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.
Castiadas | |
|---|---|
| Comune di Castiadas | |
 The city hall. | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Castiadas  | |
  Castiadas Location of Castiadas in Sardinia  Castiadas Castiadas (Sardinia) | |
| Coordinates: 39°14′N 9°30′E / 39.233°N 9.500°E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Sardinia |
| Province | South Sardinia (CA) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Eugenio Murgioni |
| Area | |
| • Total | 102.3 km2 (39.5 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 60 m (200 ft) |
| Population (31 December 2010)[1] | |
| • Total | 1,507 |
| • Density | 15/km2 (38/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Castiadesi |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 09040 |
| Dialing code | 070 |
| Website | Official website |
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
- ^ Data from Istat.
- ^ "Former penal colony – Monumenti Aperti". Retrieved 17 October 2024.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Tunisini da 50 anni a Castiadas hanno trovato lavoro e famiglia unionesarda.it 9 August 2015 (in Italian) [dead link]
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