Castiadas

Castiadas
Comune di Castiadas
The city hall.
The city hall.
Coat of arms of Castiadas
Location of Castiadas
Map
Castiadas is located in Italy
Castiadas
Castiadas
Location of Castiadas in Sardinia
Castiadas is located in Sardinia
Castiadas
Castiadas
Castiadas (Sardinia)
Coordinates: 39°14′N 9°30′E / 39.233°N 9.500°E / 39.233; 9.500
CountryItaly
RegionSardinia
ProvinceSouth Sardinia (CA)
Government
 • MayorEugenio Murgioni
Area
 • Total102.3 km2 (39.5 sq mi)
Elevation
60 m (200 ft)
Population
 (31 December 2010)[1]
 • Total1,507
 • Density15/km2 (38/sq mi)
DemonymCastiadesi
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
09040
Dialing code070
WebsiteOfficial website

Castiadas is a comune (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of Cagliari. Founded in the 14th century and repopulated in the 19th century after centuries of abandonment, it is part of the Sarrabus-Gerrei historical region.

In 1875 the largest penal colony in Italy was opened in Castiadas, and remained in use until 1956. The construction of the penal colony was part of a larger initiative to repopulate areas of Sardinia that had been abandoned because of malaria and to transform marshy, unproductive land into farmland.[2] The history of the colony is recounted in Il miracolo dei rei, a documentary film by Alessandra Usai.[3]

The area was populated by italian-tunisians, mainly of sicilian descent, immigrated here from Bizerte in 1965.[4]

Castiadas borders the following municipalities: Maracalagonis, Muravera, San Vito, Sinnai, Villasimius.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Data from Istat.
  2. ^ "Former penal colony – Monumenti Aperti". Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Sardinia: the history of the old penal colony of Castiadas in a film, today the first in Cagliari - Agenzia Nova". www.agenzianova.com. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  4. ^ Tunisini da 50 anni a Castiadas hanno trovato lavoro e famiglia unionesarda.it 9 August 2015 (in Italian) [dead link]