the second-largest island in the Mediterranean: forms, with offshore islands, an administrative region of Italy; ceded to Savoy by Austria in 1720 in exchange for Sicily and formed the Kingdom of Sardinia with Piedmont; became part of Italy in 1861. Capital: Cagliari. Pop: 1 637 639 (2003 est). Area: 24 089 sq km (9301 sq miles)
Italian name: Sardegna
Sardinia in American English
(sɑrˈdɪniə; sɑrˈdɪnjə)
1.
Italian island in the Mediterranean, south of Corsica: 9,194 sq mi (23,812 sq km)
2.
region of Italy, comprising this island & small nearby islands: 9,301 sq mi (24,089 sq km); pop. 1,648,000; cap. Cagliari
3.
former kingdom (1720-1860) including this region, Piedmont, Nice, Savoy (by which the kingdom was ruled), etc.