[sahr-din-ee-uh, -din-yuh] 
| 1. | a large island in the Mediterranean, W of Italy: with small nearby islands it comprises a department of Italy. 1,571,499; 9301 sq. mi. (24,090 sq. km). |
| 2. | a former kingdom 1720–1860, including this island and Savoy, Piedmont, and Genoa (after 1815) in NW Italy: ruled by the House of Savoy. Capital: Turin. |
[sahr-de-nyah] .| Sar·din·i·a (sär-dĭn'ē-ə, -dĭn'yə) An island of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea south of Corsica. Settled by Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians before the sixth century B.C., the island was taken by Rome in 238 B.C. and later fell to the Vandals (fifth century A.D.) and the Byzantines (early sixth century). Numerous European powers controlled the island before 1720, when it passed to the House of Savoy and became the nucleus of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia became the first king of Italy in 1861. |
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