The Greco-Byzantine inscriptions

In southern Sardinia, there are some medieval inscriptions in Greek, whose importance lies in the fact that the names of the local representatives of the Roman Empire of Constantinople are read there. These are perhaps proper names (Torcotorio, Salusio, Orzocco), which will later become dynastic titles of the Lacon-Gunale, judges of Cagliari.

No inscriptions are dated but all are probably placed between the middle of the tenth and the middle of the eleventh century.
The centers of origin are Assemini (church of San Giovanni), Sant'Antioco (basilica of the martyr), Decimoputzu or Villasor (today in the National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari). Originally, the inscriptions were found inside churches that enjoyed a particular status, linked to the ruling aristocracy in Cagliari through a series of constraints whose exact nature escapes. Perhaps they were family churches, located in the birthplaces of the characters mentioned in the inscriptions, or their burial churches, or even churches of special importance in the devotional fabric of southern Sardinia.

In any case, it seems that through these inscriptions the first judges of Cagliari intended to assert their achieved autonomy through a system of “exposed” scriptures. Not only that: the inscriptions are accompanied by marble sculptures of liturgical furniture, which highlight the cultural context in which both were formulated and produced.
The historic moment saw, on the one hand, the consolidation of local autonomy, and on the other, the strengthening of administrative, religious and artistic relations with Constantinople, also through cultural relations with the Campania coast.

Update

20/9/2023 - 11:08