Sant'Antioco
Encyclopedia
Sant'Antioco is the name of both an island and a municipality (comune
) in southwestern Sardinia
, in the Province of Carbonia-Iglesias
, in Sulcis
zone. With a population of 11,730, the municipality of Sant'Antioco it is the island's largest community. It is also the site of ancient Sulci
, considered the second city of Sardinia in antiquity.
. It is located some 87 km from Cagliari
, to which is connected through the SS126 state road, using a modern bridge. The island is divided between the two municipalities of Sant'Antioco and Calasetta
. Other settlements are the small tourist resort of Maladroxia (a frazione
of Sant'Antioco municipality) and Cussorgia, part of Calasetta.
The island of Sant'Antioco was settled at least from the 5th millennium BC (the so-called culture of San Michele of Ozieri
), which was based mainly on fishing and agriculture. Typical tombs (called domus de janas) and menhir
s belonging to this culture have been found. The island also housed nuraghe
civilizations: findings include the nuraghe of Su Niu de Su Crobu ("Crow's Nest").
The city of Sant'Antioco was founded in the 8th century BC by the Phoenicia
ns, with the name of Solki, of which a tophet
(children) necropolis
has been excavated. Later (6th century BC) it became a Carthaginian
colony, to which another necropolis belongs. The Punic domination ended in the 2nd century BC, when Solki was conquered by the Romans
, who connected it to the mainland through an artificial isthmus
. During the civil war between Julius Caesar
and Pompey
it sided with the latter, being severely punished after his defeat. During Roman times, it was called Plumbaria, after its lead
deposits.
The current city name derives from St. Antiochus
, evangelizer of the area, who was martyred in 125 AD. After the decline and the end of the Western Roman Empire
, Sant'Antioco was a fortified strong point of the Byzantines
. It was repeatedly attacked by the Saracen
s starting from the early 8th century, and gradually abandoned by the inhabitants who fled to the more protected inner area; the island mainly remained important as the end of pilgrimages devoted to St. Antiochus. A new settlement (bidda in Sardinian
) was established around 935 by the judge (the local title for lord) of Cagliari
, but this also was abandoned after the end of the giudicato. The island was a territory of the Kingdom of Sardinia (created in 1354) and later was acquired by archbishopric of Cagliari (1503) and, in 1758, by the religious Order of SS. Maurizio and Lazzaro: at the time it had 38 houses, 15 workshops, 164 huts, with some 450 inhabitants.
In January-May 1793 the island was occupied by French troops under admiral Laurent Jean François Truguet
, and the citizens freed from ecclesiastical taxes. The last attack by North African pirates occurred in 1815 (the same year in which the relics of the patron saint
were brought back to the cathedral).
(Thunnus Thynnus).
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
) in southwestern Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, in the Province of Carbonia-Iglesias
Province of Carbonia-Iglesias
Carbonia-Iglesias is a province in the autonomous region of Sardinia, Italy which includes the historical region of Sulcis-Iglesiente, the southwestern part of Sardinia.-Overview:...
, in Sulcis
Sulcis
Sulcis is the southwestern region of Sardinia, part of the larger Sulcis-Iglesiente region. It is named for the Phoenician city of Sulcis , present-day Sant'Antioco....
zone. With a population of 11,730, the municipality of Sant'Antioco it is the island's largest community. It is also the site of ancient Sulci
Sulci
This article refers to Sulci the city. For the anatomical feature, see Sulcus .Sulci |Paus.]]), was one of the most considerable cities of ancient Sardinia, situated in the southwest corner of the island, on a small island, now called Isola di Sant'Antioco, which is, however, joined to the mainland...
, considered the second city of Sardinia in antiquity.
Island of Sant'Antioco
Sant'Antioco is the second largest island of the region Sardinia, after Sardinia itself, with a surface of 109 km2; it is also the fourth in Italy after Sicily, Sardinia itself and ElbaElba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
. It is located some 87 km from Cagliari
Cagliari
Cagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle. It has about 156,000 inhabitants, or about 480,000 including the outlying townships : Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu...
, to which is connected through the SS126 state road, using a modern bridge. The island is divided between the two municipalities of Sant'Antioco and Calasetta
Calasetta
Calasetta is a small town and comune located on the island of Sant'Antioco, off the Southwestern coast of Sardinia, Italy.-History:While the town itself dates to 1770...
. Other settlements are the small tourist resort of Maladroxia (a frazione
Frazione
A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...
of Sant'Antioco municipality) and Cussorgia, part of Calasetta.
History
Ozieri
Ozieri is a town and comune of approximatively 11,000 inhabitants in the province of Sassari, northern Sardinia , in the Logudoro historical region...
), which was based mainly on fishing and agriculture. Typical tombs (called domus de janas) and menhir
Menhir
A menhir is a large upright standing stone. Menhirs may be found singly as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Their size can vary considerably; but their shape is generally uneven and squared, often tapering towards the top...
s belonging to this culture have been found. The island also housed nuraghe
Nuraghe
The nuraghe is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia. Today it has come to be the symbol of Sardinia and its distinctive culture, the Nuragic civilization...
civilizations: findings include the nuraghe of Su Niu de Su Crobu ("Crow's Nest").
The city of Sant'Antioco was founded in the 8th century BC by the Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
ns, with the name of Solki, of which a tophet
Tophet
Tophet or Topheth is believed to be a location in Jerusalem, in the Valley of Hinnom, where the Canaanites sacrificed children to the god Moloch by burning them alive. The Hebrew Bible also mentions what appears to be child sacrifice practiced at a place called the Tophet by the Canaanites,...
(children) necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
has been excavated. Later (6th century BC) it became a Carthaginian
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
colony, to which another necropolis belongs. The Punic domination ended in the 2nd century BC, when Solki was conquered by the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, who connected it to the mainland through an artificial isthmus
Isthmus
An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...
. During the civil war between Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
and Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
it sided with the latter, being severely punished after his defeat. During Roman times, it was called Plumbaria, after its lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
deposits.
The current city name derives from St. Antiochus
Antiochus of Sulcis
Saint Antiochus of Sulcis was an early Christian martyr of Sardinia. The island and town of Sant'Antioco are named after him. He is a figure associated with the Sardinian mines from which the Romans extracted minerals and precious metals; the Romans condemned prisoners of war and Christians to...
, evangelizer of the area, who was martyred in 125 AD. After the decline and the end of the Western Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
, Sant'Antioco was a fortified strong point of the Byzantines
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. It was repeatedly attacked by the Saracen
Saracen
Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...
s starting from the early 8th century, and gradually abandoned by the inhabitants who fled to the more protected inner area; the island mainly remained important as the end of pilgrimages devoted to St. Antiochus. A new settlement (bidda in Sardinian
Sardinian language
Sardinian is a Romance language spoken and written on most of the island of Sardinia . It is considered the most conservative of the Romance languages in terms of phonology and is noted for its Paleosardinian substratum....
) was established around 935 by the judge (the local title for lord) of Cagliari
Cagliari
Cagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle. It has about 156,000 inhabitants, or about 480,000 including the outlying townships : Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu...
, but this also was abandoned after the end of the giudicato. The island was a territory of the Kingdom of Sardinia (created in 1354) and later was acquired by archbishopric of Cagliari (1503) and, in 1758, by the religious Order of SS. Maurizio and Lazzaro: at the time it had 38 houses, 15 workshops, 164 huts, with some 450 inhabitants.
In January-May 1793 the island was occupied by French troops under admiral Laurent Jean François Truguet
Laurent Jean François Truguet
Laurent Truguet was a French admiral.-Youth up to the Revolution:Of arisocratic origins, and the son of a chef d'escadre, Laurent de Truguet entered the...
, and the citizens freed from ecclesiastical taxes. The last attack by North African pirates occurred in 1815 (the same year in which the relics of the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
were brought back to the cathedral).
Main sights
- The Palaeo-Christian Basilica of Sant'Antioco, restored in 1089-1102
- Roman bridge
- Ancient akropolis
- Phoenician and Punic necropolises
- Ferruccio Barreca Archaeological Museum
- The Forte Su Pisu (1812)
- ByssusByssusByssus means both a silky filament by which certain molluscs attach themselves to hard surfaces, and a rare fabric, also called sea silk and its fibre source.-Word:...
museum
Events
In the period from 15 May to 15 June a famous Tuna "mattanza" is held, with fishing of Northern Bluefin TunaNorthern bluefin tuna
The Northern bluefin tuna is a species of tuna in the Scombridae family. It is variously known as the Atlantic bluefin tuna, giant bluefin tuna and formerly as the tunny. Atlantic bluefin are native to both the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Mediterranean Sea...
(Thunnus Thynnus).