Oristano

The dawn of Angioy’s end

Historical overview

The provincial headquarters and westernmost town of Sardinia was founded in 1070 following the abandonment of the Tharros village. The land was unearthed in the nineteenth century, when the marshes were drained, leaving the region muddy and unclean.

It became the capital of Arborea’s Judicature and the home of the Judges, including the renowned Mariano IV and his daughter Eleonora d’Arborea, who drafted the well-known Carta De Logu. In Piazza Eleonora d’Arborea, there is a statue dedicated to her that was inaugurated in 1881.

Little remains of Oristano’s old past; the only remnant of the ancient defence walls is the Tower of San Cristoforo, commonly known as the Tower of Mariano II. The Giudici’s original house was most likely near the present-day jail.

The cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, which was constructed close to the present-day Piazza Duomo and mentioned in a record from 1131, is the most famous of Oristano’s numerous churches.

Angioy's Beginning of the End

On June 8, 1796, the delegates of Logudoro from Oristano wrote a heartfelt letter to the viceroy, addressing Angioy as ‘dear Alternos and father’ and vowing to protect and defend him till the end. Words that, although appearing courageous, in retrospect resonate with the earliest echoes of the unavoidable disaster. After arriving at the Arborea’s old capital about midday, the columns of revolutionaries headed by Alternos appeared to be an unstoppable wave moving towards Cagliari.

With the assistance of Don Vincenzo Liqueri, a cabrarese notary and Angioyan partisan, the Angioyan army’s retinue grew after Riola as they left Logudoro, demonstrating that the possibility of a new order in the kingdom had transcended the boundaries of Capo di Sopra. Perhaps too cautious or overconfident, Angioy hesitated so much as Don Giovanni Pietro Foys‘ guest that the armistice of Cherasco, which the King had signed with revolutionary France, overcame him.

This wait-and-see approach proved deadly to him; the anxious troop even went so far as to harass the local residents, leading to his untimely death. On the 12th, having discovered Cagliari’s opposition to his plans, he left Oristano for Sassari.

His statement, “super dorsum meum aedificaverunt peccatores,” regarding the enormous load he had and would continue to bear, was emblematic.

The Alternos's letters from Oristan

Giovanni Maria Angioy sent several letters and manifestos to the Viceroy and the Stamenti (Sardinian Parliament) in June 1796 from the city of the former kingdom of Arborea. Luciano Carta has revealed records that are extremely important and detail the Estates’ activities throughout Sardinia’s three revolutionary years. One of these letters, dated June 9, 1796, reveals Angioy restating his resolve to continue the fight by seeking the assistance of the French Republic:

"Most honourable and revered gentlemen... there is no need to reminisce over the events that befell peacefully, but I think that our disagreements may be resolved amicably and to everyone's satisfaction via the French Republic's mediation. With its wisdom, enlightenment, and unscrupulousness, this Republic—which has already made peace with His Majesty—will be able to discern between the rights of the Sardinian country and its sovereignty.

Bibliography
L. Carta (a cura di), L’attività degli Stamenti nella «Sarda Rivoluzione» (1793-1799) in Acta Curiarum Regni Sardiniae, 24, Cagliari 2000, p. 2239, doc. 616/4
R. Carta Raspi, Storia della Sardegna, Milano, Mursia, 1974; pp 399-709
E. Putzulu, Dizionario Biografico degli italiani, volume 31, 1985
A. Sanna, Le torri, le porte e le mura medievali della città di Oristano, Oristano, Fondazione Sa Sartiglia Onlus, 2019, pp. 89-113

Texts
M. L. Melas, A. Nasone, S. A. Tedde

Read also