The Aragonese conquest

Aritzo, prigioni spagnole “Sa Bovida”, esterno. Foto di Irene Ollargiu, 2007, da Risorse digitali Sardegna

In 1297 Pope Boniface VIII established from scratch the 'Regnum Sardiniae et Corsicae' by feuding it to the king of Aragon James II. The territorial conquest of Sardinia, however, began only in 1323 with the landing of the Aragonese army, commanded by the infant Alfonso, in the Gulf of Palma di Sulcis. The occupation of the territory takes place slowly, but comprehensively.
In 1324 Villa di Chiesa (later Iglesias) was conquered and in 1326 Cagliari. Starting from this date and until 1479, the year in which the rulers Ferdinando of Aragon and Isabella of Castile constituted the Crown of Spain, the island was gradually inserted into a cultural area, as well as geographical, different from the previous context, characterized by the contrast between the indigenous judges and the maritime republics of Pisa and Genoa.
The administrative structure of the territory, which was part of a larger socio-economic restructuring plan, underwent radical changes, first of all the division into fiefdoms aimed at rewarding the Catalan nobles who had participated in the conquest. Large cities are subject to royal authority and receive the same privileges as Barcelona.
The plan is hampered by the opposing resistance of the feudal lords present before the conquest (the Doria and the Malaspina) and by the Giudicato di Arborea, the only native Sardinian kingdom that survived until 1410.
In this way, the direct line that connected Sardinia to the Italian peninsula is interrupted and, although Tuscan and Ligurian products do not completely disappear, the traffic flows between Catalonia and Sardinia determine the configuration of new socio-cultural structures. The Catalan lexicon and artistic expressions are welcomed, in particular the Gothic-Catalan formulas that will take root in the island's taste, so much so that they were re-proposed until the 17th century.

Update

5/8/2025 - 14:37