Great testimonies of Romanity in Sardinia

Roman Sardinia is strongly marked by an intense process of redefining its landscape. One of the distinguishing features of Rome's policies of domination has in fact always been to impart to the controlled territories a landscape form that would provide, already from a visual point of view, an unambiguous feeling of “Romanity” wherever they were in the empire.

The Phoenician and Punic founding cities are thus progressively redefined by intense processes of redevelopment, with the creation of new spaces (such as the forum) and new buildings (such as thermal baths) that would provide cities with new features.

Villas were born in the countryside, buildings in which the lords who owned the estates or land intended for agricultural exploitation could easily exercise careful control over their estates.

The intense agricultural exploitation to which Sardinia became subject at this stage carries on a process that today we could define as environmental degradation, already triggered in the previous phase of Punic domination.

Crucial for the control of Roman Sardinia was the intense road network, created with the specific intention of making every area of the new province accessible and controllable, created in 227 BC. For this purpose, numerous bridges were built, over the main watercourses.

Equally important is the aqueduct system that guaranteed the water supply for urban centers, often equipped with large thermal systems.

Update

22/9/2023 - 10:42