The Goceano () is a historical and geographical region of center-north of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

island,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It covers a surface of 480 km² and has a population of 13,000 inhabitants (27 inhabitants/km²). It is located inside the

Province of Sassari The province of Sassari (; ; ; ; ) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia, Italy. Its capital was the city of Sassari. On 1 April 2025, the province was suppressed in favor of the new Metropolitan City of Sassari, which corres ...

, the main urban centres are Bono, Italy, considered the traditional Goceano's chieftown, Anela,

Benetutti Benetutti () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sassari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about southeast of Sassari. Several prehistorical archaeological remains have been discovered in its coun ...

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

, Bultei, Nule, Esporlatu, Illorai and Bottidda. The territory is characterised by wooded mountains and alluvial valleys, the Marghine Chain (highest peak:

Monte Rasu Monte Rasu is a mountain in the Goceano's range, in the province of Sassari, central west Sardinia, Italy. Its summit, called ''sa Punta Manna'' (1,259 m), is the highest peak in the province of Sassari. The mount is surrounded by the woo ...

1259 metres) and the Tirso Valley.

History

According to the Sardinian historian

Giovanni Francesco Fara Giovanni Francesco Fara (February 4, 1543 - 1591) was a Sardinian historian, geographer and clergyman,http://www.filologiasarda.eu/didattica/schede/slides.php?sez=37&id=560&didaSec=letteratura who wrote in Latin. Biography Giovanni Francesco Far ...

(1543–1591) the Goceano, in Latin ''Gothianus'', takes its name from the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

, some of whom settled down in the region during the Middle Ages. The region is historically characterised by the Castle of

, built in 1134 by the Giudice of Logudoro Gonario II of Torres.Vittorio Angius, "Goceano", in Goffredo Casalis, ''Dizionario geografico, storico, statistico, commerciale degli Stati di S.M. il Re di Sardegna'', 1841 The castle was considered in the 14th century "one of the strongest and efficient forts of Sardinia". Francesco Cesare Casula, ''Dizionario storico sardo'', "Gocèano (o di Burgos), castello di" The King

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...

appointed Marianus IV of Arborea as Count of Goceano, in 1339. He held the fief and the castle also after his crowning as giudice of Arborea. In 1410, after the defeat of Arborea in the war against the

Kingdom of Aragon The Kingdom of Aragon (; ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Monarchy, kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain. It became a part of the larger ...

, the Goceano became a fiefdom ruled by Leonardo Cubello.

Notes

Bibliography

* S. Chessa, ''Le Dimore rurali in Sardegna, con particolare riferimento al Monteacuto, al Goceano, al Meilogu e alla Gallura'', Cargeghe, Documenta, 2008. * Vittorio Angius, voce ''Goceano'', in Goffredo Casalis, ''Dizionario geografico, storico, statistico, commerciale degli Stati di S.M. il Re di Sardegna'', 1841. * Francesco Cesare Casula, ''Dizionario storico sardo'', edizione riveduta ed ampliata Cagliari, L'Unione Sarda, 2006, . {{Coord, 40, 25, N, 9, 00, E, dim:20000_region:IT_source:itwiki, display=title Geography of Sardinia Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy