Gulf of Oristano

The Gulf of Oristano indents the western shore of Sardinia between Cape San Marco and Cape Frasca. Lagoons lie behind parts of its low coast, and the city of Oristano stands inland near the gulf. The city was the capital of Arborea, a medieval Sardinian realm that long resisted the expansion of the Crown of Aragon.

In 1409 an Aragonese fleet defeated Genoese ships bringing aid to Arborea, and its army won a decisive battle at Sanluri. Oristano itself surrendered on 29 March 1410. Much of the old Arborean territory was incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia, while Leonardo Cubello received Oristano as a marquisate. The bay remained the seaward approach to a country whose independence had been lost after a long struggle.