Island identity: a trip into Sardinian history

Oristano is a town and province on Italy's island of Sardinia and its history is indissolubly tied to the story of a woman who was able to unite Sardinia's many populations. Eleanora d'Arborea was the driving force behind Sardinia's unity and creator of one of Europe's first constitutions - The Carta de Logu.

The Carta de Logu was first published by Mariano VI d'Arborea but was perfected and completed thanks to the judicial wisdom of Eleanora. As part of this constitution, Eleanora also applied a strict regulation that required Sardinia's uncultivated land to be planted with grape vines. Her rule was a far-sighted project for the future of this Italian island.

But the Carta de Logu was not just a dry legal document. It was deliberately edited in the local Sardinian language so the island's people could actually understand the laws that governed them. For that era, the end of the 14th century, it was a significant step and a symbol of Eleanora's modernity.

Eleanora was the last of Sardinia's indigenous sovereigns and her Constitution tamed the island's territory up until the 19th century. Today, a graceful hawk that circles the Mediterranean sky carries her name and with a proud and watchful eye this bird of prey seems to carry the same regal composure as Eleanora d'Arborea herself.