser-output .legend-text  Papal States .mw-parser-output .legend.mw-parser-output .legend-color.mw-parser-output .legend-text  Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, 1859: File:Italia1860.png, alt=1860: .mw-parser-output .legend.mw-parser-output .legend-color.mw-parser-output .legend-text  Kingdom of Sardinia .mw-parser-output .legend.mw-parser-output .legend-color.mw-parser-output .legend-text  Kingdom Lombardy–Venetia .mw-parser-output .legend.mw-parser-output .legend-color.mw-parser-output .legend-text  Papal States .mw-parser-output .legend.mw-parser-output .legend-color.mw-parser-output .legend-text  Kingdom of the Two Sicilies After the annexation of Lombardy, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Emilian Duchies and Pope's Romagna., 1860:
After the annexation of Lombardy, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Emilian Duchies and Pope's Romagna File:RegnoItalia1861.png, alt=1861: .mw-parser-output .legend.mw-parser-output .legend-color.mw-parser-output .legend-text  Kingdom of Sardinia .mw-parser-output .legend.mw-parser-output .legend-color.mw-parser-output .legend-text  Kingdom Lombardy–Venetia .mw-parser-output .legend.mw-parser-output .legend-color.mw-parser-output .legend-text  Papal States After the Expedition of the Thousand., 1861:
After the Expedition of the Thousand File:Il Regno di Sardegna nel 1860.jpg, Maximum expansion of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860


See also

* List of viceroys of Sardinia


Notes


References


Bibliography

* Antonicelli, Aldo (2016)
"From Galleys to Square Riggers: The Modernization of the Navy of the Kingdom of Sardinia"
''The Mariner's Mirror''. 102 (2): 153–173. * * Luttwak, Edward (2009). ''The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire''. The Belknap Press. . * Denis Mack Smith, Mack Smith, Denis (1971)
''Victor Emanuel, Cavour and the Risorgimento''
Oxford University Press. * * * Romani, Roberto (2012)
"Reluctant Revolutionaries: Moderate Liberalism in the Kingdom of Sardinia, 1849–1859"
''Historical Journal''. pp. 45–73. * Romani, Roberto (2018). "The Reason of the Elites: Constitutional Moderatism in the Kingdom of Sardinia, 1849–1861". In ''Sensibilities of the Risorgimento''. Brill. pp. 192–244. * Schena, Olivetta (2019). "The Role Played by Towns in Parliamentary Commissions in the Kingdom of Sardinia in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth centuries". ''Parliaments, Estates and Representation''. 39'' (3): 304–315. * * Old interpretations but useful on details; volume 1 goes to 1859]
volume 2 online covers 1859–62


In Italian

* AAVV. (edited by F. Manconi), ''La società sarda in età spagnola'', Consiglio Regionale della Sardegna, Cagliari, 2 volumes, 1992–1993. * Blasco Ferrer Eduardo, ''Crestomazia Sarda dei primi secoli'', collection Officina Linguistica, Ilisso, Nuoro, 2003, . * Boscolo Alberto, ''La Sardegna bizantina e alto giudicale'', Edizioni Della Torre, Cagliari, 1978. * * Coroneo Roberto, ''Arte in Sardegna dal IV alla metà dell'XI secolo'', AV eds., Cagliari, 2011. * Coroneo Roberto, ''Scultura mediobizantina in Sardegna'', Nuoro, Poliedro, 2000. * Gallinari Luciano, "Il Giudicato di Cagliari tra XI e XIII secolo. Proposte di interpretazioni istituzionali", in ''Rivista dell'Istituto di Storia dell'Europa Mediterranea'', no. 5, 2010. * Manconi Francesco, ''La Sardegna al tempo degli Asburgo'', Il Maestrale, Nuoro, 2010, . * Manconi Francesco, ''Una piccola provincia di un grande impero'', CUEC, Cagliari, 2012, . * Mastino Attilio, ''Storia della Sardegna Antica'', Il Maestrale, Nuoro, 2005, . * Meloni Piero, ''La Sardegna Romana'', Chiarella, Sassari, 1980. * Motzo Bachisio Raimondo, ''Studi sui bizantini in Sardegna e sull'agiografia sarda'', Deputazione di Storia Patria della Sardegna, Cagliari, 1987. * Ortu Gian Giacomo, ''La Sardegna dei Giudici'', Il Maestrale, Nuoro, 2005, . * Paulis Giulio, ''Lingua e cultura nella Sardegna bizantina: testimonianze linguistiche dell'influsso greco'', Sassari, L'Asfodelo, 1983. * Spanu Luigi, ''Cagliari nel seicento'', Edizioni Castello, Cagliari, 1999. * Zedda Corrado and Pinna Raimondo, "La nascita dei Giudicati. Proposta per lo scioglimento di un enigma storiografico", in ''Archivio Storico Giuridico di Sassari'', second series, no. 12, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sardinia, Kingdom of Kingdom of Sardinia, 1324 establishments in Europe 1861 disestablishments in Italy Christian states, Sardinia Former countries Former countries in Europe Former monarchies of Europe History of Sardinia Island countries Spanish Empire in Italy States and territories established in 1324 States and territories disestablished in 1861 Viceroyalties of the Spanish Empire Former Spanish colonies