Il castelliere nel contesto politico = Sardinian castles in their political context

The heterogeneity and mutability of the Sardinian political context between the 10th and 15th centuries make it particularly difficult to define a general framework for medieval fortifications in chronological, cultural and technical terms. The rationale behind the construction of defensive structures changed profoundly due to significant changes in the local institutional system and the resulting territorial strategies. After the 10th century, the island experienced a period of institutional turmoil resulting from its weakened subservience to Byzantium and the need for greater defensive effectiveness against Arab incursions. The earliest medieval fortresses (8th-10th century) defended mainly the most important commercial ports. They were sometimes built on top of pre-existing fortifications, although several inland fortifications were also constructed at this time. Between the 10th and the 12th centuries, following the development of the Judicates and the subsequent partitioning of the island into four areas (Cagliari, Arborea, Torres and Gallura), the underlying rationale of the encastellation process changed. The Judicates were four distinct sovereign States, each with independent laws and regulations, governing well-defined, circumscribed territories, the protection of which required effective defence systems. The expansionist aims of the four Judicates, each desiring to dominate the entire island, laid the perfect foundations for promoting – especially from the 12th century on – the economic and political interests of the papacy, the empire, the Maritime Republics of Pisa and Genoa, and several noble families from Liguria and Tuscany. In particular, Pisa managed to gain control of the island, except for the Logudoro Judicate, which remained under the rule of Doria and Malaspina families. The end of the Judicates of Cagliari (1258), Torres (1259) and Gallura (1298) led to the construction of new aristocratic fortresses and the progressive and final collapse. In the late 13th century, the only survivor was the Judicate of Arborea. In 1297, the papal bull Super Reges et Regna authorised the feoffment of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica to James II, King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona. However, attempts to render the title rex Corsicae et Sardiniae effective only began in 1323, when the army, headed by Infante Alfonso, landed in the Gulf of Palmas and succeeded in conquering the island (1324). Having defeated Pisa, the Aragonese army became entangled in a strenuous struggle, first against the Judicate of Arborea, until 1409, then against the French house of Narbonne until 1420, and finally against Genoa and the Doria family until the early 16th century. In the 15th century, with Sardinia’s definitive subjugation, the process of encastellation substantially ended. Castles were abandoned and soon fell into decline. The construction of new fortresses was based on a feudal rationale, still conceived for territorial control but viewed in terms of encouraging population (or repopulation) and the optimal use of local resources.