Sardinians or Sards are an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

ethno-linguistic group and a

nation A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...

indigenous to

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 ...

, an island in the western

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

which is administratively an

autonomous region An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, zone, entity, unit, region, subdivision, province, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or territory, internal territory of a sovereign state that has ...

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 ...

Etymology

Not much can be gathered from the classical literature about the origins of the Sardinian people. The

ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...

"S(a)rd" may belong to the Pre-Indo-European (or

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

) linguistic substratum, and whilst they might have derived from the Iberians, the accounts of the old authors differ greatly in this respect. The oldest written attestation of the ethnonym is on the

Nora stone The Nora Stone or Nora Inscription is an ancient Phoenician inscribed stone found at Nora on the south coast of Sardinia in 1773. Though it was not discovered in its primary context, it has been dated by palaeographic methods to the late 9th ce ...

, where the word ''Šrdn'' (''Shardan'') bears witness to its original existence by the time the Phoenician merchants first arrived on Sardinian shores. According to '' Timaeus'', one of

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

's dialogues, Sardinia and its people as well, the "Sardonioi" or "Sardianoi" (''Σαρδονιοί'' or ''Σαρδιανοί''), might have been named after "Sardò" (''Σαρδώ''), a legendary Lydian woman from

Sardis Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...

(''Σάρδεις''), in the region of western

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

(now

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

). Some other authors, like Pausanias and

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (, ; –35 BC), was a historian and politician of the Roman Republic from a plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became a partisan of Julius ...

, reported instead that the Sardinians traced their descent back to a mythical ancestor, a Libyan son of

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

or ''Makeris'' (related either to the

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

verb ''Imɣur'' "to grow", to the specific Kabyle word ''Maqqur'' "He is the greatest", or also associated with the figure of

Melqart Melqart () was the tutelary god of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre and a major deity in the Phoenician and Punic pantheons. He may have been central to the founding-myths of various Phoenician colonies throughout the Mediterranean, as well ...

) revered as a deity going by '' Sardus Pater Babai'' ("Sardinian Father" or "Father of the Sardinians"), who gave the island its name. It has also been claimed that the ancient Nuragic Sards were associated with the

Sherden The Sherden (Egyptian: ''šrdn'', ''šꜣrdꜣnꜣ'' or ''šꜣrdynꜣ''; Ugaritic: ''šrdnn(m)'' and ''trtn(m)''; possibly Akkadian: ''šêrtânnu''; also glossed "Shardana" or "Sherdanu") are one of the several ethnic groups the Sea Peoples wer ...

(''šrdn'' in

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

), one of the

Sea Peoples The Sea Peoples were a group of tribes hypothesized to have attacked Ancient Egypt, Egypt and other Eastern Mediterranean regions around 1200 BC during the Late Bronze Age. The hypothesis was proposed by the 19th-century Egyptology, Egyptologis ...

. The ethnonym was then romanised, with regard for the singular masculine and feminine form, as ''sardus'' and ''sarda''.

History

Prehistory

Sardinia was first settled by

modern human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

s from

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

during the

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...

and the

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

; at the time Sardinia and

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

formed a single island, the largest in the Mediterranean, separated from the Italian peninsula by a short stretch of sea. During the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

Early European Farmers Early European Farmers (EEF) were a group of the Anatolian Neolithic Farmers (ANF) who brought agriculture to Europe and Northwest Africa. The Anatolian Neolithic Farmers were an ancestral component, first identified in farmers from Anatolia (als ...

settled in Sardinia. According to modern archaeogenetic investigations, the Neolithic Sardinians showed a greater affinity with the Cardial populations of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

and

Southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

, furthermore mitochondrial haplogroups of the ancient Mesolithic inhabitants would survive in today's Sardinians. In the Late

Chalcolithic The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in di ...

to the Early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, the

Bell Beaker culture The Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex or Bell Beaker phenomenon, is an archaeological culture named after the inverted-bell beaker drinking vessel used at the beginning of the European Bronze Age, arising from around ...

from

, Northeastern Spain, and then

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

entered the island, bringing new metallurgical techniques and ceramic styles and probably

Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

. An early modest

gene flow In population genetics, gene flow (also known as migration and allele flow) is the transfer of genetic variation, genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalent ...

of the Western Steppe Herders has been dated to about this period (~2600 BCE).Manjusha Chintalapati, Nick Patterson, Priya Moorjani (2022) The spatiotemporal patterns of major human admixture events during the European Holocene eLife 11:e77625 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.77625 I popoli della Sardegna Romana

Nuragic civilization

The Nuragic civilization arose in the Middle Bronze Age, during the Late

Bonnanaro culture The Bonnanaro culture is a protohistoric culture that flourished in Sardinia during the 2nd millennium BC (1800–1600 BC), considered to be the first stage of the Nuragic civilization. It takes its name from the comune of Bonnanaro in the pro ...

, which showed connections with the previous Beaker culture and the Polada culture of

northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

. Although the Sardinians were considered to have acquired a sense of national identity, at that time, the grand tribal identities of the Nuragic Sardinians were said to be three (roughly from the South to the North): the ''Iolei/ Ilienses'', inhabiting the area from the southernmost plains to the mountainous zone of eastern Sardinia (later part of what would be called by the Romans ''Barbaria''); the '' Balares'', living in the North-West corner; and finally the '' Corsi'' stationed in today's

Gallura Gallura ( or ; ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy. The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area". Geography Gallùra has an area of . It is from the Italian peninsula and from the French island of Corsica. ...

and the island to which they gave the name,

. Nuragic Sardinians have been connected by some scholars to the

, a tribe of the so-called

, whose presence is registered several times in

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian records. The language or languages spoken in Sardinia during the Bronze Age is unknown since there are no written records of such period. According to

Eduardo Blasco Ferrer Eduardo Blasco Ferrer (Barcelona, 1956 – Bastia, 12 January 2017) was a Spanish-Italian linguist and a professor at the University of Cagliari, Sardinia. He is best known as the author of several studies about the Paleo-Sardinian and Sardinian ...

, the

Paleo-Sardinian language Paleo-Sardinian, also known as Proto-Sardinian or Nuragic, is an extinct language, or perhaps set of languages, spoken on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia by the ancient Sardinian population during the Nuragic era. Starting from the Roman c ...

was akin to

Proto-Basque Proto-Basque (; ; ) is a reconstructed ancient stage of the Basque language. It preceded another reconstructed stage, Common Basque, which is derived by comparing dialects of modern Basque. Common Basque is their reconstructed common ancestor. Pr ...

and the ancient Iberian. In contrast, others believe it was related to

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...

. Other scholars theorize that there were various linguistic areas (two or more) in Nuraghic Sardinia, possibly Pre-Indo-European and Indo-European.

Antiquity

In the 8th century BCE,

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

founded colonies and ports along the southern and western coast, such as ''Karalis'', ''Bithia'', ''Sulki'' and ''

Tharros Tharros (also spelled Tharras, , , ''Tárrai/Tárras''; ) was an ancient city and former bishopric on the west coast of Sardinia, Italy. It is currently a Latin Catholic titular see and an archaeological site near the village of San Giovanni d ...

''; starting from the same areas, where the relations between the indigenous Sardinians and the descendants of Phoenician settlers, the

Punic people The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people who migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' ...

, had been so far peaceful, the

Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...

proceeded to annex the southern and western part of Sardinia in the late 6th century BC. Well into the 1st century BCE, native Sardinians were said to have preserved many cultural affinities with the Punic people of

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. After the

First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...

, the whole island was conquered by the Romans in the 3rd century BC. Sardinia and Corsica were then made into a single province; however, it took the Romans more than another 150 years to manage to subdue the more belligerent Nuragic tribes of the interior, and after 184 years since the Sardinians fell under Roman sway,

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

noted how there was still not on the island a single community which had had friendly intercourse with the Roman people. Even from the former Sardo-Carthaginian settlements, with which the Sardinian mountaineers had formed an alliance in a common struggle against the Romans, indigenous attempts emerged aimed at resisting cultural and political assimilation: inscriptions in Bithia dating to the period of

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

were found, and they still followed the old Punic script at a time when even in North Africa the script was neo-Punic; Punic-style magistrates called '' sufetes'' wielded local control in Nora and Tharros through the end of the first century B.C., although two ''sufetes'' existed in Bithia as late as the mid-second century CE. Overall, Sardinia was quite disliked by the Romans and, as isolated as it was kept,

Romanization In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Latin script, Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and tra ...

proceeded at a relatively slow pace. Sardegna Barbaria

During the Roman rule, there was a considerable immigration flow from the Italian peninsula into the island; ancient sources mention several populations of Italic origin settling down in Sardinia, like the ''Patulcenses Campani'' (from

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

), the ''

Falisci The Falisci were an Italic peoples, Italic tribe who lived in what is now northern Lazio, on the Etruscan side of the Tiber River. They spoke an Italic languages, Italic language, Faliscan language, Faliscan, closely related to Latin. Origina ...

'' (from southern

Etruria Etruria ( ) was a region of Central Italy delimited by the rivers Arno and Tiber, an area that covered what is now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and north-western Umbria. It was inhabited by the Etruscans, an ancient civilization that f ...

), the ''Buduntini'' (from

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

) and the ''Siculenses'' (from

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

);

Roman colonies Colonies in antiquity were post-Iron Age city-states founded from a mother-city or metropolis rather than from a territory-at-large. Bonds between a colony and its metropolis often remained close, and took specific forms during the period of clas ...

were also established in

Porto Torres Porto Torres (; ) is a (municipality) and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as , it was the first Roman colony of the entire Sardinia, island. It is situated on the coast at abo ...

(''Turris Libisonis'') and '' Uselis''. The Italic immigrants were confronted with a difficult coexistence with the natives, who were reluctant to assimilate to the language and customs of the colonists; many aspects of the ancient Sardo-Punic culture are documented to have persisted well into Imperial times, and the mostly mountainous innerlands came to earn the name of '' Barbaria'' ("Land of the Barbarians", similar in origin to the word ''

Barbary The Barbary Coast (also Barbary, Berbery, or Berber Coast) were the coastal regions of central and western North Africa, more specifically, the Maghreb and the Ottoman borderlands consisting of the regencies in Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, a ...

'') as a testament of the fiercely independent spirit of the tribes who dwelled therein (in fact, they would continue to practice their indigenous prehistoric religion up until the age of

Pope Gregory I Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Ro ...

). Nevertheless, Sardinia would eventually undergo cultural Romanization, the modern

Sardinian language Sardinian or Sard ( , , , , or , ) is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken by the Sardinians on the Western Mediterranean island of Sardinia. The original character of the Sardinian language among the Romance idioms has long been know ...

being one of the most evident cultural developments thereof.

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

gave a brief summary about the Mountaineer tribes, living in what would be called ''civitates Barbariae'', ''

Geographica The ''Geographica'' (, ''Geōgraphiká''; or , "Strabo's 17 Books on Geographical Topics") or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Greek in the late 1st century BC, or early 1st cen ...

'' V ch.2:

There are four nations of mountaineers, the Parati, Sossinati, Balari, and the Aconites. These people dwell in caverns. Although they have some arable land, they neglect its cultivation, preferring rather to plunder what they find cultivated by others, whether on the island or on the continent, where they make descents, especially upon the Pisatæ. The prefects sent nto Sardiniasometimes resist them, but at other times leave them alone, since it would cost too dear to maintain an army always on foot in an unhealthy place.

Like any other subjects of the Empire, Sardinians too would be granted

Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome () was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, traditions, and cu ...

in 212 AD with the

Constitutio Antoniniana The (Latin for "Constitution r Edictof Antoninus"), also called the Edict of Caracalla or the Antonine Constitution, was an edict issued in AD 212 by the Roman emperor Caracalla. It declared that all free men in the Roman Empire were to be ...

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname Caracalla (; ), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father and then r ...

Middle Ages

After the fall of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

, Sardinia was ruled in rapid succession by the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

, the Byzantines, the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...

and again by the Byzantines, when the island was, once again in its history, joined to North Africa as part of the

Exarchate of Africa The Exarchate of Africa was a division of the Byzantine Empire around Carthage that encompassed its possessions on the Western Mediterranean. Ruled by an exarch (viceroy), it was established by the Emperor Maurice in 591 and survived until t ...

. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the "Sardinian Nation" (''Nació Sarda'' or ''Sardesca'', as reported from the native and Aragonese dispatches) was juridically divided into four kingdoms, known collectively in Sardinian as ''Judicadu'', ''Giudicau'' or simply ''Logu'' "Place"; in ); all of them, except for the Judicate of Arborea, fell under the influence of the

maritime republics The maritime republics (), also called merchant republics (), were Italian Thalassocracy , thalassocratic Port city, port cities which, starting from the Middle Ages, enjoyed political autonomy and economic prosperity brought about by their mar ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

and

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

, as well as some noble families from the two cities, like the Doria family, the Della Gherardesca family, and the

Malaspina family The House of Malaspina was a noble Italian family of Longobard origin that descended from Boniface I, Margrave of Tuscany, Boniface I, through the Obertenghi line, that ruled Lunigiana from the 13th to the 14th centuries, and the Province of Mas ...

. The Dorias founded the cities of

Alghero Alghero (; ; ; ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian province of Sassari in the north west of the island of Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ''Aleguerium'', which is a mediaeval Latin word m ...

and ''Castelgenovese'' (today Castelsardo), while the Pisans founded ''Castel di Castro'' (today

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

) and ''Terranova'' (today

Olbia Olbia (, ; ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune of 61,000 inhabitants in the Italy, Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called in the Roman age, Civita in the Middle ...

); the famous

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Ugolino della Gherardesca Ugolino della Gherardesca (March 1289), Count of Donoratico, was an Italian nobleman, politician and naval commander. He was frequently accused of treason and features prominently in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. Biography In the 13th century, the ...

, quoted by

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

in his ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

'', favored the birth of the mining town of ''Villa di Chiesa'' (today Iglesias), which became an Italian

medieval commune Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense (both physical defense and of traditional freedoms) among the citizens of a town or city. These took many forms and varied widely in organization and makeup. C ...

along with

Sassari Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...

and Castel di Castro. These new cities attracted migrants from the Italian peninsula, Corsica and several regions of Sardinia. Braun hogenberg Cagliari 1572

Following the Aragonese conquest of the Sardinian territories under Pisan rule, which took place between 1323 and 1326, and then the long conflict between the Aragonese Kingdom and the Judicate of Arborea (1353–1420), the newborn

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

became one of the Associate States of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

. The Aragonese repopulated the cities of Castel di Castro and Alghero predominantly with

Catalans Catalans ( Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; ; ; or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citizens of Catalonia, a nationality and autono ...

and the

Algherese dialect Algherese or Alguerese (endonym and exonym, autonym: ) is the Variety (linguistics), variety of Catalan language, Catalan spoken in the city of Alghero ( in Catalan), in the northwest of Sardinia, Italy. The dialect has its roots in 1372, w ...

of Catalan is still spoken by a minority in the city of Alghero.

Modern and contemporary history

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the main Sardinian cities of Cagliari (the capital of the Kingdom), Alghero and Sassari appear well placed in the trade routes of the time. The cosmopolitan composition of its people provides evidence of it: the population was not only indigenous, but also hailing from Spain, Liguria, France and the island of

in particular. Especially in Sassari and across the strip of territory that goes from Anglona to

, the

Corsicans The Corsicans ( Corsican, Italian: ''Corsi''; French: ''Corses'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group, native to the Mediterranean island of Corsica, a territorial collectivity of France. Origin and history The island was populated sinc ...

became the majority of the population at least since the 15th century. This migration from the neighboring island, which is likely to have led to the birth of the Tuscan-sounding Sassarese and Gallurese dialects, went on continuously until the 19th century. The Spanish era ended in 1713, when Sardinia was ceded to the Austrian

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

, followed with another cession in 1718 to the Dukes of Savoy, who assumed the title of "Kings of Sardinia" and ruled the island from

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, in

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

. During this period,

Italianization Italianization ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is the spread of Italian culture, language and identity by way of integration or assimilation. It is also known for a process organized by the Kingdom of Italy to force cultural and ethnic assimilation of the nati ...

policies were implemented, so as to assimilate the islanders to the then Savoyard mainland (''stati di terraferma''). In 1738, the

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

n colonists escaped from

Tabarka Tabarka ( ') is a coastal town located in north-western Tunisia, close to the Algeria–Tunisia border, border with Algeria. Tabarka was occupied at various times by Punic people, Punics, Greeks, Roman people, Romans, Arabs, Genoa, Genoese and O ...

(

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

) were invited by

Charles Emmanuel III Charles Emmanuel III (27 April 1701 – 20 February 1773) was Duke of Savoy, List of monarchs of Sardinia, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from his Victor Amadeus II, father's abdication on 3 September 1730 until his death ...

to settle on the little islands of San Pietro and Sant'Antioco (at Carloforte and Calasetta), in the south-west area of Sardinia, bringing with them a Ligurian dialect called "Tabarchino", still widely spoken there. Then, the Piedmontese

annexed the whole Italian peninsula and

in 1861 after the

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

, becoming the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

Since 1850, with the reorganization of the Sardinian mines, there had been a considerable migration flow from the Italian peninsula towards the Sardinian mining areas of Sulcis- Iglesiente; these Mainland miners came mostly from

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, Piedmont,

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

and

Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...

. According to an 1882 census realised by the French engineer Leon Goüine, 10,000 miners worked in the south-western Sardinian mines, one third of whom being from the Italian mainland; most of them settled in Iglesias and ''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'' . At the end of the 19th century, communities of fishermen from

Torre del Greco Torre del Greco (; ; "Greek man's Tower") is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples in Italy, with a population of c. 85,000 . The locals are sometimes called ''Corallini'' because of the once plentiful coral in the nearby sea, and becaus ...

(Campania) and

Ponza Ponza (Italian: ''isola di Ponza'' ) is the largest island of the Italy, Italian Pontine Islands archipelago, located south of Cape Circeo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is also the name of the commune of the island, a part of the province of Latina ...

(Lazio) migrated on the east coasts of the island, in the towns of Arbatax/

Tortolì Tortolì (; or ; ) is a town and ''comune'' in Sardinia, in the Province of Nuoro. Geography Tortolì is situated on the eastern coast of Sardinia. Its port and greatest hamlet is Arbatax, which has also an airport that once connected it to con ...

, Siniscola and La Maddalena. In 1931, only 3.2% of the island's population was estimated to be native of the Mainland. A central government policy would change this situation in the following years, which saw an immigration flow from the Italian peninsula: the Fascist regime resettled to Sardinia a considerable number of miners and peasants from a wide variety of regions like

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

and

, who were encouraged to populate the new mining town of Carbonia, or agrarian villages like ''Mussolinia di Sardegna'' ("Sardinia's Mussolinia", now

Arborea Arborea is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding with production of vegetables, rice, fruit and milk (notably the local milk product Arborea). Histo ...

) and Fertilia; after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Italian refugees from the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus were relocated in the Nurra region, along the north-western coastline. As a result of the city's originally diverse composition, Carbonia developed a variety of Italian with some Sardinian influences from the neighbouring areas, while the other mainland ''coloni'' ("colonists") establishing minor centres kept their dialects of Istriot, Venetian and

Friulan Friulian ( ) or Friulan (natively or ; ; ; ) is a Romance language belonging to the Rhaeto-Romance family. Friulian is spoken in the Friuli region of northeastern Italy and has around 600,000 speakers, the vast majority of whom also speak It ...

, which are still spoken by the elderly. In the same period, a few Italian Tunisian families settled in the sparsely populated area of Castiadas, east of Cagliari. Following the

Italian economic miracle The Italian economic miracle or Italian economic boom ( or ''il boom economico italiano'') is the term used by historians, economists, and the mass media to designate the prolonged period of strong economic growth in Italy after World War II to th ...

, a historic migratory movement from the inland to the coastal and urban areas of

, Sassari-Alghero-

and

, where today most Sardinians live, took place.

Demographics

With a population density of 69/km², slightly more than a third of the national average, Sardinia is the fourth least populated region in Italy. The population distribution was anomalous compared to that of other Italian regions lying on the sea. In fact, contrary to the general trend, from the late Middle Ages until the 20th century urban settlement has not taken place primarily along the coast but towards the centre of the island. Historical reasons for this include the repeated

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

raids which made the coast unsafe, the abandonment of hundreds of settlements following the Sardinian–Aragonese war and the swampy nature of the coastal plains that were reclaimed only in the 20th century. Similarly to the Celtic clans, the Sardinians have in fact tended to retreat into the less accessible interior to keep their own independence and way of life. The situation has been recently reversed with the expansion of the

industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...

and seaside tourism; today all Sardinia's major urban centres are located near the coast, while the island's interior is very sparsely populated. It is the region of Italy with the lowest

total fertility rate The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that are born to a woman over her lifetime, if they were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through their lifetime, and they were t ...

(1.087 births per woman), and the region with the second-lowest

birth rate Birth rate, also known as natality, is the total number of live childbirth, human births per 1,000 population for a given period divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registr ...

. However, the population in Sardinia has increased in recent years because of immigration, mainly proceeding from continental Italy and Sicily, but also from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

(esp.

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. As of 2013, there were 42,159 foreign (that is, any people who have not applied for Italian citizenship) national residents, forming 2.5% of the total population.

Life expectancy and longevity

Average

life expectancy Human life expectancy is a statistical measure of the estimate of the average remaining years of life at a given age. The most commonly used measure is ''life expectancy at birth'' (LEB, or in demographic notation ''e''0, where '' ...

is slightly over 82 years (85 for women and 79.7 for men). Sardinia is the first discovered Blue Zone, a demographic and/or geographic area of the world where people live measurably longer lives. Sardinians share with the

Ryukyuans The are a Japonic-speaking East Asian ethnic group indigenous to the Ryukyu Islands, which stretch from the island of Kyushu to the island of Taiwan. With Japan, most Ryukyuans live in the Okinawa Prefecture or Kagoshima Prefecture. They sp ...

from

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

(Japan) the highest rate of

centenarians A centenarian is a Human, person who has Ageing, reached the age of 100. Because life expectancy, life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there w ...

in the world (22 centenarians/100,000 inhabitants). The key factors of such a high concentration of centenarians are identified in the genetics of the Sardinians, lifestyle such as diet and nutrition, and the social structure.

Demographic indicators

Birth rate Birth rate, also known as natality, is the total number of live childbirth, human births per 1,000 population for a given period divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registr ...

: 8.3 (per 1,000 inhabitants – 2005) ISTATbr>Tassi generici di natalità, mortalità e nuzialità per regione 2002–2005
/ref> *

Total fertility rate The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that are born to a woman over her lifetime, if they were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through their lifetime, and they were t ...

: 1.07 (births per woman – 2005) *

Mortality rate Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular Statistical population, population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically ...

: 8.7 (per 1,000 inhabitants – 2005) *

Infant mortality Infant mortality is the death of an infant before the infant's first birthday. The occurrence of infant mortality in a population can be described by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age ...

, males: 4.6 (per 1,000 births- 2000) Ministero della Salutebr>Speranza di vita e mortalità
* Infant mortality, females: 3.0 (per 1,000 births – 2000) *

Marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

rate: 2.9 (per 1,000 inhabitants – 2014) * Suicide rate, males: 20.4 (per 100,000 inhabitants) * Suicide rate, females: 4.5 (per 100,000 inhabitants)Sardegna, il paradiso dei suicidi, Sardegna Dìes
/ref> *Total

literacy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

: 98.2% *

Literacy rate Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

under 65 years old: 99.5%

Historical population

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:455 height:373 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:1700 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:100 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:100 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1861 text:1861 bar:1871 text:1871 bar:1881 text:1881 bar:1901 text:1901 bar:1911 text:1911 bar:1921 text:1921 bar:1931 text:1931 bar:1936 text:1936 bar:1951 text:1951 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1971 text:1971 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:2001 text:2001 bar:2008 text:2008 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1861 from:0 till: 609.000 bar:1871 from:0 till: 636.000 bar:1881 from:0 till: 680.000 bar:1901 from:0 till: 796.000 bar:1911 from:0 till: 868.000 bar:1921 from:0 till: 885.000 bar:1931 from:0 till: 984.000 bar:1936 from:0 till: 1034.000 bar:1951 from:0 till: 1276.000 bar:1961 from:0 till: 1419.000 bar:1971 from:0 till: 1474.000 bar:1981 from:0 till: 1594.000 bar:1991 from:0 till: 1648.000 bar:2001 from:0 till: 1632.000 bar:2008 from:0 till: 1673.000 TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Fonte istat – Elaborazione grafica di Wikipedia

Division by gender and age

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) id:barra2 value:rgb(0.8,0.6,0.7) ImageSize = width:405 height:500 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:-80 till:80 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:20 start:-80 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:10 start:-80 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:100 text:100+ bar:959 text:95–99 bar:904 text:90–94 bar:859 text:85–89 bar:804 text:80–84 bar:759 text:75–79 bar:704 text:70–74 bar:659 text:65–69 bar:604 text:60–64 bar:559 text:55–59 bar:504 text:50–54 bar:459 text:45–49 bar:404 text:40–44 bar:359 text:35–39 bar:304 text:30–34 bar:259 text:25–29 bar:204 text:20–24 bar:159 text:15–19 bar:104 text:10–14 bar:59 text:5–9 bar:04 text:0–4 PlotData= color:barra2 width:12 align:left bar:100 from:0 till: 0.168 bar:959 from:0 till: 1.471 bar:904 from:0 till: 6.007 bar:859 from:0 till: 11.460 bar:804 from:0 till: 24.951 bar:759 from:0 till: 33.738 bar:704 from:0 till: 40.397 bar:659 from:0 till: 44.093 bar:604 from:0 till: 48.919 bar:559 from:0 till: 52.534 bar:504 from:0 till: 56.636 bar:459 from:0 till: 60.279 bar:404 from:0 till: 66.558 bar:359 from:0 till: 67.588 bar:304 from:0 till: 66.668 bar:259 from:0 till: 60.175 bar:204 from:0 till: 50.627 bar:159 from:0 till: 43.784 bar:104 from:0 till: 39.019 bar:59 from:0 till: 32.965 bar:04 from:0 till: 32.407 color:barra width:12 align:left bar:100 from:0 till: -0.069 bar:959 from:0 till: -0.680 bar:904 from:0 till: -3.069 bar:859 from:0 till: -6.015 bar:804 from:0 till: -15.159 bar:759 from:0 till: -24.059 bar:704 from:0 till: -32.837 bar:659 from:0 till: -38.642 bar:604 from:0 till: -44.946 bar:559 from:0 till: -51.726 bar:504 from:0 till: -56.135 bar:459 from:0 till: -59.627 bar:404 from:0 till: -65.613 bar:359 from:0 till: -68.125 bar:304 from:0 till: -68.727 bar:259 from:0 till: -62.627 bar:204 from:0 till: -53.570 bar:159 from:0 till: -46.228 bar:104 from:0 till: -41.205 bar:59 from:0 till: -35.979 bar:04 from:0 till: -34.494 TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Fonte ISTAT 2005 – Elaborazione grafica di Wikipedia

Total population by age

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:415 height:500 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:150 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:10 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:10 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:100 text:100+ bar:959 text:95–99 bar:904 text:90–94 bar:859 text:85–89 bar:804 text:80–84 bar:759 text:75–79 bar:704 text:70–74 bar:659 text:65–69 bar:604 text:60–64 bar:559 text:55–59 bar:504 text:50–54 bar:459 text:45–49 bar:404 text:40–44 bar:359 text:35–39 bar:304 text:30–34 bar:259 text:25–29 bar:204 text:20–24 bar:159 text:15–19 bar:104 text:10–14 bar:59 text:5–9 bar:04 text:0–4 PlotData= color:barra width:12 align:left bar:100 from:0 till: 0.237 bar:959 from:0 till: 2.151 bar:904 from:0 till: 9.076 bar:859 from:0 till: 17.475 bar:804 from:0 till: 40.141 bar:759 from:0 till: 57.797 bar:704 from:0 till: 73.234 bar:659 from:0 till: 82.735 bar:604 from:0 till: 93.865 bar:559 from:0 till: 104.260 bar:504 from:0 till: 112.771 bar:459 from:0 till: 119.906 bar:404 from:0 till: 132.171 bar:359 from:0 till: 135.713 bar:304 from:0 till: 135.395 bar:259 from:0 till: 122.847 bar:204 from:0 till: 104.197 bar:159 from:0 till: 90.012 bar:104 from:0 till: 80.224 bar:59 from:0 till: 68.944 bar:04 from:0 till: 66.901 TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Fonte ISTAT 2005 – Elaborazione grafica di Wikipedia

Geographical distribution

Most Sardinians are native to the island but a sizable number of people have settled outside Sardinia: it had been estimated that, between 1955 and 1971, 308,000 Sardinians emigrated to the Italian mainland. Sizable Sardinian communities are located in

, Liguria,

, Tuscany and

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whic ...

. Sardinians and their descendants are also numerous in Germany, France,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, Switzerland and the USA (part of the

Italian-American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

community). Almost all the Sardinians migrating to the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

settled down in the Southern part of the continent, especially in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

(between 1900 and 1913 about 12,000 Sardinians lived in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

and neighbourhoods) and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

(in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

in the 1870s lived 12,500 Sardinians). Between 1876 and 1903, 92% of the Sardinians that moved towards the Americas settled in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

.http://lipari.istat.it/digibib/Annuari/TO00176482Annuario_statistico_emigrazione_italiana_1876_1925.pdf Commissariato generale dell'emigrazione (a cura di), Annuario statistico della emigrazione italiana dal 1876 al 1925 Between 1876 and 1925 34,190 Sardinians migrated to Africa, in particular towards the then French

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

and

. Small communities with Sardinians ancestors, about 5000 people, are also found in

(mostly in the cities of

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

, Rio de Janeiro and

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

), the UK, and Australia. The Region of Sardinia keeps a register of overseas Sardinians who have managed to set up, in the Italian mainland and the rest of the world, a number of cultural associations: these are meant to provide the people of Sardinian descent, or those with an interest on Sardinian culture, an opportunity to enjoy a wide range of activities. As of 2012, there are 145 clubs registered on it. Unlike the rest of Italian emigration, where migrants were mainly males, between 1953 and 1974 an equal number of females and males emigrated from Sardinia to the Italian mainland.

Surnames and given names

Fewer than a hundred Sardinian surnames are needed to group together as much as a third of the whole Sardinian population. The most common Sardinian surnames, like ''Sanna'' (fang), ''Piras'' (pears), ''Pinna'' (feather, pen) and ''Melis'' (honey), derive from the

and developed among the Judicates in the

as a result of being registered in documents like the condaghes for administrative purposes; most of them derive either from Sardinian place namesManconi, Lorenzo (1987). ''Dizionario dei cognomi sardi'', Edizioni della Torre, p.15 (e.g. ''Fonnesu'' "from Fonni", ''Busincu'' "from Bosa" etc.), from animal names (e.g. ''Porcu'' "pig", ''Piga'' "

magpie Magpies are birds of various species of the family Corvidae. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent c ...

", ''Cadeddu'' "puppy" etc.) or from a person's occupation, nickname (e.g. ''Pittau'' "Sebastian"Pittau, Massimo, 2014. ''I cognomi della Sardegna: Significato e origine di 8.000 cognomi indigeni e forestieri'', Ipazia Books), distinctive trait (e.g. ''Mannu'' "big"), and filiation (last names ending in -''eddu'' which could stand for "son of", e.g. ''Corbeddu'' "son/daughter of Corbu"); a number of them have undergone

over the most recent centuries (e.g. ''Pintori'', ''Scano'', ''Zanfarino'', ''Spano'', etc.).Manconi, Lorenzo (1987). ''Dizionario dei cognomi sardi'', Edizioni della Torre, p.12 Some local surnames also derive from terms of the Paleo-Sardinian substrate. The largest percentage of last names originating from outside the island is from Southern Corsica (like ''Cossu'', ''Cossiga'', ''Alivesi'' and ''Achenza'', originally from the towns of Olivese and Quenza respectively), followed by

(especially

ese but also

n, Sicilian and

n, originating from the days of the Savoyard rule and the assimilation policy: some of them have been "Sardinianized", like ''Accardu'', ''Calzinu'', ''Gambinu'', ''Raggiu'', etc.) and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

(especially Catalan) surnames. The Sardinian personal names (like ''Baínzu'' or ''Gavine'' "Gavin", ''Bachis'' "Bachisius", ''Bobore'' "Salvator", ''Iroxi'' "George", ''Chìrigu'' "Cyricus", ''Gonare'' "Gonarius", ''Elianora'' "Eleanor", ''Boele'' "Raphael", ''Sidore'' "Isidore", ''Billía'' "William", ''Tiadora'' "Theodora", ''Itria'', etc.) are historically attested and were common among the islanders up until the contemporary era, when they switched in full measure to the Italian names.

Self-identification

Population surveys have been carried out, on repeated occasions, to provide information about the Sardinians' identity, as well as their conciliation with the institutional layers of political governance. The most detailed survey, conducted by the

University of Cagliari The University of Cagliari () is a public research university in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It was founded in 1606 and is organized in 11 faculties. History The ''Studium Generalis Kalaritanum'' was founded in 1606 along the lines of the old ...

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, made use of a Moreno Question which gave the following results: (1) just Sardinian, 26%; (2) more Sardinian than Italian, 37%; (3) equally Sardinian and Italian, 31%; (4) more Italian than Sardinian, 5%; (5) only Italian and not Sardinian, 1%. A 2017 poll by the Ixè Institute reported that 51% of the Sardinians questioned identified themselves as Sardinian (as opposed to an Italian average of 15% who identified by their region of origin) rather than Italian (19%), European (11%), and/or citizen of the world (19%).

Culture

Languages

Italian (''italiano'') was first introduced to Sardinia by the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

in July 1760 and is the most commonly spoken language nowadays, albeit in a regional variety, as a result of policies fostering

language shift Language shift, also known as language transfer, language replacement or language assimilation, is the process whereby a speech community shifts to a different language, usually over an extended period of time. Often, languages that are perceived ...

and assimilation that facilitated

. On the other hand, Sardinian (''sardu'') has been the native language of the indigenous Sards ever since

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

supplanted the Pre-Indo-European Paleo-Sardinian, a language supposedly related to

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

with some

influence and of which remnants can be still be found in vocabulary and local toponyms. The historical loss of the islanders' political autonomy has kept the language at a stage of dialectal fragmentation, reflecting the coexistence of the various other languages (namely Catalan,

, and finally Italian) imposing themselves in a position of political and thereby social prestige. Because of a movement, described by some authors as a "linguistic and cultural revival" that gained traction in the postwar period, the Sardinians' cultural heritage was recognized in 1997 and 1999, which makes them the largest ethnolinguistic minority group in Italy, with around a million Sardinians still able to speak the language to some degree. However, because of a rigid model of Italian education system that has strongly promoted Italian to the detriment of Sardinian, the language has been in decline over the past century, since the people effectively retaining Sardinian have gradually become a minority in their own island (in fact, most Sardinians are linguistically Italianized nowadays, and it has been estimated that only 10-13 percent of the young native population have some active and passive competence in the languageLa Nuova Sardegna, 04/11/10, Per salvare i segni dell'identità – di Paolo Coretti). Therefore, Sardinian is facing challenges analogous to other definitely endangered

minority language A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities. With a total number of 196 sovereign states recognized internationally (as of 2019) and ...

s across Europe, and its two main

Logudorese Logudorese Sardinian (, ) is one of the two written standards of the Sardinian language, which is often considered one of the most, if not the most conservative of all Romance languages. The orthography is based on the spoken dialects of centra ...

and Campidanese varieties, as defined by their standard orthographies, have been designated as such by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. The other languages spoken in Sardinia, all also endangered but with much fewer speakers than Sardinian in absolute numbers, developed after the arrival of certain communities from outside the island, namely

and

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

from

and

, settling in specific regions of Sardinia over the recent centuries; because of these dynamics, Sardinia's society has been characterized by situational

plurilingualism Plurilingualism is the ability of a person who has competence in more than one language to switch between multiple languages depending on the situation for ease of communication. Plurilingualism is different from code-switching in that plurilingual ...

since the late Middle Ages. These languages include Sassarese (''sassaresu'') and

Gallurese Gallurese () is a Romance languages, Romance dialect of the Italo-Dalmatian languages, Italo-Dalmatian family spoken in the region of Gallura, northeastern Sardinia. Gallurese is variously described as a distinct southern dialect of Corsican lang ...

(''gadduresu''), which are of remote Corso-Tuscan origin but often socially associated with Sardinian, Algherese Catalan (''alguerés''), and Ligurian Tabarchino (''tabarchin'').

Flag

The so-called flag of the Four Moors is the historical and official flag of Sardinia. The flag is composed of the

St George's Cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross (or the Cross of Saint George) is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with ...

and four Moor's heads wearing a white bandana in each quarter. Its origins are basically shrouded in mystery, but it is presumed it originated in

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

to symbolize the defeat of the

invaders in the battle of Alcoraz.

Sardinia's Day

'' Sa die de sa Sardigna'' ("Sardinia's Day" in English) is a holiday celebrated each 28 April to commemorate the

revolt Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

occurring from 1794 to 1796 against the feudal privileges, and the execution or expulsion of the Savoyard officials (including the then Piedmontese

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

, Carlo Balbiano) from Sardinia on 28 April 1794. The revolt was spurred by the King's refusal to grant the island the autonomy the locals demanded in exchange for defeating the French. The holiday has been formally recognised by the Sardinian Council since 14 September 1993. Some public events are annually held to commemorate the episode, while the schools are closed.

Religion

The vast majority of the Sardinians are baptized as

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, however

church attendance Church attendance is a central religious practice for many Christians; some Christian denominations require church attendance on the Lord's Day (Sunday). The Catholic Church teaches that on Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithf ...

is one of the lowest in Italy (21.9%). Our Lady of Bonaria is the Patroness Saint of Sardinia. In popular traditions, beliefs and rites of pre-Christian origin, which have evolved symbiotically with

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, have survived until the contemporary era, for example the day of ''Su mortu mortu'' or "the dead dead" (2 November,

All Souls' Day All Souls' Day, also called The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by Christians on 2 November. In Western Christianity, including Roman Catholicism and certain p ...

), the Sardinian equivalent to

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

, when children go from house to house asking for small donations to feed the deceased (traditionally seasonal fruits, dried fruit, sweets, bread).

Traditional clothes

Colourful and of various and original forms, the Sardinian traditional clothes are an ancient symbol of belonging to specific collective identities, as well as one of the most genuine ethnic expressions of the Mediterranean folklore. Although the basic model is homogeneous and common throughout the island, each town or village has its own traditional clothing which differentiates it from the others. The Sardinians' traditional garments, as well as their jewellery, have been defined as an object of study in

ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

since the late 19th century, at a time in which they first started to be slowly displaced in favour of the "Continental fashion" in the various contexts of everyday life, and their primary function has since switched to become a marker of ethnic identity. In the past, the clothes diversified themselves even within the communities, performing a specific function of communication as it made it immediately clear the marital status and the role of each member in the social area. Until the mid-20th century the traditional costume represented the everyday clothing in most of Sardinia, but even today in various parts of the island it is possible to meet elderly people dressed in costume. Herbert Kubly, writing for

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

in 1955, said that «for Sardinians, traditional costumes are daily dress and not a holiday or touristic get-up. In the arid brown autumn landscape the population blossoms like flowers on the desert». The materials used for their packaging are among the most varied, ranging from the typical Sardinian woollen fabric (''orbace'') to silk and from

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

to leather. The various components of the feminine apparel are: the headgear (''mucadore''), the shirt (''camisa''), the bodice (''palas'', ''cossu''), the jacket (''coritu'', ''gipone''), the skirt (''unnedda'', ''sauciu''), the apron (''farda'', ''antalena'', ''defentale''). Those of the male are: the headdress ('' berrita''), the shirt (''bentone'' or ''camisa''), the jacket (''gipone''), the trousers (''cartzones'' or ''bragas''), the skirt (''ragas'' or ''bragotis''), the overcoat (''gabbanu'' and ''colletu''), and finally the piece of clothing most associated with the Sardinians, the ''mastruca'', a sheep or goatskin leather jacket without sleeves: "''Sardi pelliti''" and "''mastrucati latrones''". " ardinianthieves with rough wool cloaks" were names by which

and other authors mentioned the Sardinians.

Cuisine

Music

Genetics

PCA of Italians and European and Mediterranean populations

Sardinians, while being part of the European

gene pool The gene pool is the set of all genes, or genetic information, in any population, usually of a particular species. Description A large gene pool indicates extensive genetic diversity, which is associated with robust populations that can survi ...

, are well-known outliers in the European genetic landscape (together with the

Basques The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...

, the Chuvash, the

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...

, the

Finns Finns or Finnish people (, ) are a Baltic Finns, Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these cou ...

and the

Icelanders Icelanders () are an ethnic group and nation who are native to the island country of Iceland. They speak Icelandic, a North Germanic language. Icelanders established the country of Iceland in mid 930 CE when the (parliament) met for th ...

). Studies analyzing the DNA of both ancient and modern individuals from the island confirm that the current population is mainly (50% or more) derived from the prehistoric settlers (mostly Early Neolithic Farmers and to a lesser degree Western Hunter-Gatherers with few Bronze Age individuals showing evidences of Western Steppe Herder ancestry), plus some contribution of the historical colonizers, with the highest

and

ancestry being found in the mountainous region of

Ogliastra The province of Ogliastra ( , ) was a former Provinces of Italy, province in eastern Sardinia, Italy. Ogliastra was the most mountainous province in Sardinia. With only some 57,642 inhabitants, it was also the least populous province of Italy. Th ...

. Several studies have been carried out on the genetics of the Sardinian population to investigate some pathologies to which the Sardinians seem to be predisposed in a unique way, likely linked due to

founder effect In population genetics, the founder effect is the loss of genetic variation that occurs when a new population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population. It was first fully outlined by Ernst Mayr in 1942, us ...

s and

genetic drift Genetic drift, also known as random genetic drift, allelic drift or the Wright effect, is the change in the Allele frequency, frequency of an existing gene variant (allele) in a population due to random chance. Genetic drift may cause gene va ...

of this island population, like

diabetes mellitus type 1 Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body's immune system destroys pancreatic cells (beta cells). In healthy persons, beta cells produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone required ...

beta thalassemia Beta-thalassemia (β-thalassemia) is an genetic disorder, inherited hemoglobinopathy, blood disorder, a form of thalassemia resulting in variable outcomes ranging from clinically asymptomatic to severe anemia individuals. It is caused by reduce ...

and

favism Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PDD), also known as favism, is the most common enzyme deficiency anemia worldwide. It is an inborn error of metabolism that predisposes to red blood cell breakdown. Most of the time, those who are ...

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

and

coeliac disease Coeliac disease (British English) or celiac disease (American English) is a long-term autoimmune disorder, primarily affecting the small intestine. Patients develop intolerance to gluten, which is present in foods such as wheat, rye, spelt ...

. Some other genetic peculiarities have been noted, like the high frequency of rare uniparental haplotypes, extensive linkage disequilibrium of autosomal markers, high levels of homozygosity, the lowest frequency of RH-negative genes in the Mediterranean, the highest frequency in the world of the ''MNS*M'' gene, the highest frequency of ''HLAB*18'' together with some typical North African alleles, and the highest frequency of the thalassemia variant ''β³⁹''.

Etymology

History

Prehistory

Nuragic civilization

Antiquity

Middle Ages

Modern and contemporary history

Demographics

Life expectancy and longevity

Demographic indicators

Historical population

Division by gender and age

Total population by age

Geographical distribution

Surnames and given names

Self-identification

Culture

Languages

Flag

Sardinia's Day

Religion

Traditional clothes

Cuisine

Music

Genetics

Notable Sardinians

See also

References

Notes

References