The study of documents preserved at the State Archives in Cagliari and the Crown of Aragon Archives in Barcelona has enabled the reconstruction of a period, between 1323 and 1492, during which, with the arrival of the Catalan-Aragonese, Jewish communities settled in Castello following the Infante Alfonso of Aragon. The real Jewish quarter of Cagliari, which has nothing of the future gated ghetto established from 1516 in Venice, was actually an open ward that was formed from 1344, developed around a group of houses already inhabited by Pisan Jews and located between Rua dè la Fontana and Rua dè Orifayn. The Giudaria cagliaritana went on extending over time throughout the Via della Fontana, to rise up to the defensive walls of Castello, in the side alleys, until, around 1360, it reached, on the one hand, towards the Torre del Leone, near the Vicaria Regia, and, on the other, up to the slope that led to the Torre di San Pancrazio. In this neighborhood reserved for Jews, no “material” evidence of their passage remains, but the study of documents makes it possible to reliably reconstruct their history and the life of the Jewish community, of the aljama, which inhabited those streets for two centuries. The Cagliarialjama reached its peak in the first half of the 15th century, when it reached 1000-1200, and the Juharia, that is, their neighborhood, occupied a third of Castello. One of the oldest buildings was the synagogue, but there was also the area of gardens, vineyards, stores, where kosher wine was sold, and the area of the meat market, fountain and bakery. The edict of expulsion, issued in 1492 by the Catholic kings of Castile, forced the Jews of Cagliari (already long persecuted with restrictions and abuse, such as the obligation to wear the distinctive sign: the red or yellow wheel) into the harshest suffering: perpetual exile or abjuration. Many left. Their possessions were sold at public auctions. Deprived of their possessions and with anguish in their hearts about their future, they emigrated to Istanbul, Tunis, the kingdom of Naples and Livorno. Others chose to stay and converted, continuing to live in their homes and blending in time with the rest of the Castle population.
