Allai
Allai, a municipality steeped in history
Allai is a municipality in the province of Oristano, in Sardinia, which has 363 inhabitants. The municipal territory extends over 2,737 hectares, from the fifty meters above sea level of the settlement to over six hundred meters of Mount Grighine. In the territory of Allai there are numerous prehistoric artifacts, such as tombs of giants, menhirs and nuraghi.
The history of Allai
The history of the town dates back to the Roman period, when it was a passage point between Forum Traiani and the interior. In fact, in the territory of Allai there is a Roman bridge (Ponti Ecciu) made of local red trachyte, a few hundred meters from the settlement. The bridge was restored in the judicial period, in 1157, during the reign of the judge of Arborea Barisone I of Lacon-Serra.
The first historical records of the town date back to 1341, when it was mentioned in the Rationes Decimarum for a payment to the Church on behalf of "presbyter Dominico Loche rectore ecclesiarum S. Marie de villa Allay et S. Marie de villa Barbagiani". Over the following centuries, the name of Allai underwent several changes: during the Aragonese-Catalan and then Spanish domination, the town was called Alay and Alai, before becoming the current Allai in the early nineteenth century.
Allai in the Ultima Pax Sardiniae
In the "Ultima Pax Sardiniae", a solemn act of peace between King Don Giovanni of Aragon and Eleonora Giudicessa of Arborea, we find the representatives of the village of Allai, which at the time was called Alari in Partis de Varicato or Parti Barigadu, mentioned. On that occasion, the majore ville Petro Pistis and four jurors were called upon to sign the document. This suggests that Allai was a small village at the time.
The villages around Allai
On the hills around Allai, some small villages were built during the judicial period, including Loddu, Barbagiana, and one on Pranu Ollisa, which were then abandoned, with the populations probably merging into Allai. According to Angius, the ancient village of Barbaggiana was the last to be deserted among the six that this party of Barigadu counts as destroyed. It is also said that all the sacred silver furnishings of the parish church of Allai were from this population.
Conclusions
Allai is a town steeped in history, with a culture that has deep roots in prehistory and has undergone numerous transitions from the Roman period to the Aragonese-Catalan and then Spanish domination. Among the most significant artifacts in the municipal territory are the Roman bridge (Ponti Ecciu) and numerous prehistoric sites, such as tombs of giants and nuraghi. Allai represents an important cultural heritage for Sardinia and for Italy as a whole.
