Veduta aerea del Centro Storico di Bosa ai piedi del castello Malaspina

Bosa is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

province of Oristano The province of Oristano ( it, provincia di Oristano, sc, provìntzia de Aristanis) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia in Italy. Its capital is the city of Oristano. It has an area of , a total population of 160,746 (2016), ...

(until May 2005 it was in the

province of Nuoro The province of Nuoro ( it, provincia di Nuoro; sc, provìntzia de Nùgoro) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia, Italy. Its capital is the city of Nuoro. It has an area of , and, , a total population of 210,972. The provinc ...

), part of the

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 ...

region of

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 ...

. Bosa is situated about two-thirds of the way up the west coast of Sardinia, on a small hill, about inland on the north bank of the

Temo River The Temo (''Temu'' in Sardinian) is a river in western Sardinia, Italy. Along its course were built two dams: * the Diga di Monte Crispu with the purpose of protecting the town of Bosa Bosa is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Ori ...

. The town has maintained a population of around 8,000 people for a significant amount of time, but has an urban character that has differentiated it from other locations in Sardinia.

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 t ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

play an important part in the city economy, thanks to the river valley near the coast surrounded by hills and highland

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

History

The area was inhabited since prehistorical times, as attested by the presence of several '' domus de janas'' and

nuraghe The nuraghe (, ; plural: Logudorese Sardinian , Campidanese Sardinian , Italian ), or also nurhag in English, is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia, developed during the Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 B.C. ...

. It was probably founded by the

Phoenicians 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 ...

, although little is known about the original settlement. Under the

Romans 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 lette ...

it was a ''

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the priv ...

''. The present town of Bosa was founded in

XIII century The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 ( MCCI) through December 31, 1300 ( MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched from Eastern Asia to Easte ...

by the

Malaspina family The House of Malaspina was a noble Italian family of Longobard origin that descended from Boniface I, through the Obertenghi line, that ruled Lunigiana from the 13th to the 14th centuries, and the marquisate of Massa and lordship of Carrara (whi ...

, 2 km (1 miles) from the site of the ancient town In the early

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 ...

, as part of the

Giudicato of Logudoro The Judicate of Logudoro or Torres ( sc, Judicadu de Logudoro or ''Torres'', ''Rennu de Logudoro'' or ''Logu de Torres'') was a state in northwest Sardinia from the tenth through the thirteenth century. Its original capital was Porto Torres. The r ...

, it was a provincial capital. After the construction of the Malaspina Castle, the population gradually moved from the seaside to the hills. It remained in the hands of the Malaspina until the 14th century when it was taken over by the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...

. Along with the rest of Sardinia, it was later ruled by Spain. For a short period in between it was a part of the

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

Sources and references

External links

On Line Guide

Conoscibosa Tourist information

Bosa Guide

BOSAinfo tourist information
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