Sardinia, Part I: A Treasure Chest of Ancient History

Inhabited since the Stone Age, Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean, deriving its name from Sardus - a son of the mythical Hercules. One of the most sophisticated civilizations of antiquity was the Nuraghic people, who dwelt in beehive-like villages from the 18th-15th centuries BC.

The next wave of arrivals washed upon Sardinia's shores circa 1000 BC: forefathers of the Lebanese, the Phoenicians set up colonies along the coasts. Their cousins, the Carthaginians, invaded the island in 509 BC, but were ousted by the Romans nearly 300 years later. Rome's domination lasted seven hundred years, until the island was literally vandalized!

"Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide" would have been an appropriate song, but this Eastern Germanic tribe had nothing to do with Martha and the Vandellas. Living all throughout Europe, the Vandals conquered North Africa as a launching point to raid the Mediterranean islands and coastlands. Fortunately, the vandalism did not last long, and Sardinia was liberated in the 6th century AD by the Byzantines, who spread Christianity to the island.

The tranquility of Byzantium rule, however, was also short-lived, due to the incursions of the Barbary pirates, known also as Corsairs and Saracens, who assailed the island in 710 AD. For several centuries the Sardinians succeeded in defending themselves; but the island was soon thrown into turmoil in the 13th century upon the contentions of two maritime powers on the Italic Peninsula - the Republic of Genoa and the Republic of Pisa, the latter of which succeeded to colonize Sardinia.

Eventually, with the help of the pope, Sardinia fell to the House of Aragon in 1354, remaining a Catalan possession (and later Spanish) until it was handed over to Piedmont's House of Savoy, which in 1861 established the Kingdom of Italy and crowned Vittorio Emanuele II the first king of Italy.

Today, whether you indulge in eclectic culinary delights or archeological sites, you can explore this exotic treasure chest of ancient history on horseback or a shipwreck exploration, paragliding or windsurfing, scaling a rocky cliff, or simply in the comfort of an air conditioned FIAT.

Did You Know?

Originating in Catalonia of northeastern Spain, Catalan is one of Sardinia's five local languages and enjoys co-official status in the city of Alghero. Conquered by the Crown of Aragon, the city was invaded in 1353 by Catalan settlers, who displaced the indigenous population and language.