The Castello della Fava played a key role in controlling a sparsely populated area, but which possessed great economic resources. In fact, during the Giudicato Age, Posada was located exactly halfway between the two most important settlements of Gallura, which functioned as a pole of attraction both from a political-economic and from a religious point of view: Civita to the north and Orosei in the south.

Civita, built on the same site of the Punic and Roman Age settlement (Olbia), is documented after the year one thousand as the capital of Gallura (figs. 1-2). Between the end of the thirteenth and the early fourteenth centuries, the village was called Terranova (fig. 3), while the name Civita remained circumscribed to the religious organisation of the territory.

The city centre of Orosei, of Roman origin but founded on pre-existing Nuraghic Age structures, saw a significant development during the twelfth century when it was the seat of the curia of the Giudicato of Gallura and was connected with the important diocese of Galtellì.

Fig. 1 - The Giudicato of Gallura, according to the reconstruction by Dionigi Panedda (from PANEDDA 1978, pp. 554-555).

Fig. 2 - Map of the Giudicato of Gallura (from CARTA RASPI 1935).

Fig. 3 - The plan of Terranova in the late nineteenth century still reflects Pisa’s original structure (from CADINU 1999, fig. 8).