Page 6 - Italian-American Herald - April 2024

6 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | APRIL2024 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD COVER STORY
Sardinia: Island was invaded by various factions over the centuries Continued from front page
of Aragon. The king and his successors conquered the island of Sardinia in 1324 and by 1420 Sardinia became part of the Spanish Empire. In 1720 the land and its people came under the rule of Victor Amadeus II, the Duke of Savoy. Under Savoy authority, the island was granted autonomy with its own parliament but the officiants on the island lost much of their powers and governance and decisions were made by officials in Turin.
In the late 1700s discontent with the governance of the House of Savoy had reached a tipping point. Peasants were fed up with feudal rule and the wealthy landowners and nobles resented their lack of influence
as key administrative roles and military positions were granted to officials who lived on the mainland.
By 1780 the birth of a rebellion was underway. In 1793 the Sardinians had successfully stopped an invasion by a French fleet and hoped this would persuade the king to acknowledge their many grievances on the island. They had put forth requests for roles in military and political jobs, as well as greater autonomy in the decisions of the local ruling class. They also wanted to establish a Council of State in Cagliari and a ministry for Sardinian affairs in Turin. The Piedmontese government refused to consider these requests and instead responded with the arrest of two well-known attorneys, Vincenzo Cabras and Efisio Pintor. The two were members of the Patriot Party and their arrest was the final straw for the aristocrats living in the capital city of Cagliari. Joined by the rest of the population, they began an insurrection on April 28.
On this day people in the capital city started chasing any Piedmontese officials they could find, many of whom were wearing traditional robes used by the locals to blend in with the general populace. In order to identify these delegates sent from the mainland, suspected outsiders were asked to pronounce the word chickpea (nara cixiri) in Sardinian and if they failed to do so correctly, they were rounded up for expulsion from the island. By May of 1794 at least 514 officers of the House of Savoy were sent back to the
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A view from a cave at Cape Caccia near the city of Alghero frames the westernmost part of the island of Sardinia. | ADOBE STOCK
mainland. The people of two other principal
the Kingdom of Sardinia on March 17, 1861,
either to other cities in Europe or to the cities cities, Sassari and Alghero, did the same and
in effect placing all other Apennine states and
of coastal areas of Sardinia. In the 1960s the the revolt spread throughout the island.
Sicily under its rule. This ruling was later
government approved petrochemical agencies Sardinia, in effect, became the first
expanded to include all the other regions
and many other islanders went to work on European country to engage in its own
and led to Piedmont becoming the wealthiest
U.S. military bases.
revolution. The uprising continued for
region and to continued resentment by the
For many years Sardinian was the
another two years under the leadership
poorer regions of the south.
principal language on the island but by the
of Giovanni Maria Angioy, a judge of the
When Italians were set to vote to retain
Continued on next page Royal Hearing. It was eventually suppressed
or abolish the monarchy in 1946, more than
by forces loyal to the House of Savoy and
60 percent of Sardinians voted in favor of
Sardinia remained under Piedmontese rule.
monarchy. The vote to retain a king failed
Prior to the rebellion the island was
and the island became part of the Republic of
already under a process of “Italianization”
Italy. In 1948 Sardinia was granted regional
with introduction of the Italian language
autonomous status and began the process of
Prior to the rebellion around 1760. Cagliari, which had been the
moving toward regional governance.
capital of the Kingdom from1328 was moved
A plan of “rebirth” was established with
the island was already
to Turin in 1848.
the initiation of major infrastructure projects
Giuseppe Garibaldi, the leader of the
including reforestation of the island whose
under a process of Risorgimento, spent his last 26 years on
lush forests were stripped to provide the
the island of Caprera, which is part of the
Piedmontese with raw materials, like wood,
‘Italianization’ with the archipelago of La Maddalena. In 1861 he led
used to make train sleepers on the mainland.
introduction of the Italian the effort to conquer the Kingdom of Naples
The island, which had been primarily a
and Sicily. His success brought the lands of
mining and agricultural economy, now
language around 1760. southern Italy and Sicily under the control
looked to other industrial ventures to provide
of King Vittorio Emanuele II and unified the
jobs. Much of this did not work out and
country. This was ratified by the Parliament of
there was a large exodus of the population,
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