-
Anfiteatro Romano
It's a surprise to come upon the broad arc of the 2nd-century Anfiteatro Romano after the dense alleys of Stampace. Carved out of the hillside rock, much of the original theatre was cannibalised in the following centuries, but enough has survived for us to imagine a good Roman afternoon out.
-
Basilica di San Saturnino
It may look like a wreck, but the Basilica di San Saturnino is a fascinating place. According to legend the Christian martyr Saturninus, another of those unfortunates who fell foul of Diocletian's anti-Christian campaign, was executed on this spot in 304.
-
Bastione San Remy
Once a strong point in the fortifications, the bastion is now a belvedere offering views across the city and its lagoons. For decades a flea market has set up here on Sunday, perhaps the successor to the 1948 fair, which was held as the city tried to pull itself out of the postwar mire.
-
Castello di San Michele
A stout three-tower Spanish fortress, Castello di San Michele stands in a commanding position northwest of the city centre. It was built in the 10th century to protect the capital from the province of Cagliari and it has been much added to over the years. Its location is spectacular and its grounds are a peaceful green space to get away from the city.
-
Cattedrale di Santa Maria
At the heart of the castle is the sun-drenched Piazza Palazzo, presided over by the Cattedrale di Santa Maria, sporting a recently face-lifted façade from 1938. Before the 20th-century renovations, the cathedral would have looked quite different: the original 13th-century church was given a baroque remake in the 17th century.
-
Chiesa di San Lucifero
Directly across the leafy modern Piazza San Cosimo is the baroque Chiesa di San Lucifero. Below the church is a 6th-century crypt where the tomb of the early Archbishop of Cagliari, St Lucifer, rests. In earlier times the area had been part of a Roman burial ground.
-
Chiesa di San Michele
Where Via Azuni runs into the little square of the same name, you'll find the ebullient baroque façade of the Chiesa di San Michele. It's unusual in that you enter via a vast colonnaded atrium that has stairs leading into the church proper on the right-hand side. Directly in front of you in the atrium is a grand pulpit named after Habsburg emperor Carlos V (who is said to have delivered a stirring speech there before setting off on a fruitless campaign against Arab corsairs in Tunisia).
-
Chiesa di Sant'Anna
Stampace's Chiesa di Sant'Anna is the largest but least interesting of the lot. It looms out at you as if from nowhere and its imposing sand-coloured façade rises high above the little square it dominates. Largely destroyed in WWII and painstakingly rebuilt afterwards, it is basically baroque, but the Ionic columns melded into the undulating façade give it a slightly severe neoclassical edge.
-
Chiesa di Sant'Efisio
Despite its unassuming façade and modest interior, the most important church in the Stampace quarter is the Chiesa di Sant'Efisio. It's dedicated to Cagliari's patron saint, St Ephisius, a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity and later lost his head for refusing to recant his new-found faith. The church is supposedly built on the site of the martyr's prison.
-
Chiesa di Sant'Eulalia
Chiesa di Sant'Eulalia is interesting not so much for the church (which can't be visited) but for the adjoining Museo del Tesoro e Area Archeologica di Sant'Eulalia.
-
Advertisement
-
Chiesa di Santo Sepolcro
Visit the Chiesa di Santo Sepolcro, whose most astonishing feature is an enormous 17th-century gilded wooden altarpiece housing a figure of the Virgin Mary.
-
Chiostro di San Domenico
To the east of Il Castello lies the 'new town' of Villanova, initially an artisans' quarter that spilt out of the original city. You can wander the tight web of lanes that began the expansion; they're squashed between the eastern side of the castle and the Gothic complex of Chiostro di San Domenico. Strangely, amid the modern urban sprawl, hide some of Cagliari's oldest and most famous churches.
-
Cripta di Santa Restituta
Virtually next door to the Chiesa di Sant'Efisio is the Cripta di Santa Restituta, which has been in use since pre-Christian times. It's a huge, eerie natural cavern where the echo of leaking water drip-drips. Originally a place of pagan worship, it became the home of the martyr Restituta in the 5th century and a reference point for Cagliari's early Christians. The Orthodox Christians took it over - you can still see remnants of their frescoes - until the 13th century, when it was abandoned.
-
Exma
In 1990 Cagliari's 18th-century ex-mattatoio (abattoir) was opened as a cultural centre called Exma. It's run by the Centri d'Arte e Musei (CAMU), a body that also coordinates the exhibitions in the Ghetto degli Ebrei and the Castello di San Michele. A permanent exhibition details the restoration of the abattoir, but it's best known for its contemporary art shows and photography exhibitions. In summer, there are frequent open-air concerts for fans of jazz and classical music.
-
Galleria Comunale d'Arte
North of Il Castello, fronting the green Giardini Pubblici, is the Galleria Comunale d'Arte, a grand neoclassical building housing an excellent collection of contemporary artworks. It also holds the Collezione Ingrao, which displays more than 650 works of Italian art from the mid-19th century to the late 20th century.
-
Ghetto degli Ebrei
The area around Via Santa Croce was once the Ghetto degli Ebrei, the synagogue standing where the Chiesa di Santa Croce now looms (currently under restoration). Under Spanish rule the entire community was expelled in 1492 and today nothing much remains except the name, applied to a Restored Former Barracks. It's now a good place to catch temporary art and photographic exhibitions.
-
Il Castello
The precipitous white stone walls of medieval Cagliari, with two of the grand Pisan towers still standing, enclose what has always been known as Il Castello. The Sardinians call it Su Casteddu, a term they also use to describe the whole city. The walls are best admired from afar - one good spot is the Roman amphitheatre across the valley to the west.
-
Isola
You should take a wander down Via Santa Croce, where you will often catch impromptu exhibitions at venues such as Isola.
-
Marina
Browse-worthy indeed, the Cagliari waterfront is known as Marina and it's the most atmospheric part of town, with little lanes full of artisans' shops, delicatessens and loads of good eateries. This neighbourhood is also blessed with plenty of churches: the Chiesa di Sant'Eulalia on Piazza Sant'Eulalia is the most interesting thanks to its attached museum.
-
Mostra di Cere Anatomiche
The oddest exhibition in town has to be the ghoulish collection at the Mostra di Cere Anatomiche. One wonders whether Professor Gunther von Hagen, the creator of the controversial anatomical show Body Worlds , got his inspiration here. The show exhibits the work of Florentine Clemente Susini, who produced a series of 23 anatomical cross-section wax models between 1802 and 1805. Unlike purist von Hagen, Susini chickened out and used wax instead of real people, but for the squeamish they're lifelike enough. The models include bisected heads and even a cutaway of a pregnant woman's torso.
-
Advertisement
-
Municipio
Just beyond the limits of the Marina quarter stands the grand pile that is the town hall, or Municipio. A capricious neogothic affair, it was built from 1899 to 1913 and faithfully reconstructed after bombing in 1943.
-
Museo Archeologico Nazionale
Nothing is quite so impressive in Cagliari as the Museo Archeologico Nazionale with its unique collection of bronzetti (bronze figurines) glittering in their glass cases.
-
Museo d'Arte Siamese
Local engineer Stefano Cardu spent many years in Thailand (formerly Siam) and, judging by this museum, had a lot of time on his hands. He collected all sorts of local arts and crafts, ranging from silk paintings to weapons and porcelain. Some of it comes from elsewhere in Asia, including China and Japan.
-
Museo del Tesoro e Area Archeologica di Sant'Eulalia
Sequestered in Marina's alleys is the Chiesa di Sant'Eulalia, interesting not so much for the church (which can't be visited) but for the adjoining Museo del Tesoro e Area Archeologica di Sant'Eulalia. Beneath the church's altar, sections of Roman road have been uncovered. You can view the even paving stones from a raised walkway. The ongoing excavations should, hopefully, reveal more subterranean secrets.
Read more about Museo del Tesoro e Area Archeologica di Sant'Eulalia
-
Orto Botanico
Established in 1858, Cagliari's Orto Botanico is one of Italy's most famous botanical gardens, containing some 500 species of tropical plants. Specimens from as far afield as Asia, Australia, Africa and the Americas sidle up next to the local carob trees and oaks, and the gardens are dotted with ancient ruins, an old Punic cistern, and a Roman quarry and aqueduct.
