History of Sardinia from the Mainland. The repression by the Fascist regime of its opponents within the region was ruthless. Rural Sardinia showed little interest in the Fascist state, while the urban bourgeoise from the cities were its staunchest supporters on the island. Antonio Gramsci, one of the founders of Italian Communist Party, was arrested and died in prison. The anarchist Michele Schirru was executed after a failed assassination plot against Benito Mussolini. During World War II Sardinia was a theater of bombing; the cities of Cagliari and Alghero were heavily bombed. The war ended in Sardinia in late 1943, with the shift
Sardinia the pre-Roman noun *"s(a)rd-", later romanised as ' (feminine '). It makes its first appearance on the Nora Stone, where the word "Šrdn" testifies to the name's existence when the Phoenician merchants first arrived. According to "Timaeus", one of Plato's dialogues, Sardinia (referred to by most ancient Greek authors as "Sardò", Σαρδὼ) and its people as well might have been named after a legendary woman going by Sardò (), born in Sardis ("Σάρδεις"), capital of the ancient Kingdom of Lydia. There has also been speculation that identifies the ancient Nuragic Sards with the Sherden, one of the Sea Peoples. It