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.

He's stood the city in good stead throughout the years, saving the populus from a hideous plague in 1652 - when the church got its marble makeover - and repelling Napoleon's fleet in 1793. You can even see French cannonballs embedded in the wall beneath a picture of St Ephisius stirring up the storm that sent the fleet packing. If the church guardian is there, you may be able to see the beautifully ornate carozza (carriage) that is used to carry the wooden effigy of the saint in the 1 May celebrations. It's decorated with gold leaf; the golden bands around the wheels cost the municipality around €20,000 when they had to be replaced.

At the side of the church is the entrance to the prison where St Ephisius was supposedly held before being executed in Nora. It's marked in stone - Carcer Sancti Ephysii M (Prison of the Martyr St Ephisius) - and retains the column where Ephisius was tied during his incarceration.