History of Sardinia
In the Early Middle Ages, through barbarian movements, the waning of the Byzantine Empire influence in the western Mediterranean and the Saracen raids, the island fell out of the sphere of influence of any higher government. This led to the birth of four kingdoms called "Judicates" (Latin: "Judicati"; Sardinian: "Judicados") in the 8th through 10th centuries. Falling under papal influence, Sardinia became the focus of the rivalry of Genoa and Pisa, the Judicates and the Crown of Aragon, which eventually subsumed the island as the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1324. The Kingdom was to last until 1718, when it was ceded to the Piedmontese House of Savoy; later, in 1861, it would thus become the Kingdom of Italy and finally in 1946 the Italian Republic.
Argentina–Italy relations
In 1816, Argentina declared its independence from Spain. At the same time, Italy was made up of separate independent Italian states. In May 1836, the Kingdom of Sardinia recognized and established diplomatic relations with Argentina, the first Italian state to do so. In 1842, Italian General (and future unifier of Italy) Giuseppe Garibaldi, fought for Uruguayan rebels during the Uruguayan Civil War against the Argentine Confederation and Uruguayan Nationalist Party.