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The
Arrival of the Prisoners in Castiadas
On the 11th August 1875 30 prisoners and 7 prison guards, coming
from the penal institute of San Bartolomeo in Cagliari disembarked
on the lonely beach of Porto Sinzias, on the south-east coast
of Sardinia, struggling through the dense vegetation to reach
Castiadas.
The cavalryman Eugenio Cicognani was sent by the Home Office to
head the band of convicts. Having successfully established the
first settlement, his task was to decontaminate the infected land
and bring back life to an area abandoned and uninhabited for 350
years.
The primary tasks of draining the land and adapting it to agricultural
use were carried out with great difficulty. With the arrival of
reinforcements, however, (the “Corriere di Sardegna”
newspaper estimates a population of around 300 after a year),
all with experience of construction work, in 1877 a permanent
settlement was established for the detainees on the Praidis headland
between the two streams of Gutturu Frascu and Baccu Sa Figu, around
7km from where they landed.
Inspector Cicognani ensured that the grand penal and administrative
complex was completed swiftly. Rock from the surrounding area
was used, such as granite and limestone, so that in 1876, in addition
to the prison, a joinery, smith’s shop, carpentry and infirmary
were already operative.
The carefully realised construction contained the prison management’s
quarters, prisoners’ and guards’ accommodation, cells
for those in custody, a chemist’s, post office and the telephone
cabin.
Where for so long concerns over health had prevented construction,
wooden sheds were now built, about 5m long and 3m wide, each capable
of holding 10 inmates. Over the windows a thick covering of wire
mesh was intended to keep out mosquitoes.
Ten farming complexes were created, covering the entire territory.
These demonstrated a capacity to provide for the alimentary needs
of their inhabitants and, with a small surplus, also to supply
goods for sale.
Further success, in economic terms too, was achieved by exploiting
the existing vegetation, under the guidance of government workmen
with relevant experience, who took the necessary steps to burn
away the undergrowth.
A dozen or so years later, in every mountain region chosen for
the production of coal, temporary lodges existed, both for the
prisoners and the prison guards, who considered the coal-laden
countryside among the most positive aspects of the colony. In
1918, despite a flu epidemic among the convicts and a substantial
number of them also suffering the effects of malaria, the production
of coal was somewhere around 1600 square litres, while in the
following years it grew to reach 2700.
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