What does “biddaonesu inform Christu” mean? We are talking about a nickname, a nickname from the past, typical of the inhabitants of one of the historic districts of Cagliari : Villanova. The district is located just below the Castello district, at the foot of the Saint Remy bastion. Until the First World War, a multitude of farmers, breeders, artisans and bakers lived there. It was in fact a neighborhood full of gardens and land. Its inhabitants were known as “biddanoesus inforra Christu” or “inforra Christus” in the plural: the translation from Sardinian into Italian would be: “Villanovese inforna Cristo”.
But why? According to some scholars a hypothesis is religious. It seems that where the church of San Giacomo is today there was a synagogue and that a Jewish colony lived in Villanova. However, no historical documents emerge to support the fact that there were Jews in the neighborhood.
A second option is linked to the work of bakers. In fact, Villanova was the bakers' district: the largest number of bakers were concentrated here. So it may be that when there was no wood they burned anything, including wooden crucifixes: this explains the meaning of "Biddanoesu informra Christu".
(Unioneonline)
