VILLA ECCLESIÆ

Villa Ecclesiae (the current Iglesias) was founded in the second half of the thirteenth century as a stately municipality, headed by the Pisan family of the Donoraticos. At the end of June 1323, the Aragonese troops allied with Ugone III’s Giudicato d’Arborea and various other forces and started the siege of Villa di Chiesa (former Villa Ecclesiae). Thus began the long war that was to lead, over time, to the Aragonese and then the Spanish domination throughout Sardinia. The siege lasted over seven months but on 7 February 1324 Villa di Chiesa, having been without supplies for some time, had to surrender.
However, the Infante Alfonso, son of King James II, who led the expedition recognized the honorable defense of the city by granting it two great privileges: the first was to make it the first among the seven royal cities of the island, and the second that of being able to maintain the ancient regulations of the time of the Pisans: the “Breve di Villa di Chiesa,” or the municipal statute.
The piece was commissioned by the Municipality of Iglesias and its Historical Archive with the intention of commemorating, through a series of cultural events, the 700 years that have passed since the siege.
The first performance of the piece will be by the Wind Band of the Circolo Musicale “G. Verdi” of Iglesias conducted by Fabio Diana.
The composition is divided into 4 distinct movements that musically represent the historical facts described above.