Sulcis (''Maurreddia'' or ''Meurreddia'' in
Sardinian language
Sardinian or Sard ( , or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken by the Sardinians on the Western Mediterranean island of Sardinia.
Many Romance linguists consider it the language that is closest to Latin among all its genealogica ...
) is a subregion of
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
,
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 ...
, in the
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- ...
.
Geographical extension
Its municipalities are:
Calasetta
Calasetta ( Ligurian: ''Câdesédda'') is a small town (population 2,919) and ''comune'' located on the island of Sant'Antioco, off the Southwestern coast of Sardinia, Italy.
History
While the town itself dates to 1770. In the middle of the 16th c ...
,
Carbonia,
Carloforte
Carloforte (''U Pàize'' in Ligurian, literally: ''the village, the town'') is a fishing and resort town
located on Isola di San Pietro (Saint Peter's Island), approximately off the southwestern coast of Sardinia, in the Province of South Sar ...
,
Giba
Gilberto Amauri de Godoy Filho, known as Giba (born 23 December 1976), is a Brazilian former professional volleyball player who played as an outside hitter. For much of the 2000s, he was widely regarded as one of the best volleyball players in t ...
,
Gonnesa
Gonnesa is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about west of Cagliari and about northwest of Carbonia, in the Iglesiente subregion.
The town was refounded in the late 18th centu ...
,
Masainas
Masainas is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about southwest of Cagliari and about southeast of Carbonia. It is part of the Sulcis traditional region.
Masainas borders the f ...
,
Narcao
Narcao (Narcau o Nuracau 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 east of Carbonia.
Narcao borders the following municipal ...
,
Nuxis
Nuxis is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about west of Cagliari and about east of Carbonia.
Nuxis borders the following municipalities: Assemini, Narcao, Santadi, Siliqua, ...
,
Perdaxius
Perdaxius, Perdaxus 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 east of Carbonia. On 31 December 2004, it had a population of ...
,
Piscinas
Piscinas is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about southwest of Cagliari and about southeast of Carbonia, in the Sulcis-Iglesiente traditional subregion.
Piscinas borders the ...
,
Portoscuso
Portoscuso (Portescusi 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 northwest of Carbonia. The languages used here are Italian ...
,
San Giovanni Suergiu
San Giovanni Suergiu, Santu Giuanni de Suergiu 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 south of Carbonia.
San Giovanni S ...
,
Santadi
Santadi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about southwest of Cagliari and about southeast of Carbonia.
Santadi borders the following municipalities: Assemini, Domus de Mari ...
,
Sant'Anna Arresi
Sant'Anna Arresi (Arresi in the Sardinian language) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region of Sardinia, located about southwest of Cagliari and about southeast of Carbonia.
Sant'Anna Arresi border ...
,
Sant'Antioco
Sant'Antioco (; sc, Santu Antiogu) is the name of both an island and a municipality (''comune'') in southwestern Sardinia, in the Province of South Sardinia, in Sulcis zone. With a population of 11,730, the municipality of Sant'Antioco it is the ...
,
Tratalias
Tratalias is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Island of Sardinia, located about southwest of Cagliari and about southeast of Carbonia.
Tratalias borders the following municipalities: Carbonia, Giba, Perdax ...
,
Villaperuccio
Villaperuccio (Sa Baronia in Sardinian) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about southwest of Cagliari and about southeast of Carbonia, in the lower Sulcis.
Villaperuccio ...
,
Teulada.
Part of the region are also the islands of
San Pietro and
Sant'Antioco
Sant'Antioco (; sc, Santu Antiogu) is the name of both an island and a municipality (''comune'') in southwestern Sardinia, in the Province of South Sardinia, in Sulcis zone. With a population of 11,730, the municipality of Sant'Antioco it is the ...
.
Today the term "Lower Sulcis" is used to indicate the municipalities that belonged to the old
Curatoria
The Judicates (, or in Sardinian, in Latin, or 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 an ...
of Sulcis (without the Cixerri valley) and, sometimes, it is erroneously attributed to the towns of
Pula
Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian language, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot language, Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the List of cities and town ...
,
Villa San Pietro
Villa San Pietro, Santu Perdu in Sardinian language, is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about southwest of Cagliari.
Villa San Pietro borders the following municipalitie ...
,
Sarroch
Sarroch ( sc, Sarrocu) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about southwest of Cagliari.
Sarroch borders the following municipalities: Assemini, Capoterra, Pula, Villa San ...
and
Domus de Maria
Domus de Maria is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about southwest of Cagliari.
Domus de Maria borders the following municipalities: Pula, Santadi
Santadi is a ''comune'' ...
, who never belonged to the territory of ancient Sulci but rather to that of
Nora
Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to:
* Nora (name), a feminine given name
People with the surname
* Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer
* Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian
Places Australia
* Norah Head, New South Wales, headlan ...
, never belonged to the diocese of Sulci but always to that of
Cagliari
Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, 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 inhabitant ...
and, in the Middle Ages, belonged exclusively to the Curatoria of Nuras of the
Giudicato of Cagliari
The Judicate of Cagliari ( sc, Judicadu de Càralis / Càlaris, it, Giudicato di Cagliari) was one of the four Sardinian ''judicates'' of the Middle Ages, kingdoms of Byzantine origins.
The Judicate of Cagliari covered the entire south and centra ...
.
History
The oldest traces of human presence in the Sulcis date back to the
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...
(9000 BC). From the second half of the fourth millennium BC, in the late Neolithic, the tombs took on the appearance of
Domus de Janas, subterranean structures obtained by digging the rock sometimes gathered in vast necropolis as in the case of
Montessu.
To the Eneolithic belong the cultures of Monte Claro and of the
Bell Beaker
The Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex or Bell Beaker phenomenon, is an archaeological culture named after the inverted-bell beaker drinking vessel used at the very beginning of the European Bronze Age. Arising from a ...
which were widely spread in the Sulcis. In the early centuries of the second millennium BC in Sardinia developed the
Bonnanaro culture
The Bonnanaro culture is a protohistoric culture that flourished in Sardinia during the 2nd millennium BC (1800–1600 BC), considered to be the first stage of the Nuragic civilization. It takes its name from the comune of Bonnanaro in the provinc ...
, linked to the previous culture of the bell-shaped vessel to which were added Polada influences; Sulcis is one of the Sardinian territories in which this culture is most strongly represented.
In the Middle Bronze Age also in the Sulcis spread the
Nuragic civilization
The Nuragic civilization, also known as the Nuragic culture, was a civilization or culture on Sardinia (Italy), the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, which lasted from the 18th century BC (Middle Bronze Age) (or from t ...
resulting in the construction of dozens of
nuraghi
The nuraghe (, ; plural: Logudorese dialect, Logudorese Sardinian , Campidanese dialect, Campidanese Sardinian , Italian language, Italian ), or also nurhag in English language, English, is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in ...
(many of which of the complex typology as the Nuraghe Sirai or the Nuraghe Meurra), villages,
holy wells and
giant tombs. The occurrence of
nuraghi
The nuraghe (, ; plural: Logudorese dialect, Logudorese Sardinian , Campidanese dialect, Campidanese Sardinian , Italian language, Italian ), or also nurhag in English language, English, is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in ...
in the region seems to strongly be related to elevated outcrops giving the advantage of a raised position and stable foundations.
Sulcis is named after the ancient
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
n (and then
Punic
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
and
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
) city of
Sulci
Sulci or Sulki (in Greek , Steph. B., Ptol.; , Strabo; , Paus.), was one of the most considerable cities of ancient Sardinia, situated in the southwest corner of the island, on a small island, now called Isola di Sant'Antioco, which is, howev ...
(''Solki''), near the present-day
Sant'Antioco
Sant'Antioco (; sc, Santu Antiogu) is the name of both an island and a municipality (''comune'') in southwestern Sardinia, in the Province of South Sardinia, in Sulcis zone. With a population of 11,730, the municipality of Sant'Antioco it is the ...
.
In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
the Sulcis was part of a
Curatoria
The Judicates (, or in Sardinian, in Latin, or 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 an ...
of the
giudicato of Cagliari
The Judicate of Cagliari ( sc, Judicadu de Càralis / Càlaris, it, Giudicato di Cagliari) was one of the four Sardinian ''judicates'' of the Middle Ages, kingdoms of Byzantine origins.
The Judicate of Cagliari covered the entire south and centra ...
which included the entire south-western part of Sardinia. From 1258 to 1355, after the fall of the giudicato, it was under the rule of the
pisa
Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' 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 its leaning tower, the cit ...
n
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 ...
family and then, from 1355, it was incorporated in the
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...
by the
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
ese.
The medieval
diocese of Sulcis retained its name until the move of the seat from Tratalias to Iglesias in 1506. It had two cathedrals: the first in the ancient city of Sulci, the Roman-Byzantine basilica dedicated to the founder of the diocese,
Antiochus of Sulcis
Saint Antiochus of Sulcis (died c. 127 AD) was an early Christian martyr of Sardinia. The island and town of Sant'Antioco are named after him.
History and legend
Antiochus is a figure associated with the Sardinian mines from which the Romans ...
; the second in a Romanesque church in the village of
Tratalias
Tratalias is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Island of Sardinia, located about southwest of Cagliari and about southeast of Carbonia.
Tratalias borders the following municipalities: Carbonia, Giba, Perdax ...
dedicated to Saint Mary of
Montserrat
Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...
.
From the
14th century
As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was a century lasting from 1 January 1301 ( MCCCI), to 31 December 1400 ( MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and n ...
to the
modern era
The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...
, as a result of wars, the
black plague
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
and
saracen
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...
raids, this territory was completely depopulated,
Giovanni Francesco Fara
Giovanni Francesco Fara (February 4, 1543 - 1591) was a Sardinian historian, geographer and clergyman,http://www.filologiasarda.eu/didattica/schede/slides.php?sez=37&id=560&didaSec=letteratura who wrote in Latin.
Biography
Giovanni Francesco Far ...
in 1580 described this region has wild and abandoned.
[Il contesto storico]
/ref> In the 17th century there were only two inhabited villages in the entire Sulcis, Portoscuso
Portoscuso (Portescusi 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 northwest of Carbonia. The languages used here are Italian ...
and Teulada. In the 18th century, during the Savoy
Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) 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.
Savo ...
era, began a process of repopulation, mainly carried out by families from the nearby Iglesiente
The Iglesiente is a traditional and geographical subdivision of Sardinia, Italy. It encompasses the northern province of Carbonia-Iglesias and the south-western one of the province of Medio Campidano, and its main center is Iglesias.
Languages ...
, particularly from Iglesias, who were granted lands of feudal domains for the exercise of the agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
and pastoralism
Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The animal ...
. The distance of the concessions from the residential centers in the north, in the order of tens of kilometers, was such as to require the construction of permanent settlements for residential purposes and protection of the territory, the so-called ''furriadroxius'' and the ''medaus''. This dynamic has therefore favored a colonization with a population dispersed in scattered settlements of small size, comparable to small modest farms but basically autonomous.
The arrival of new families of settlers, over time, developed a tendency of furriadroxius to congregate around a church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
. The original settlements, following these enlargements, turned into an aggregated group of more housing units, called ''boddeu'' (set of furriadroxius), similar to a village but with no roads. Most of the inhabited centers of the Sulcis, today communes
An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...
or villages, have developed between the 18th and 19th centuries because of expansion of boddeus, taking the name of the ancient medieval centers disappeared.
Even the Sant'Antioco Island
Sant'Antioco (; sc, Santu Antiogu) is the name of both an island and a municipality (''comune'') in southwestern Sardinia, in the Province of South Sardinia, in Sulcis zone. With a population of 11,730, the municipality of Sant'Antioco it is the ...
and the San Pietro Island
San Pietro Island (Italian: ''Isola di San Pietro'', Ligurian Tabarchino: ''Uiza de San Pé'', Sardinian: ''Isula 'e Sàntu Pèdru'') is an island approximately off the South western Coast of Sardinia, Italy, facing the Sulcis peninsula. Wit ...
were repopulated with the birth, near the ancient ruins Sulci, of Sant'Antioco, which developed around the Byzantine era basilica dedicated to the eponymous saint of the island, and Carloforte
Carloforte (''U Pàize'' in Ligurian, literally: ''the village, the town'') is a fishing and resort town
located on Isola di San Pietro (Saint Peter's Island), approximately off the southwestern coast of Sardinia, in the Province of South Sar ...
(1738) and Calasetta
Calasetta ( Ligurian: ''Câdesédda'') is a small town (population 2,919) and ''comune'' located on the island of Sant'Antioco, off the Southwestern coast of Sardinia, Italy.
History
While the town itself dates to 1770. In the middle of the 16th c ...
(1770), populated by Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) 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 ...
n refugees coming from the island of Tabarka
Tabarka ( ar, طبرقة ') is a coastal town located in north-western Tunisia, close to the border with Algeria. Tabarka's history is a mosaic of Berber, Punic, Hellenistic, Roman, Arabic, Genoese and Turkish culture. The town is dominated by ...
, Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
.
The region has rich coal deposits, commercially exploited since the 1850s. Coal mining has been the primary source of sustenance of the local population for many years. However, after hitting a peak during the Fascist regime
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
with the foundation of Carbonia, coal production has been largely abandoned by the early 1970s. Today, Sulcis is one of the poorest places in Italy, characterized by sky-high unemployment and emigration.
See also
* Sulcis Mountains
*Iglesiente
The Iglesiente is a traditional and geographical subdivision of Sardinia, Italy. It encompasses the northern province of Carbonia-Iglesias and the south-western one of the province of Medio Campidano, and its main center is Iglesias.
Languages ...
References
External links
*http://www.sulcis.com/
*http://www.sardegnasulcis.it/
{{Coord, 39.1000, N, 8.7167, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Geography of Sardinia
Phoenician colonies in Sardinia