In Punic times the present square was occupied in part by two large cisterns for water supply, perhaps for public use. According to the memory of the elderly, the square since the mid-1900s was known as “S’Impiccadolzu” because it was once used for executions. The expletive, dating from that time, t’agattene cun sos ojos ad Azzos, meaning “they find you with your eyes turned to Aggius,” gives us an indication of the probable orientation of the gallows. Below the former Guardia di Finanza barracks, overlooking Corso Umberto, the site of a “fortified castle” has been identified, which was still in existence in the 18th century, and may have been a renovation of the ancient Curia Regni, residence of the Judges of Gallura. A 1950 witness said that when they demolished the pre-existing building at the Barracks on an archway the inscription“Regnum Gallurie” was discovered. During renovation work on the Barracks, which is still in progress, a section of terracotta and stone pavement and part of the elevation of a stone room came to light. The castle area was close to the church of St. Paul. This proximity could have been contiguity taking into account the fact that the Curia Regni consisted of a complex of buildings. This leads us to think that St. Paul’s may have once been the palatine church of the Judicial residence. Based on these data we can think that the church was the burial place of both the Gallurese judges and the bishops of Civita.
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