# List of people from Sardinia

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with a population of about 1.6 million people. The list includes notable natives of Sardinia, as well as those who were born elsewhere but spent a large part of their active life in Sardinia. People of Sardinian heritage and descent are in a separate section of this article.

## Academic figures and inventors

* Pietro Amat di San Filippo (1826–1895), geographer, historian and bibliographer
* Giulio Angioni (1939–2016), writer and anthropologist
* Efisio Arru (1927–2000), parasitologist
* Domenico Alberto Azuni (1749–1827), jurist
* Ludovico Baille (1764–1869), historian
* Augusto Bissiri (1879–1968), inventor, credited as one of the first developers of television, the cathode-ray tube and the fax
* Remo Bodei (born in Cagliari, 1938), philosopher
* Francesco Antonio Boi (1767–1850), physician and anatomist
* Francesco Antonio Broccu (1797–1882), inventor, born in Gadoni, regarded as the first developer of the revolver
* Giuseppe Brotzu (1895–1976), pharmacologist, discoverer of cephalosporin based antibiotics, and candidate for the Nobel Prize in Medicine
* Carlo Cercignani (1939–2010), physicist and mathematician
* Fausto Cercignani (born 1941), scholar in linguistics
* Enrico Costa (born 1944), astrophysicist, known for studies on the gamma-ray bursts
* Erminio Costa (Cagliari 1924 – Washington 2009), neuroscientist
* Joan de Girgio Vitelli (Alghero 1870 – Rome 1916), lawyer and writer
* Carlo Fadda (1853–1931), jurist and politician
* Antonio Fais (1841–1925), mathematician and engineer
* Giovanni Francesco Fara (1543–1591), geographer and historian
* Walter Ferreri, astronomer
* Gian Luigi Gessa (born 1932), pharmacologist and neuropsychiatrist
* Pier Michele Giagaraccio (16th century AD), jurist, lawyer, and poet
* Paola Leone, neurologist, leader researcher of Canavan disease
* Giovanni Lilliu (1914–2012), archeologist, academician, publicist and politician
* Eva Mameli (1886–1978), botanist, naturalist and mathematician
* Lidia Mannuzzu (1958–2016), biologist, physiologist and academic
* Antonio Pigliaru (1922–1969), philosopher
* Salvatore Satta (1902–1975), jurist and writer
* Sebastiano Satta (1867–1914), poet, writer, lawyer and journalist
* Paolo Savona (born 1936), economist
* Giovanni Soro (died 1544), the Western world first great cryptanalyst; Soro was employed in Venice by the Council of Ten as cipher breaker-in-chief.
* Giovanni Spano (1803–1878), linguist and archaeologist
* Nicola Tanda (born 1928) philologist and literary critic
* Pasquale Tola (1800–1874), historian, magistrate and politician

## Activists

* Aurelio Chessa (1913–1996) anarchist, journalist and historian
* Giovanni Nuvoli

## Architects and designers

* Paola Antonelli (born 1963), architect, senior Curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York
* Carlo Battaglia (1933–2005), designer
* Ambra Medda (born 1982) designer, Sardinian mother and Austrian father
* Gaetano Cima (1805–1878), Neoclassical architect
* Fernando Clemente (1917–1998), architect and urbanist
* Francesco Boffo (1796–1867), Neoclassical architect
* Davis Ducart architect of the 18th-century
* Renzo Frau (Cagliari 1880 – 1926), designer
* Flavio Manzoni (born 1965), architect and car designer
* Vico Mossa (1914–2003), Architect
* Enzo Satta, urbanist and architect
* Eugenio Tavolara (1901–1963), sculptor and designer

## Authors

* Milena Agus (born 1955)
* Francesco Alziator (1909–1977), writer and journalist
* Antonella Anedda (born 1955), half-Sardinian
* Giulio Angioni (1939–2017) writer and anthropologist
* Gerolamo Araolla (1542–1615)
* Sergio Atzeni (1952–1995)
* Vicente Bacallar Sanna (1669–1726)
* Ludovico Baille (1764–1839)
* Alberto Capitta (born 1954)
* Fausta Cialente (1898–1994)
* Antoni Cossu (1927–2002)
* Grazia Deledda (1871–1936), winner of the Nobel prize for literature
* Pietro Delitala (middle 16th century – 1613), poet
* Salvatore Farina (1846–1918), novelist
* Maria Chessa Lai (1922–2012), poet
* Gavino Ledda (born 1938)
* Emilio Lussu (1890–1975)
* Francesco Manunta i Baldino (1928–1995), poet
* Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli
* Melchiorre Murenu (1803–1854)
* Michela Murgia
* Salvatore Niffoi (born 1950), writer
* Rafael Sari (1904–1978), poet and writer
* Salvatore Satta (1902–1975), writer
* Flavio Soriga (born 1975) writer
* Pasqual Scanu (1908–1978)
* Tigellius (1st century BC – 40 BC), lyric poet during the time of Julius Caesar
* Pasquale Tola (1800–1874)
* Dolores Turchi (born 1935)

## Businessmen

* Massimo Cellino (born 1956), entrepreneur and football club owner
* Giovanni Antonio Sanna (1819–1875), entrepreneur and politician
* Renato Soru (born 1957), entrepreneur founder of Tiscali and former governor of Sardinia
* Salvatore Dau (1839–1914), tanner https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salvatore_Dau_1885.jpg

## Cinema and TV
### Actors and actresses

* Gianni Agus (1917–1994)
* Andrea Arru (born 2007)
* Mavie Bardanzellu (1938–2022)
* Vittorio Congia (1930–2019)
* Rubi Dalma (1906–1994)
* Giancarlo Dettori (born 1932)
* Maria Frau (born 1930)
* Rossana Ghessa (born 1943)
* Rita Livesi (1915–1989)
* Mario Majeroni (1870–1931)
* Gloria Milland (1940–1989)
* Tiberio Murgia
* Caterina Murino
* Amedeo Nazzari
* Marisa Pierangeli
* Anna Maria Pierangeli, also known as Pier Angeli

### Filmmakers

* Luigi Batzella
* Antonello Grimaldi
* Piero Livi (1925–2015), director and screenwriter
* Nanni Loy
* Sebastian Piras, photographer and filmmaker
* Fiorenzo Serra (1921–2005), documentarist
* Franco Solinas (1927–1982), screenwriter

### Showgirls and fashion models

* Elisabetta Canalis
* Franca Dall'Olio (born 1945), Miss Italia 1963
* Alessandra Meloni (born 1972), Miss Italia 1994
* Giorgia Palmas
* Melissa Satta

## Police officers

Emanuela Loi

## Criminals

* Er Canaro (born 1956)
* Giovanni Corbeddu Salis (1844–1898), outlaw

## Journalists

* Francesco Alziator (1909–1977), born in Cagliari
* Pasquale Chessa (born 1947), historian and journalist
* Attilio Deffenu (1890–1918) journalist, syndicalist and patriot
* Annalisa Piras (born 1971), journalist and film maker
* Cristiano Ruiu (born 1979)
* Aminata Aidara (born 1984) Sardinian mother and Senegalese father

## Mercenaries, soldiers and troops

* Mario Aramu (1900–1940), aviator
* Domenico Millelire (1761–1827), patriot, navy officer
* Antonio Todde (1889–2002), oldest man in the world at the date of his death and the third-oldest military veteran ever
* Efisio Tola (1803–1833), patriot
* Justin Tuveri (May 13, 1898 – October 5, 2007), one of the last Italian veterans of the First World War

## Musicians and singers

* Giuseppe Anedda (1912–1997)
* Bianca Atzei (born 1987)
* Maria Carta
* Collage
* Giovanni Matteo De Candia, operatic singer (tenor), known as Mario
* Mahmood, singer born to a Sardinian mother and an Egyptian father
* Bernardo de Muro, operatic singer (tenor)
* Francesco Demuro
* Roberto Diana (born 1983), musician, guitarist, composer, producer and session man
* La Fossa (rap group)
* Paolo Fresu
* Anna Tifu, violinist born to a Sardinian mother and Romanian father
* Luigi Lai
* Elena Ledda
* Bernadette Manca di Nissa
* Franca Masu (born 1962)
* Carmen Melis (1885–1967), operatic soprano
* Efisio Melis
* Roberto Meloni
* Salmo (rapper)
* Filomena Moretti, guitarist
* Franco Oppo (1935–2016), composer and scholar
* Aldo Piga, music compose
* Marisa Sannia
* Valerio Scanu
* Angelo Sotgiu (born 1946)
* Tazenda
* Tenores di Bitti

## Visual artists
### Painters, illustrators, photographers, sculptors

* Edina Altara (1898–1983), illustrator and painter
* Giuseppe Biasi (1885–1945), painter
* Vittore Bocchetta (born 1918), sculptor, painter and academic
* Carlo Chessa (1855–1912), painter, printmaker, and illustrator
* Francesco Ciusa (1883–1949), sculptor
* Ignazio Fresu (born 1957), sculptor
* Giovanni del Giglio (died 1554), mannerist painter
* Master of Castelsardo (15th–16th century), painter
* Francesco Menzio (1899–1979), painter
* Costantino Nivola (1911–1988), sculptor
* Aligi Sassu (1912–2000), sculptor and painter
* Pinuccio Sciola (1942–2016), sculptor
* Mario Sironi (1885–1961), modernist, painter, sculptor, illustrator, and designer
* Maria Antonietta Tilloca
* Vittoria Valmaggia (1944–2009), painter, ceramist sculptor and designer

### Cartoonists and comics creators

* Igort (real name Igor Tuveri) (born 1958)
* Graziano Origa (born 1952), cartoonist, punk artist
* Michele Medda (born 1962), comic writer

## Politicians

* Francesco Maria Barracu (1885-1945), fascist politician and soldier
* Giuseppe Abozzi (1882–1962), socialist
* Hasan Agha (fl. 1532–1544), ruler of the Regency of Algiers
* Camillo Bellieni (1893–1975), politician, founder of Partito Sardo d'Azione
* Giovanni Maria Angioy (1751–1808), politician and patriot
* Gavino Angius (born 1946), senator
* Vicente Bacallar Sanna (1669–1726), governor of Cagliari and Gallura, Spanish ambassador
* Benedetta of Cagliari (c. 1194–1232/1233), Italian
* Enrico Berlinguer (1922–1984), Italian Communist Party leader
* Giovanni Berlinguer (born 1924–6 April 2015), member of the European Parliament
* Luigi Berlinguer (born 25 July 1932–1 November 2023), Minister of Universities, Science and Technology
* Mario Berlinguer (1891–1969)
* Sergio Berlinguer (born 6 May 1934–17 October 2021)
* Nanni Campus (born 3 September 1952)
* Francesco Cocco-Ortu (1842–1929), minister of the Kingdom of Italy
* Michele Columbu (1914–2012), former member of the European Parliament
* Francesco Cossiga (1928–2010), former President of the Italian Republic
* Giuseppe Cossiga (born October 30, 1963)
* Bruno Dettori (born 1941), politician
* Oliviero Diliberto (born 1956), Party of Italian Communists leader
* Eleanor of Arborea (1347–1404), Italian of Arborea
* Gianfranco Ganau (born 3 March 1955)
* Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937), founding member of the Italian Communist Party
* Hugh I of Arborea (1178–1211), giudice of Arborea
* Ippolita Ludovisi (1663–1733), princess of Piombino
* Emilio Lussu (1890–1975), soldier, politician and writer
* Giuseppe Manno (1786–1868), magistrate, politician and historian
* Marianus IV of Arborea (1319–1376), giudice of Arborea
* Ospitone (6th century AD), chief of people of Barbagia
* Paolo Orano (1875–1945), psychologist, politician and writer
* Giuseppe Pisanu (born 1937), former Italian minister
* Edmondo Sanjust di Teulada (1858–1936), engineer and politician
* Giuseppe Saragat (1898–1988), President of the Italian Republic
* Michele Schirru (1899–1931), anarchist who attempted to assassinate Italian dictator Benito Mussolini
* Antonio Segni (1891–1972), former President of the Italian Republic
* Mario Segni (born 1939), former member of Italian Parliament and European Parliament
* Adelasia of Torres (1207–1259), giudicessa di Torres

## Sportspeople
### Athletics

* Sandro Floris (born 1965), former sprinter
* Giorgio Marras (born 1971), former sprinter
* Eugenio Meloni (born 1994), high jumper
* Giovanni Puggioni (born 1966), former sprinter
* Antonio Siddi (1923–1983), former sprinter
* Filippo Tortu (born 1998), sprinter
* Valentina Uccheddu (born 1966), former long jumper

### Basketball

* Federica Brunetti (born 1988)
* Massimo Chessa (born 1988), professional basketball player
* Luigi Datome
* Lidia Oppo (born 1995)
* Daniele Soro (born 1975)
* Marco Spissu (born 1995), professional basketball player

### Bodybuilding

* Franco Columbu, Mr Olympia in 1976 and 1981, and Mr Universe 1970

### Boxing

* Fernando Atzori (born 1942), olympic gold medalist
* Salvatore Burruni
* Enzo Calzaghe
* Simone Maludrottu, European bantamweight champion
* Gavino Matta
* Franco Udella, World Champion

### Canoeing

* Pierangelo Congiu (born 1951), sprint canoer

### Cycling

* Fabio Aru (born 1990), Vuelta a España winner
* Alberto Loddo (born 1979), retired

### Equestrianism

* Paolo Angioni (born 1938), olympic champion

### Extreme sports

* John Carta (1946–1990), skydiver and basejumper pioneer

### Football

* Simone Aresti (born 1986)
* Nicolò Barella (born 1997), Italian international, European champion 2020
* Salvatore Burrai (born 1987)
* Andrea Cocco (born 1986)
* Alessio Cossu (born 1986)
* Karim Laribi (born 1991), Sardinian mother and Tunisian father
* Andrea Cossu (born 1980), former Italian international
* Enrico Cotza (born 1988)
* Antonello Cuccureddu (born 1949), former Italian international
* Alessandro Farina (born 1979)
* Gianluca Festa (born 1969)
* Michele Fini (born 1974)
* Alessandro Frau (born 1977)
* Salvatore Fresi (born 1973)
* Gustavo Giagnoni (1932–2018)
* Nicola Lai (born 1986)
* Valentino Lai (born 1984)
* Marco Mancosu (born 1988)
* Matteo Mancosu (born 1984)
* Giuseppe Materazzi (born 1946)
* Gianfranco Matteoli (born 1959), former Italian international
* Nicola Murru (born 1994)
* Salvatore Pinna (born 1975)
* Francesco Pisano (born 1986)
* Andrea Pisanu (born 1982)
* Marco Sau (born 1987), Italian international
* Salvatore Sirigu (born 1987), Italian international
* Simona Sodini (born 1982), Italian women's international
* Giovanni Solinas (born 1968)
* Pietro Paolo Virdis (born 1957)
* Gianfranco Zola (born 1966), former Italian international
* Jordan Bouah (born 1995), Sardinian mother and Ivorian father

### Horse racing

* Andrea Atzeni (born 1991)
* Giovanni Atzeni (born 1985)
* Andrea Degortes known as Aceto
* Gianfranco Dettori

### Ice hockey

* Luca Sbisa

### Modern pentathlon

* Mario Medda (1943–1981)

### Motor racing

* Clemente Biondetti, Formula One racing driver
* Domenico Brigaglia (born 1958), motorcycle racer
* Omar Magliona (born 1977), racing driver
* Giovanni de Riu (1925–2008), racing driver
* Simone Sanna (born 1978), motorcycle racer

### Rowing

* Francesco Cossu (1907–?)

### Tennis

* Alessandro de Minicis (born 1963), retired

## Religious figures

* Abraham da Cagliari (8th century), Rabbi
* Ottorino Pietro Alberti (1927–2012) Archbishop
* Salvatore Alepus (1503–1568), Archbishop
* Luigi Amat di San Filippo e Sorso (1796–1878), Cardinal
* Antiochus of Sulcis (died c. 110), Christian martyr
* Hilary the Deacon (mid-4th century)
* Ilario Cao
* Nicholas Congiato (1816–1897), Jesuit, President of Santa Clara University
* Justa, Justina and Henedina, Christian martyrs
* Luigi De Magistris, Cardinal
* Giovanni Melis Fois, Prelate of Roman Catholic Church
* Ephysius (250–303), Christian martyr
* Eusebius of Vercelli
* Gavinus (4th century), Christian martyr
* Pope Hilarius (died 468), Pope
* Ignatius of Laconi (1701–1781)
* Lucifer (4th century), Bishop of Cagliari
* Antonia Mesina (1919–1935), martyr
* Carlo Mario Francesco Pompedda (1929–2006), Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura for the Roman Curia
* Riccus (13th century), Archbishop
* Elisabetta Sanna (1788–1857)
* Maria Gabriella Sagheddu (1914–1939), Saint Beatus
* Pope Symmachus (6th century), Pope
* Joseph Toronto (1818–1883), Mormon missionary
* Aloysius Varsi (1830–1900)
* Francesco Zirano (1565–1603), member of the Order of Friars Minor, beatified in 2014

## Notable people of Sardinian descent

* Ettore Pais (1856–1939), historian with Sardinian ancestry
* Gustavo Piga (born 1964), economist
* Ambra Medda (born 1982), designer
* Orazio Satta Puliga (1910–1974), car designer
* Italo Calvino (1923–1985), writer candidate for Nobel Prize in Literature with Sardinian ancestry from mother side
* Cecilia Maria de Candia (1853–1926), writer (Sardinian ancestry from father side)
* Goffredo Mameli, patriot and poet, creator of the Italian anthem (born in Genoa by Sardinian father)
* Eric Cantona (born 24 May 1966), French actor and football player with Sardinian ancestry
* Donatella Damiani (born 1958), Sardinian from father side
* Bruce Kirby (1925–2021), American actor, Sardinian ancestry
* Bruno Kirby (1949–2006), American actor, Sardinian ancestry
* Christopher Meloni, American actor, father from Sardinia
* Fernanda Montenegro (born 1929), Brazilian actress, with Sardinian ancestry from mother's side
* Sean Penn, American actor, Sardinian from mother side
* Bruno Putzulu, French actor, Sardinian ancestry
* Stefano Satta Flores, Sardinian ancestry
* Wally Schirra (1923–2007), astronaut with Sardinian ancestry
* Valeria Marini, born in Rome, Sardinian from mother side
* Pamela Prati, Sardinian from mother side
* Virginia Sanjust di Teulada (born 1977), Sardinian from father side
* Adriana Serra (1923–1995), actress and Miss Italia 1941 (Sardinian from father side)
* Corrado Augias (born 26 January 1935), Sardinian ancestry
* Mino Carta (born 1933), Sardinian parents
* Jean-Marc Morandini (born 1965), Sardinian from mother side
* Barbara Serra (born 1974), Sardinian from father side
* Efisio Tola (1803–1833), patriot
* Ricky Gianco (born Riccardo Sanna, 1943), singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer, with partial Sardinian ancestry
* Ivan Graziani, Sardinian from mother side
* Nyco Lilliu (born 1987), Sardinian ancestry
* Pierrick Lilliu (born 1986), Sardinian ancestry
* Ugo Mulas (1928–1973), photographer with Sardinian ancestry
* Aurelio Galleppini (1917–1994), His parents were Sardinians
* Graziano Delrio (born 1960), Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport with Sardinian ancestry
* Beji Caid Essebsi (1926–2019), first democratically elected President of Tunisia (Paternal great-great-grandfather from Sardinia)
* Enrico Letta (born 1966), former Prime Minister of Italy. Sardinian from mother side.
* Jean-Paul Marat (from the father side) (1743–1793), politician during the French Revolution
* Giorgia Meloni (born 1977), Prime minister of Italy (Sardinian from father side)
* Juan Domingo Perón (1895–1974), President of Argentina (Sardinian descent from father side)
* Silvia Salis (born in Genoa, Sardinian ancestry)
* Luigi Datome (born 1987), professional basketball player with Sardinian ancestry who currently plays for Fenerbahçe Ülker.
* Joe Calzaghe, father Enzo from Sardinia
* Nicolino Locche (1939–2005), Argentine boxer with Sardinian ancestry
* Duilio Loi, Sardinian from father side
* Graciano Rocchigiani, father Zanubio from Sardinia
* Mattia Aramu (born 1995), Sardinian parents
* Dennis Chessa (born 1992), Sardinian ancestry
* Marco Materazzi, mother from Tempio, father from Arborea, province of Oristano
* Frankie Dettori, born in Milan from Sardinian parents
* Fabio Carta, born in Torino, Sardinian parents
* Andreia Marras (born 1971), Sardinian ancestry
* Alessandro Mahmoud (Mahmood), born in Milan from Sardinian mother