Castiadas, Museum of the Territory

Located in the town of Castiadas, it is located in the management wing of the former penal colony, built in 1877.
On August 11, 1875, thirty detainees and seven custody officers from the San Bartolomeo penal house in Cagliari landed on the nearby beach of Cala Sinzias, led by the prison inspector Eugenio Cicognani. They had to carry out hydraulic and agrarian remediation works in the countryside, which had remained uncultivated and uninhabited since the Aragonese age due to malaria and frequent plague epidemics.
The penal colony, with the management, the prisons or herds, the guard barracks, the military garrison, the service facilities (blacksmith and carpenter workshops), the infirmary, was built on a hill called Praidis, between two small rivers.
Over time, a dense network of roads and infrastructures was built, and the areas where the ten detachments of the colony were to be located were reclaimed, according to an autarchic production organization, which, however, did not exclude the marketing of the products. Legumes and cereals were cultivated, mulberries, olive trees, oranges, almonds and lemons, vineyards, charcoal was produced, cattle, sheep and pigs were raised. All this under a very harsh regime of discipline and in such hygienic and sanitary situations (malaria, but also tuberculosis, typhoid fever, gastroenteritis) as to cause the death of many detainees. Events that did not fail to arouse public outrage, with the result of a progressive improvement in the living conditions of the convicted.
During fascism, the territory, now transformed, passed to the Ferrarese authority for the colonization of uncultivated land, which later became a Sardinian entity. The penal colony ceased to exist in 1952 with the birth of ETFAS, the Agrarian Land Transformation Authority of Sardinia. With its 6253 hectares, it had been the largest of the intermediate agricultural penal colonies in Italy.
The management wing houses the route that documents the history of the prison. The main theme consists of a cross-section of local traditions and prison life. It is structured on 2 floors: ground floor, with 2 corridors; first floor with a corridor and terrace. About ten rooms overlook the corridor. Some rooms have traditional local furnishings, clothing, sculptures and paintings. In addition to the management, the maximum punishment cells and the director's villa can be visited.

Why is it important to visit it
An exciting journey through the monumental prison complex, in the documents, in the cells, in the history and in the daily life of a penal colony from the late 19th century that transformed, with its work, the territory of Castiadas.

Tag

Structure category: Monument or Monumental Complex

Content type: Civil architecture
Archive

Usability: Open

Province: Sud Sardegna

Common: Castiadas

Macro Territorial Area: South Sardinia

POSTAL CODE: 09040

Address: via Centrale s.n.c.

Telephone: +39 348 5182463

E-mail: biblioteca@comune.castiadas.su.it

Website: www.comune.castiadas.su.it/it/news/museo-del-territorio-complesso-ex-carcere-orari-di-

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/museocastiadas

March 01 - December 03

Friday - Saturday - Sunday

4:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Information on tickets and access: There is currently no information available on any tickets, for information on this, and to verify the usability of the monument complex, it is advisable to contact the structure in advance at +39 348 5182463.

Access mode: For a fee

Update

22/4/2024 - 00:43

Services

Guided tours