Oristano

Oristano was previously known by the Byzantines as Aristanis (in Byzantine Greek: Αριστάνις), and founded close to the Phoenician settlement of Othoca (now Santa Giusta). It acquired importance in 1070, when, reputedly as a result of the frequent Saracen attacks, Archbishop Torcotorio made it the seat of the bishopric, which was previously in the nearby coastal town of Tharros.
It also became capital of the giudicato ("judiciary", equivalent to a Duchy or Kingdom) of Arborea. Consequently, fortifications were designed, but the building thereof went on until judge Mariano II rose to power.

In medieval times Oristano vied for power over the whole island of Sardinia, and therefore waged wars against the other Sardinian kingdoms. which culminated in the attempt to conquer the whole island during the reign (1347–75) of Mariano IV and that of his daughter Eleanor (1375–1404). The giudicato of Arborea held out to be the last Sardinian kingdom to be conquered by the Catalan troops of the Kingdom of Aragon, in 1478 after the battle of Macomer. Thereafter, Oristano's history was that of the island of Sardinia, characterized by the Aragonese-Spanish (until 1708) and Piedmontese (from 1720) dominations, and then the unification of Italy.