Kingdom of Sardinia
On 17 March 1861, law no. 4671 of the Sardinian Parliament proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy, so ratifying the annexations of all other Apennine states, plus Sicily, to the Kingdom of Sardinia. The institutions and laws of the Kingdom were quickly extended to all of Italy, abolishing the administrations of the other regions. Piedmont became the most dominant and wealthiest region in Italy and the capital of Piedmont, Turin, remained the Italian capital until 1865, when the capital was moved to Florence. But many revolts exploded throughout the peninsula, especially in southern Italy, and on the island of Sicily, because of the perceived unfair treatment of the south by the Piedmontese ruling class. The House of Savoy ruled Italy until 1946 when Italy was declared a republic by referendum. In this referendum the southern regions, including Sardinia, voted overwhelmingly in favor of the House of Savoy, with the results being 63.8% in favor of maintaining the monarchy.
History of Cagliari
In the year 753 AD, Arab sources report the imposition of the jizya, a tax for those not converted to Islam, the dhimmi, on the Sardinians. This presumes the occupation of the land on which it is imposed, but the lack of further sources suggests ephemeral occupation and control confined to some coastal regions. On this occasion, however, the Arabs could have imposed the dismantling of the defenses of the city. When in 827 the Muslim conquest of Sicily began, contacts with Constantinople became extremely difficult. The few available sources suggest that the richest and most influential family of the island began to take over the local government. Although a vassal of the Byzantines, so that even at the beginning of the eleventh century its rulers still boasted the title of imperial "protospatharios", Sardinia was in fact independent. Cagliari became the capital of this independent kingdom or "giudicato", ruled by a "judice" (literally "judge" or magistrate). However, there is some evidence that during this period of independence from external rule the city was reduced to a small port community because it was too exposed to attacks from the sea by Moorish pirates. Apparently many people left Caralis and founded a new town (named Santa Igia) in an area close to the Santa Gilla swamp to the west of Cagliari, but relatively distant from the sea. At the present state of research, the site of historic Santa Gilla has not yet been identified, because it was completely destroyed by the Pisans in the thirteenth century. The walls were dismantled, as well as the cathedral and the palace of the "judice".