The history of Mamoiada between 550 and 238 BC (Carthaginian invasion of
Sardinia), and for many centuries after, is the history of "proud
mountaineers, constantly rebelling against foreign oppression".
The name
of the village appears in various ancient documents with different
spellings: Marmoiada, Mamoyata, Mamuiata.
Around the 11th century,
Mamoiada was part of the Giudicate of Arborea. Successively, it was
included in the Curatoria of the Barbagia of Ollolai.
During the lengthy
Spanish-Aragonese dopmination (1324-1720). king Ferdinand V of Spain
assigned surrounding Nuoro to Pietro Massa of Arborea. In 1604 Mamoiada
became part of the Duchy of Mandas, a feud first owned by the Mazzas and
then by Tellez-Girons.
In 1820 - with the enclosures laws - during the
Savoy rule, feudalism came to an end, making the allocation of land
among the local population possible; however, for various reasons, the largest part remained, in
reality, in the hands of the village nobility.
In 1847 with the collapse
of the Sardo-Piemontese kingdom and the unification of Italy, Mamoiada,
together with other Sardinian villages, had to adjust to the new
political situation, and has, ever since, continued doing so, throughout
the many socio-economic upheavals and transformations that occurred,
some of which are still in progress.
