The Judicate of Cagliari or "Pluminos", during the regency of Torchitorio V of Cagliari and his successor, William III, was allied with the Republic of Genoa. Because of this it was brought to an end in 1258, when its capital, Santa Igia, was stormed and destroyed by an alliance of Sardinian and Pisan forces. The territory then was divided between the Republic of Pisa, the Della Gherardesca family from Italy, and the Sardinian Judicates of Arborea and Gallura. Pisa maintained the control over the fortress of Castel di Cagliari founded by Pisan merchants in 1216/1217 east of Santa Igia; in the south-west the count Ugolino della Gherardesca promoted the birth of the town of "Villa di Chiesa" (today Iglesias) to exploit the nearby rich silver deposits.