Editing Sardinia (section)

===Kingdom of Italy===

With the [[Perfect Fusion]] in 1848, the confederation of states powered by the Savoyard kings of Sardinia became a unitary and constitutional state and moved to the [[First Italian War of Independence|Italian Wars of Independence]] for the [[Unification of Italy]], that were led for thirteen years. In 1861, being Italy united by a debated war campaign, the parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia decided by law to change its name and the title of its king to [[Kingdom of Italy]] and [[King of Italy]]. Most Sardinian forests were cut down at this time, in order to provide the Piedmontese with raw materials, like wood, used to make railway sleepers on the mainland. The primary natural forests, praised by every{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}} traveller visiting Sardinia, would in fact be reduced to one-fifth of their original number, being little more than 100,000 hectares at the end of the century.<ref>''Colpi di scure e sensi di colpa. Storia del disboscamento della Sardegna dalle origini a oggi'', Fiorenzo Caterini, Carlo Delfino editore, {{ISBN|978-88-7138-704-8}}</ref> From 1850 onward, taxes more than doubled in Sardinia, which compounded the already severe financial hardships facing the islanders, due to the Italo-French tariff war: between 1885 and 1897, the Sardinians saw their land being confiscated more than the rest of Italy combined as a result of tax evasion.<ref>{{cite book|author=Roy Domenico|title=The Regions of Italy. A Reference Guide to History and Culture|place=London|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=2002|page=258}}</ref>

During the [[World War I|First World War]], the Sardinian soldiers of the [[Sassari Mechanized Brigade|Brigata Sassari]] distinguished themselves. It was the first and only regional military unit in Italy, since the people enrolled were only Sardinians. The brigade suffered heavy losses and earned four [[Gold Medal of Military Valor|Gold Medals of Military Valor]]. Sardinia lost more young people than any other Italian region on the front, with 138 casualties per 1000 soldiers compared to the Italian average of 100 casualties.

During the [[Italian Fascism|Fascist]] period, with the implementation of the policy of [[autarky]], several swamps around the island were reclaimed and agrarian communities founded. The main communities were the village of Mussolinia (now called [[Arborea]]), populated by farmers from [[Veneto]] and [[Friuli]], in the area of Oristano and [[Fertilia]], populated at first by settlers from the [[Ferrara]] area, followed, after [[World War II]], by a notable number of [[Istrian Italians]] and [[Dalmatian Italians]] hailing from territories lost to [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], in the area adjacent the city of [[Alghero]], within the region of [[Nurra]]. Also established during that time (1938) was the city of [[Carbonia, Italy|Carbonia]], which became the main centre of [[coal mining]] activity, that attracted thousand of workers from the rest of the Island and the Italian mainland. The Sardinian writer [[Grazia Deledda]] won the [[Nobel Prize for Literature]] in 1926.

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-468-1415-35, Süditalien, Häuserruinen.jpg|thumb|left|Effect of Allied bombing on [[Cagliari]] during the [[Second World War]]]]
During the [[Second World War]], Sardinia was an important air and naval base and was heavily bombed by the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]], especially the city of Cagliari. German troops left the island on 8 September 1943, a few days after the [[Armistice of Cassibile]], and retired to Corsica without fighting and bloodshed, after a bilateral agreement between the general Antonio Basso (Commander of the Armed Forces of Sardinia) and the German [[Karl Hans Lungerhausen]], general of the [[90th Light Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|90th Panzergrenadier Division]].<ref>Antonio Basso, Generale Antonio Basso, L'armistizio del settembre 1943 in Sardegna, Napoli, Rispoli, 1947. no ISBN, page 57</ref>