«E a dir di Sardigna le lingue lor non si senton stanche» (XXII Purgatory)
Dante tells Sardinians always speak of Sardinia. We don't want to gainsay him on this #Dantedì, so here we are 😁 #Dantedì2021#Dantedi
A few Sardinian/Sardinia-related characters appear in the Divine Comedy. The most famous is definitely the Count Ugolino della Gherardesca di Donoratico. He appears in the XXXIII Canto of the Inferno, where Dante puts him among the traitors of one's homeland.
Ugolino was a noble man from Pisa, who first got involved in Sardinian businesses when he served Enzo, son of the HRE Friedrich and husband to Adelasia, Queen of Torres.
During the assault to Sant'Igia, capital of the Judicate of Calari, in 1258, after the victory of the Pisan-
-alliance, his family got part of the former Judicate's lands and he acquired the Sigerro and the sixth part of the Judicate of Calari. He enclosed Villa di Chiesa in walls and started the construction of the now cathedral of Santa Chiara. He also owned several castles, of which-
--the most famous is the castle of Acquafredda (Siliqua) ⬇️.
But things didn't end nicely for him. During the Battle of la Meloria against Genoa, he retired his troops when things got bad, giving rise to voices of betrayal. He was captured and held prisoner in the Tower of Muda-
-where he died of hunger with some children. In his encounter with Dante in the Comedy, he tells of their last days.
The next one is Nino Visconti, grandson of Ugolino and iudike of Gallura. This character appears in the VIII Canto of Purgatorio, among the negligent princes.
Dante tells of they knew each other in life and how he's happy to find him in Purgatory and not in hell.
Nino was a citizen of Pisa and king in Sardinia, the last one of the Judicate of Gallura, which he inherited from his father of the Sardinian branch of the Visconti family.
For a time he was podestà of Pisa with his grandfather but they were kicked away with a plot by the archbishop Ruggieri. In Sardinia, he allied with Sassari, the Malaspinas and Dorias to try and conquer the Judicate of Arborea, without managing.
His daughter, Giovanna, is mentioned in the Comedy too, together with her mother Beatrice d'Este. Giovanna was the last heir to the Judicate but she never took power.
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An ancient ritual linked to Adonis (?), Easter, death and rebirth 🌿 #FolkloreThursday
Su nenneri (or nenniri in Campidanese) is a little vase where barley or wheat seeds are sowed during the winter, some time before important events like Easter but also Santu Juanne (24th of June). The vase is kept in the darkness during the growth, so that the leaves take a-
-very light colour, almost yellow. On the day of the festivity, the leaves are cut and gathered, brought to church as an adornment.
The meaning, though old, is clear: it's a representation of life that starts again in Spring and goes to its death, life that wins the darkness.
Judicates: autonomous, separated kingdoms of medieval Sardinia, bearing the signs of Roman and Byzantine laws in some of their jurisdictions but some also think of older, Nuragic reminiscences. They are famous for being a half-hereditary, half-elective system, where the king's-
-(iudike) possessions were divided from the kingdom's; for the presence of a council of the king and of local civil authorities; for the inheritance of the title to women too.
But how were they born? That's a complicated question because we have a huge hole in local sources.
Thread about Sardinian traditional jewels. Prepare for plenty of silver and gold 🤩🤩 #FolkloreThursday
The very first jewels we found in Sardinia were Prenuragic and Nuragic artifacts, such as necklaces with animal teeth or bones (1st picture). We then have Phoenician and Carthaginian jewels (2nd picture) and golden bugs, very similar to Egyptian's. We found Roman things too-
- but the most interesting are jewels of Byzantine taste. We've been officially a Byzantine province for 4-5 centuries, but under local rule which led to the autonomous government of the island in Middle Age. Strangely enough, we don't have jewels of the period of Judicates.
**The marvelous adventures of BARISONE of Arborea 🌿 in Genoa**
Thread about the first Rex Sardiniae 👑
📸 I don't know if whoever made this drawing wanted to represent him, but that's exactly how I saw Barisone in my mind, so I like it 😆 Except the moustache. No moustache 😂
Barisone de Lacon-Serra was the son of Comita, who led several wars against Gonnario of Torres and died excommunicated. Barisone became judike likely around 1446, when he gathered all the four judikes for the consecration of the church of Bonarcado, and to discuss administrative-
-matters. He likely wanted to discuss some kind of peace/alliance among them, because the war against Torres was suspended.
He was also a diplomat; he treated with Pisa in the name of the Count of Barcelona.
He was married to Pellegrina de Lacon and they had 4 children, but -
Thread about Sardinia's role in the Italian 🇮🇹 unification. I won't go ahead telling all the facts that led in 1861 to the creation of the Kingdom of Italy, only some considerations.
This thread was requested by @avalon_greene_ (that I thank) and it's also a rather complicated one because of the erasure of Sardinian History in Italy (see my other threads for that), because of the gaslighting by some political views (surprise surprise, Sardinians *wanted*-
-a unified Italy), because of what came later and the fact Italy is a young country, only 160 years old (but Germany is younger).
It starts in 1847. Before that, the Kingdom of Sardinia was a Crown (=federation) of 4 countries: Sardinia (island), Principality of Piedmont, -
It starts in 1793. The kingdom of Sardinia passed in inheritance to the Savoy of Piedmont in ~1720, making them kings beside dukes. Sardinia is the main part of the Kingdom but the rulers reside in Turin, as they are not locals.
In 1789, France declared its rebellion against the
-monarchy, sentencing their rulers. The Revolution quickly spreads outside its confines, with France itself willing to expand.
In 1793, they prepare an attack to the Kingdom of Sardinia. They arrive and attack Cagliari, not managing in their intent because of local resistance.