Ilario Cao

Last updated

Ilario Cao (Hilarius Caius) was a Sardinian ecclesiastic active in Rome during the first thirty years of the eleventh century, often retrospectively called a Cardinal. He was born in Cagliari. He urged Pope Benedict VIII to organise an expedition to free his native land from Muslim pirates, who were establishing themselves in the south of the island, based out of Cagliari. A Pisan–Genoese expedition (1016) resulted, which expelled the Muslims.

Ilario had two sons: Costantino (Constantinus) and Atanagio or Anastasio (Anastasius). The former built a hospital in Trastevere for poor Sardinians, which was destroyed in the later sack of Rome (1527). In 1068 Anastasio's son Benedetto erected a tombstone in the church of San Crisogono over his father's sepulchre bearing this inscription:

HIC SEPULTVS EST
CONSTANTINVS CAO CALARITANVS
CVM HILARO PATRE ET ANASTASIO FRATRE
QVI HOSPITALE PRO SARDINIAE PAVPERIBVS
FVNDAVIT
CVI AEDES ATTRIBVIT ET CENSVS APPLICVIT
HILARI PRECIBVS SARDINIAM
A SARACENIS
PAPA LIBERARI CVRAVIT
ANASTASIVS FVIT LITTERARVM PERITISSIMVS
PONTIFICIBVS CARVS ET PIETATE CLARVS
BENEDICTVS CAIVS ANASTASII FILIVS
POSVIT MLXVII [1]

Notes

  1. "Here is buried / Costantino Cao the Cagliaritan / with [his] father Ilario and [his] brother Anastasio, / who a hospital for the poor of Sardinia / founded, / who assigned [to it] buildings and attached [to it] gifts. / By the prayers of Ilario, Sardinia / from the Saracens / the Pope undertook to liberate. / Anastasio was the most skillful in letters, / dear to priests [popes ?] and famous in piety. / Benedetto Cao, son of Anastasio, / placed [this inscription in the year] 1067."

Related Research Articles

Sardinia Island in the Mediterranean and region of Italy

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the 20 regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia and immediately south of the French island of Corsica.

History of Sardinia Aspect of history

Archaeological evidence of prehistoric human settlement on the island of Sardinia is present in the form of nuraghes and other prehistoric monuments, which dot the land. The recorded history of Sardinia begins with its contacts with the various people who sought to dominate western Mediterranean trade in Classical Antiquity: Phoenicians, Punics and Romans. Initially under the political and economic alliance with the Phoenician cities, it was partly conquered by Carthage in the late 6th century BC and then entirely by Rome after the First Punic War. The island was included for centuries in the Roman province of Sardinia and Corsica, which would be incorporated into the diocese of Italia suburbicaria in 3rd and 4th centuries.

Sardinian medieval kingdoms

The Judicates, in English also referred to as Sardinian Kingdoms, Sardinian Judgedoms or Judicatures, were independent states that took power in Sardinia in the Middle Ages, between the ninth and fifteenth centuries. They were sovereign states with summa potestas, each with a ruler called judge, with the powers of a king.

Sardinia and Corsica Ancient Roman province

The Province of Sardinia and Corsica was an ancient Roman province including the islands of Sardinia and Corsica.

Judicate of Arborea

The Judicate of Arborea was one of the four independent judicates into which the island of Sardinia was divided in the Middle Ages. It occupied the central-west portion of the island, wedged between Logudoro to the north and east, Cagliari to the south and east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. To the north east and beyond Logudoro was located Gallura, with which Arborea had far less interaction. Arborea outlasted her neighbours, surviving well into the 15th century. The earliest known judicial seat was Tharros. The Kingdom of Arborea at the times of its maximum expansion occupied the whole island's territory, except the cities of Alghero and Cagliari.

Flag of Sardinia

The flag of Sardinia, called the flag of the Four Moors or simply the Four Moors, represents and symbolizes the island of Sardinia (Italy) and its people. It was also the historical flag and coat of arms of the Aragonese, then Spanish, and later Savoyard Kingdom of Sardinia. It was first officially adopted by the autonomous region in 1950 with a revision in 1999, describing it as a "white field with a red cross and a bandaged Moor's head facing away from the left in each quarter".

William I of Cagliari

William I, regnal name Salusio IV, was the Giudice of Cagliari, or high Judge, from 1188 to his death. His descendants and those of his immediate competitors intermarried to form the backbone of the Italian Aristocracy, and ultimately their descendants in the Medici clan are precursors to, and definers of later royalty and claims thereto.

Constantine I was the giudice of Cagliari. He was the son of the giudice Orzocco Torchitorio and giudicessa Vera. In the eleventh century, the throne of Cagliari traditionally passed between the houses of Torchitorio de Ugunale and Salusio de Lacon. Constantine took the name Salusio II upon his succession, in an attempt to unite the families. He appears in contemporary charters as rex et iudex Caralitanus: "King and Judge of Cagliari."

Judicate of Gallura

The Judicate of Gallura was one of four Sardinian judicates in the Middle Ages. These were independent states whose rulers bore the title iudex, judge. Gallura, a name which comes from gallus, meaning rooster (cock), was subdivided into ten curatoriae governed by curatores under the judge. In the 13th century, the arms of Gallura contained a rooster.

Elena was the daughter and successor of Barisone II of Gallura and was named after her mother Odolina of the Lacon family. First queen regnant in Sardinia, she ruled Gallura from the death of her father until her own death, though she was eclipsed by her husband after 1207.

Kingdom of Sardinia State in Southern Europe from 1324 to 1861

The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as Kingdom ofSavoy-Sardinia, Piedmont-Sardinia, or Savoy-Piedmont-Sardinia during the Savoyard period, was a state in Southern Europe from the early 14th until the mid-19th century.

Prince Benedetto, Duke of Chablais Duke of Chablais

Prince Benedetto, Duke of Chablais was an Italian nobleman and military leader. He was the youngest child of King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia. He married his niece Maria Anna of Savoy; they had no children. Benedetto was the owner of the Palazzo Chiablese in Turin.

Pisan–Genoese expeditions to Sardinia

In 1015 and again in 1016 forces from the taifa of Denia, in the east of Muslim Spain (al-Andalus), attacked Sardinia and attempted to establish control over it. In both these years joint expeditions from the maritime republics of Pisa and Genoa repelled the invaders. These Pisan–Genoese expeditions to Sardinia were approved and supported by the Papacy, and modern historians often see them as proto-Crusades. After their victory, the Italian cities turned on each other, and the Pisans obtained hegemony over the island at the expense of their erstwhile ally. For this reason, the Christian sources for the expedition are primarily from Pisa, which celebrated its double victory over the Muslims and the Genoese with an inscription on the walls of its Duomo.

The history of the Jews in Sardinia can be traced over two millennia. Sardinia is an island southwest of Italy and south of the French island of Corsica. Its coordinates are between 8° 4′ and 9° 49′ E. longitude, and between 38° 55′ and 41° 16′ N. latitude. The modest Jewish community in Sardinia consisted of Sephardic Jews of Spanish and Italian descent.

Sardinian literature

The literature of Sardinia is the literary production of Sardinian authors, as well as the literary production generally referring to Sardinia as argument, written in various languages.

This article presents a history of Cagliari, an Italian municipality and the capital city of the island of Sardinia.

Byzantine Sardinia

The Byzantine age in Sardinian history conventionally begins with the island's reconquest by Justinian I in 534. This ended the Vandal dominion of the island after about 80 years. There was still a substantial continuity with the Roman phase at this time. The invasion of Italy by the Longobards in 568, which changed the face of Italy, only resulted in a few coastal raids on Sardinia.

Sardinian–Aragonese war

The Sardinian–Aragonese war was a late medieval conflict lasting from 1353 to 1420. The battle was over supremacy of the land and took place between the Judicate of Arborea -- allied with the Sardinian branch of the Doria family and Genoa -- and the Kingdom of Sardinia, the latter of which had been part of the Crown of Aragon since 1324.

References