Cagliari - Main Sights

Main Sights

The old part of the city (called Castello, the castle) lies on top of a hill, with a view of the Gulf of Cagliari (also known as Angels Gulf). Most of its city walls are intact, and feature the two early 14th century white limestone towers, the Torre di San Pancrazio and the Torre dell'Elefante; they are both typical examples of Pisan military architecture. The local white limestone was also used to build the walls of the city and many buildings. D. H. Lawrence, in his memoir of a voyage to Sardinia, Sea and Sardinia, undertaken in January 1921, described the effect of the warm Mediterranean sun-light on the white limestone city and compared Cagliari to a "white Jerusalem". The city is said to be built on seven hills (Sant'Elia, Bonaria, Monte Urpinu, Castello, Monte Claro, Tuvixeddu and San Michele).

The Promenade Deck and the Terrazza Umberto I, the latter built on the old ramparts of the Spur, were designed in 1896 by engineer Joseph Costa and Fulgenzio Setti. The entire building is in the classical style, with Corinthian columns, and was built of white and yellow limestone. It was opened in 1901. The staircase with two flights, by which you enter from Constitution Square, is interrupted in a covered walkway, and ends beneath the Arc de Triomphe, in the Terrazza Umberto I. In 1943, during World War II, the staircase and the Arch of Triumph were severely damaged by aerial bombardment, but after the conflict's end they were faithfully reconstructed.

From the Terrazza Umberto I, accessed via a short flight of steps, is the Bastion of Santa Caterina, where there was an old Dominican convent, destroyed by fire in 1800. It is said that in the austere surroundings of the monastery, the conspiracy to kill the Viceroy Camarassa in 1668, the most dramatic episode of blood in the history of the city under Spanish rule, was laid.

The Promenade Deck, since it was inaugurated in 1902, has been variously used. At first it was used as a banqueting hall, then during the First World War was used as an infirmary. In the thirties, during the period of sanctions, it was an exhibition of autarchy. During the Second World War it was used as a shelter for displaced people whose homes had been destroyed by bombs. In 1948 it hosted the first Trade Fair of Sardinia. After many years of neglect, the Promenade was restored and re-evaluated as a cultural space reserved especially for art exhibitions.

The Cathedral was restored in the 1930s turning the former Baroque façade into a Medieval Pisan style façade, more akin to the original appearance of the church from the 13th century. The bell tower is original. The interior has a nave and two aisles, with a pulpit (1159–1162) sculpted for the Cathedral of Pisa but later donated to Cagliari. The crypt houses the remains of martyrs found in the Basilica of San Saturno (see below). Near the Cathedral is the palace of the Provincial Government (which used to be the island's governor's palace before 1900). In Castello is also the Sardinian Archaeological Museum, the biggest and most important regarding the prehistoric Nuragic civilisation of Sardinia. Finally, Castello hosts many craftsmen workshops in its tightened and scenic lanes.

The Basilica of San Saturnino is one of the most important Palaeo-Christian monuments in Sardinia. Dedicated to the martyr killed under Diocletian's reign, Saturninus of Cagliari (patron saint of the city), it was built in the 5th century. Of the original building the central part remain and the dome, to which two armes (one with a nave and two aisles) was added. A Palaeo-Christian crypt is also under the church of San Lucifero (1660), dedicated to Saint Lucifer, a bishop of the city. This has a Baroque façade with ancient columns and sculpted parts, some of which found in the nearby necropolis.

The Chiesa della Purissima is a church from the 16th century.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bonaria was built by the Catalans in 1324–1329 during the siege to the Castle in which the Pisans had taken shelter. It has a small Gothic portal in the façade while the interior houses a wooden statue of the Madonna, which was thrown off a Spanish ship and landed at the foot of the Bonaria hill. The cloister of the convent is home to the Marinery Museum.

The other early districts of the town (Marina, Stampace, Villanova) retain much of their original appeal and still seem to function as distinct villages within the town.

Considerable other remains of the ancient city are still visible at Cagliari, the most striking of which are those of the Roman Amphitheatre, carved into a block of rock (the typical limestone from which Cagliari is built), and of an aqueduct; the latter a most important acquisition to the city, where fresh water is scarce. There exist also ancient cisterns of vast extent: the ruins of a small circular temple, and numerous sepulchres on a hill outside the modern town, which appears to have formed the necropolis of the ancient city. (Smyth's Sardinia, pp. 206, 215; Valery, Voyage en Sardaigne, c. 57.) The Amphitheatre still stages open-air operas and concerts during the summer.

The districts built in the 1930s sport some nice examples of Art Deco architecture and some controversial examples of Fascist neoclassicism, such as the Justice Court (Palazzo di Giustizia) in the Republic Square. The Justice Court is close to the biggest town park, Monte Urpinu, with its pine trees and artificial lakes. The park includes a vast area of a hill. The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Cagliari, the city's botanical garden, is also of interest.

Cagliari has one of the longest beaches in Italy. The Poetto beach stretches for 13 km and was famous for its white fine-grained sand. A recent controversial intervention to save the beach from erosion has slightly altered the original texture of the sand.