Voices from the past

Cagliari is the administrative centre of Sardinia, known as the isola continente or the "mainland island" It is also a town rich in history and head of a provincial territory which is rugged and extraordinary in its beauty.
A Carthaginian colony, a Spanish town under the Aragonians, Savoy from 1718: Cagliari fuses together its many traces from its various occupations, yet remains, like the rest of the region, proud of an identity which is indisputably Sardinian. Its places and monuments hold testimony to this: from the 13th Century Duomo, which conserves the tomb of the Aragonese but also that of the Savoy house, to the Palazzo regio, old residence of the Spanish viceroys which between 1799 and 1815 hosted the Savoy court of Turin, to the Citadella dei Musei. The latter includes the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, the Pinacoteca Nazionale, the Museo d'Arte Siamese, a collection of wax figures and a room which periodically hosts exhibitions. The Museo Archeologico, in particular, is definitely worth a visit. It has an exceptional collection of bronze statuettes from the Nuraghic civilisation, and a large collection of Phoenician jewellery.
In recent years, the densely-populated town of Quartu Sant'Elena has become a place for "intelligent" tourism interested in the natural heritage of its surroundings. In the Parco dei Sette Fratelli, you can still admire Sardinian deer, wild boar, predators, rodents and other small animals which live in a wild forest full of rocky crags, streams and waterfalls. Of most interest is the lagoon known as the Stagno di Molentargius, where you can find over half the species of birds in Europe, including magnificent pink flamingos.

Don't miss...

The province of Cagliari includes a real jewel, still little known by mass tourism: the area of Costa Verde, an almost wild stretch of coast between Arbus and Buggerru. Along with splendid beaches, the area also has fascinating interior, in which one of Europe's first parks devoted to the history of mining and the area's geology was created in 2001. The mines in the area around Iglesias and Sulcis no longer have working viability, and the park is a key to reconverting derelict mines. In restructuring the buildings of the old mines and making it possible to visit the actual mines - of lead, silver, iron and coal - characteristic and authentic open-air museums have been created.
Don't miss the splendid churches of Quartu Sant'Elena, in particular those of Santa Maria di Cepola and Sant'Agata, of the 11th century, and that of San Pietro di Ponte, probably of Byzantine origin, restructured by the Vittorini monks at the beginning of the 12th century in Romanesque style.

Events

Cagliari's most suggestive festival is the Sagra di Sant'Efisio, from the 1st to the 4th May. It began in 1656 as homage to the saint who had freed Sardinia from the plague. The procession which accompanies the carriage with the sacred image of Sant'Efisio begins with the traccas, old wagons led by finely-decorated oxen. This is followed by groups of pilgrims from all over Sardinia dressed in traditional costumes, by historical pageants and by musicians playing the launeddas, a very old wind instrument is still used on the island.