Cagliari

Cagliari has a plurumillenarian history that has left its signs and its traces in the whole town. They are more or less visible and important; in fact, Phoenicians, Vandals, Byzantines, Pisans, Genoese, Aragonese and Catalans, Spanish and Piedmontese people passed or stayed in Cagliari during the course of its history.They have left their traces both in the streets and in the buildings of the town, as well as in the language.

The Phoenicians were considered the most ancient founders of Karalis or Karales, a wonderful place with a fantastic sea, marvellous landscapes spreading in lenght from East to West, from Capo S. Elia to the beach of Giorgino, from Quartu S. Elena’s shore to the eastern coasts of Pula. Cagliari also became an important maritime and commercial town after the Carthaginian domination, as well.

The history of Cagliari began a few millenaries ago, with the first human settlings in the shelters of S. Elia and S. Bartolomeo, dating back to the Neolithic Era. In the following centuries, the Phoenicians founded a town, equipped with an emporium port and with a few necropolis. Besides, in 46 B.C., the Romans built the first municipium, situated between Stampace and the sea, that became the seat of important buildings and infrastructures, as well.

When the late ancient Byzantine empire declined, lots of different populations settled down in the town, expecially from the Christian area to S. Saturnino and the lagunes of S. Gilla, eastwards. The town became the site of the “judges”, with religious and civil buildings, as well as the bishop’s seat and the inner port. In the XI century it also became the chieftown of the homonymous “Giudicato”, before passing to the hands of the Pisans’.

In fact, exactly in 1257, Pisa destroyed the lagoon town and created a medieval town with the Castello area (Castrum Calaris) and its surroundings (Marina, Stampace and Villanova), nowdays considered as the most expressive nucleus of the historical town. So, Cagliari became one of the most important towns in the Maediterranean sea, thanks to a lively artistic flourishing.

During the Middle Ages, some merchants and the mendicant Orders of Franciscans, Domenicans and Augustians settle down in the town, supporting the urban development of the Castello and the Marina Quarters. But only after a few years the Catalans and the Aragonese sieged the town and gave birth to the new Bonaria quarter and they also built an important sanctuary in gothic Catalan style. In 1324, the Aragonese king Pietro I ordered a big Parliament to be built in the town; so Cagliari, well-known as Caller, culturally and linguistically became Spanish until the beginning of the XVIII century.

After the Spanish domination, Sardinia and its chieftown went through a very difficult period. In fact, in 1720 the town passed into other hands; the Austrian Crown appointed the Duke of Savoy “King of Sardinia” and he began to rule all the island, including Cagliari itself. The Savoy dynasty reigned in Cagliari until 1794, when the royal family was expelled and the viceroy murdered, because of the birth of some terrible revolts against the Piedmontese that rose after the French Revolution of 1789.

During the XIX century, the population began to increase, passing from 30.000 inhabitants to 53.000 in 1901. It’s the moment for several great public works, such as markets, townhalls, the arrangements of the Bastion of Saint Remy and water systems that completely transformed the town into the greatest Sardinian leadership.

During the Fascism, in 1930, Cagliari had a population of about 100.000 inhabitants, including also its limitrophe centres of Selargius, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Pirri and Elmas.

During the Second World War, the bombardments caused the lost of renowned monuments and buildings and they deeply affected the urban tissue. Only after few years, exactly after the end of the war, in 1948, Cagliari became chief town of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia.

Cagliari as the Sardinian capital town

The capital of Sardinia is a large and modern town. It consists of various old and new quarters, a wide harbour and different economic activities, closely connected to all its near villages. In Cagliari there are also an intense vehicular traffic, an active trade and lively cultural relations, thanks to the presence of the university and of the regional government, as well.

Cagliari is situated in a nice panoramic position in the middle of the Golfo degli Angeli or Golfo di Cagliari, with its old and new quarters dominated by different mountains or hills, such as the Colle di Castello in the middle of the town, the Colle di Monte Urpinu eastwards and the Colle di S. Michele westwards. On the western and eastern sides of the town you can admire the wide ponds of Cagliari.

The harbour of the town is placed in front of the old Stampace and Marina quarters. In 1995 the Commune of Cagliari gave orders to create a large Harbour-channel at the opening of the S. Gilla’s pond, although nowdays it is not working at all. Eastwards, there’s the fantastic tourist harbour called Marina Piccola, situated not much far from the famous beach Il Poetto, dominated by the imposing Devil’s Rock. Cagliari has another small harbour, Su Siccu Harbour, placed in front of the characteristic Basilica of Bonaria.

The historic centre is the most interesting part of the town. In particular, the famous quarter Il Castello, positioned on a hill in the middle of the town has a very old history, as well as the Stampace, Villanova and Marina quarters.