Cagliari tourist information
Cagliari
Cagliari, entry point to Sardinia for many people who come to Sardinia for their holidays. Cagliari has something to offer visitors with widely different interests.
Besides its crystal-clear sea water and one of the most beautiful and longest beaches in the Mediterranean, Cagliari offers an unspoiled natural environment consisting of lagoons, bird sanctuaries and wildlife reserves which are unique in Europe.
Besides festivals and secular sagre, which are unique for their evocative spirit and the richness of their colors, Cagliari offers museums and monuments, architecture and archaeological wonders which the different cultures that passed through or occupied Cagliari throughout its history have left behind. The Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals and the people from Byzantine, Pisa, Genoa, Aragona, Catalan, Spain and Piedmont have all left their mark on this ancient city.
Besides a cultural life rich in theatre, opera, concerts and exhibitions, Cagliari offers a gastronomy which is rich in both sea food and meat dishes which is guaranteed to satisfy and delight even the most demanding palate.
The Castello neighborhood is the first area to visit in Cagliari. It is the city's ancient fortification. The historic neighborhood is still partially enclosed by the bastioned walls. Two medieval towers in white stone stand along the bastion enclosure along with two city gates that escaped demolition during the 19th century. The Castello itinerary begins at the S.Pancrazio (s'Avanzada) entrance or from the Porta dei Leoni, and follows the intricate web of Spanish-influenced streets. Monuments: The itinerary starts with the district's churches: first, the Cathedral, and the 16th century church of the Purissima in via Lamarmora. The churches of Santa Maria del Sacro Monte di Pietà, Santa Croce and that of San Giuseppe are in the lower part of the neighborhood. Some of them are closed for restoration work. Once its political, religious and administrative center, the city's more noble buildings are located in Castello. Near the Cathedral are the former City Hall, the Viceregal Palace, and the Archbishop's Palace. Farther away are the Seziate, the Arsenal, today transformed into the Cittadella dei Museums (Citadel of Museums), and moving down, the Belgrano Palace, home to the city's University. Many other private residences bear witness to an aristocracy that was tenaciously attached to the places of its history. Museums: Castello houses the most important artistic treasures of the city, in two museum sites. The Cittadella dei Museums is home to four separate collections. National Archaeological Museum: This rich collection of objects and other artifacts contains many high quality pieces. The succession of the island's ancient cultures is reconstructed through the exhibition of ceramics and pre-nuragic statuettes, copper ingots, nuragic bronzes and ceramics, inscriptions, Phoenician tomb furnishings and ceramics, inscribed headstones (one of the world's most important collections), and splendid Punic jewelry. Rich ceramics, terra-cotta, glass objects, statues, Roman sarcophagi, and gold jewelry dating from the High Medieval period, as well as artifacts from the Tuvixeddu and Pula necropolises (objects produced by the Phoenicians, or imported from Greece, Italy, and Spain) are particularly interesting
National Art Gallery: This museum contains a small section of contemporary art and sculpture as well as oils, coats-of-arms, religious objects, and paintings. The altarpieces are the most interesting part of the collection. They offer a panorama of the best Sardinian painting beginning with the initial Catalan-Valencian influence through the local Cavaro atelier and the related "Stampace school". Siamese Museum: This collection includes Asian coins, ivories, silver, porcelains, and weapons dating from the 11th to 19th centuries. Anatomical Wax Collection: The 23 anatomical models from the 19th century were executed by the famous Florentine wax model maker Clemente Susini. In Palazzo Belgrano in Via Università are: Print Gallery: This collection includes series of l9th century photomechanical reproductions and etchings by 20th century Sardinian artists. The Piloni Collection: Along with paintings, prints, and etchings of views of Cagliari and Sardinia, the collection includes examples of the island's rich tradition in tapestry weaving and rug making. Shopping and points of interest: Castello streets abound with small workshops and restoration laboratories. Some crafts, including ceramics, papier maché, wrought iron, and leather, reinterpret the most consolidated traditions. Furniture and antiques are given new life by professionals. A small antiques market, held on the second Sunday of every month in Piazza Carlo Alberto, is near the weekly flea market on the Bastione di S.Remy. Eating and drinking: Numerous private clubs have recently opened where one can eat and drink for a moderate sum as well as hear live music. Culture: Local crafts people and shop owners have been working for the neighborhood's revival. Some outdoor performances are held during the summer. The ISOLA (Sardinian Institute for the Organization of handicraft Work) gallery, located in Via Santa Croce, is dedicated to the exposition of the island's traditional handicrafts. The Man Ray Gallery, in Via Lamarmora, organizes temporary exhibits and discussion groups with the artists. Promenades and open spaces: Castello is a quaint neighborhood with humble, yet singular, architecture. It is worth a leisurely walk through the shadowed alleys, which are punctuated by unexpected panoramas from the Bastioni di S. Remy, Balice, or Santa Croce.
The Marina neighborhood is characterized by contrast. The silence of the streets near the port (a web of hills and stairs that open to splendid views of the Santa Gilla lagoon and the Capoterra mountains) dissolves in the noise of the city's busiest streets, Largo Carlo Felice and Via Manno. A visit to this area begins with the old sa Costa (Via Manno), the commercial fulcrum of the city and axis dividing the streets leading down to the port from those going up towards the bastions. Monuments: In the past, the Marina area was home to many religious buildings, some long since destroyed. The remaining churches provide a fascinating glimpse of the past. In the alleys leading down to the port, the churches of S.Antonio Abate and Santa Rosalia are Baroque in style, while San Sepulcro and Sant'Eulalia are Gothic-Catalan in design. Sant'Agostino, with its monumental interior, is one of the rare examples of Renaissance ecclesiastical architecture on the island. At the foot of the hill, facing the anchored ships, the long "Liberty Style" (turn-of-the-century Italian Art Nouveau) row of buildings in Via Roma is interrupted by the Regional Council Hall, by the church of San Francesco da Paola, and by the City Hall Building. This last was built at the turn of the century and was faithfully reproduced after its destruction during WWII. Piazza Yenne (which really belongs to the Stampace neighborhood) and the bronze statue of the Savoy sovereign are reached after climbing Largo Carlo Felice. Shopping and points of interest: Among the established and newer shops, there are also antiques shops with interesting collectors' items, crafts shops, and restoration workshops. Via Roma and Via Manno have a different character, befitting more important purchases.
Eating and drinking: The Marina neighborhood is a gourmet's delight. Specialty shops are located in Via Sardegna, while family type "trattorie", most of which offer fish, and moderately priced or more refined restaurants are located in Via Regina Margherita, Via Sardegna, Via Torino and Via Principe Amedeo. In the streets, the aroma of roasting coffee beans mingles with the perfume of tobacco from the Manifattura and with the inviting odor of the fishmongers' shops. Culture: In the spaces connected to the church of Sant'Eulalia, a small alternative theater presents theatrical performances and film projections; in the summer months, they set up an open air cinema. Behind the church, a small museum exhibits sacred objects and furnishings dating from 15th-17th centuries. Sardinia's oldest cultural organization, Amici del Libro (Friends of the Book), is housed in the City Hall Building in Largo Carlo Felice 2. Founded in 1944, the organization sponsors lectures, debates, and conferences. Promenades and open spaces: All open spaces are near the city's port. In front of the train station near the Stampace neighborhood, stands a garden with two enormous Ficus magnolioides and large shade palms. Canary palms line Via Roma's traffic median. The porticos across the street provide shade for pedestrians heading for Piazza Amendola. The city's original dockyards have recently been transformed into a garden area whose new planting mixes with the older monumental trees, their trunks bearing the wounds of the last World War.
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