Cagliari
Càgliari is the capital of the island of
Sardinia, an autonomous region of
Italy.
Cagliari is called
Casteddu (literally,
the castle) in the
Sardinian language. It has about 160,000 inhabitants, or about 300,000 including the suburbs (metropolitan area) (Elmas, Pirri, Selargius, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu Sant'Elena).
Early history
Cagliari was inhabited since pre-historic periods for its favourable position between the sea and a fertile plain, its being sourrounded by two
swamps (which afforded defences from enemies from inner lands) and its vicinity to high and green mountains (to which people could evacuate if everything else was lost). Some testimonies of pre-historic inhabitants were found in
Monte Claro and in
Cape Sant'Elia.
Under the name of
Karalis it was one of a string of
Phoenician trading colonies in
Sardinia, including
Sulcis,
Nora, and
Tharros, that were founded from
Tyre in the 7th century BC. It passed with the rest of the island first to the control of
Carthage and then to
Rome in
238 BC when the
Romans defeated the Carthaginians.
Subsequently ruled in turn by the
Vandals and the
Byzantine Empire, became the eponymous capital of an independent kingdom or
giudicato, ruled by a
giudice or
judike (literally "judge"). However, there is some evidence that during this period of independence from external rule, Cagliari was deserted because it was too exposed to attacks by
Moorish pirates from the sea. Apparently many people left Cagliari and founded a new town (named
Santa Igia) in an area close to the Santa Gilla swamp on the west of Cagliari, but distant from the sea. The "giudicato" of Karalis comprised a large area of the Campidano plain, the mineral resources of the Sulcis region and the
mountain region of
Ogliastra. Apart from Karalis, there were other three independent and autonomous kingdoms, or "giudicati", in Sardinia:
Torres in the north west, Gallura in the north east, and the most famous and long-lived
Arborea, with
Oristano as capital.
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The Cathedral of Cagliari, an example of the Pisane presence in Cagliari. |
11th century
During the 11th century, the
Pisan republic which had previously seized the Sulcis region in the south east, conquered the kingdom of Karalis and re-built the town of Cagliari. Pisa was one of the four Italian "maritime republics" that during the middle ages fought for control of the
Mediterranean sea and its commercial routes. The other
maritime republics were the short-lived
Amalfi,
Genoa and
Venice. Pisa and Genoa had a keen interest in Sardinia because it was a perfect strategic base for controlling the commercial routes between Italy and
North Africa.
Some of the fortifications that still surround the current district of Castello (Casteddu 'e susu in the Sardinian language) were built by the Pisans, most notably the two remaining white limestone towers designed by architect Giovanni Capula (originally there were three towers that guarded the three gates that gave access to the district). Together with the district of
Castello, Cagliari comprised the districts of
Marina (which included the port),
Stampace and
Villanova. Marina and Stampace were guarded by
walls, while Villanova, which mainly hosted peasants, was not.
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The S'Avanzada Gate in the walls of the Castello district. |
14th century
During the 14th century the kingdom of Aragon conquered Cagliari after a battle against the Pisans and advanced its plan to conquer all of Sardinia. When Sardinia was finally conquered by
Aragon, Cagliari (during the Catalan domination the city was named
Càller), became the
administrative capital of the
vice-kingdom of Sardinia, which later came under the rule of the
Spanish empire. Many agree that the Spanish domination was a period of decadence for Cagliari and Sardinia.
18th century
During the 18th century, after a brief rule of the
Austrian Habsburgs, Cagliari and Sardinia came under the
House of Savoy in 1720. As ruler of Sardinia, the Savoys took the title of kings of the Sardinian kingdom. The Sardinian kingdom comprised Savoy and
Nice (currently in
France),
Piedmont and
Liguria, as well as Sardinia. Although Sardinian by name, the kingdom had its capital in Turin, in mainland Italy, where the Savoys resided. The parliament was also in
Turin and its members were mainly aristocrats from
Piedmont or the mainland.
By the end of the 18th century, after the
French Revolution,
France tried to conquer Cagliari because of its strategic role in the Mediterranean sea. A French army landed in the Poetto beach and moved towards Cagliari, but the French were defeated by Sardinians who decided to defend themselves against the revolutionary army. People from Cagliari hoped to receive some concession from the Savoys in return for their defending the town: for example,
aristocrats from Cagliari asked for a Sardinian representative in the
parliament of the kingdom. When the Savoys refused any concession to the Sardinians, inhabitants of Cagliari rose up against the Savoys and expelled all representatives of the kingdom and people from Piedmont. This insurgence is celebrated in Cagliari during the "Die de sa Sardigna" (Sardinian Day) on the last weekend of April. However the Savoys regained control of the town after a brief period of
autonomous rule.
Modern age
From the
1870s, with the
unification of Italy, the city experienced a century of rapid growth. Many outstanding
buildings were erected by the end of the 18th century during the
office of Mayor
Ottone Bacaredda. Many of these buildings combined influences from
Art Nouveau together with the traditional Sardinian taste for
flower decoration: an example is the
white marble City Hall near the
port. Ottone Bacaredda is also famous for the
violent repression of one of the earlier worker strikes in the beginning of the 20th century.
During
World War II Cagliari was heavily bombed by the
Allies in February
1943. In order to escape from the
bombardments and the misery of the destroyed town, many people left Cagliari and moved to the country or rural villages, often living with friends and relatives in overcrowded houses. This flight from the town is knwon as "sfollamento" (deserting).
After the
Italian armistice with the
Allies in September 1943, the
German Army took control of Cagliari and the island, but soon retreated peacefully in order to reinforce their positions in mainland Italy. The
American Army then took control of Cagliari. Cagliari was strategically important during the war because of its location in the Mediterranean Sea. Many airports were near Cagliari (
Elmas,
Monserrato,
Decimomannu, currently a
NATO airbase) from which airplanes could fly to Northern Africa or mainland Italy and
Sicily.
After the war, the population of Cagliari boosted and many apartment blocks were erected in new
residential districts, often created with poor planning as for
recreational areas.
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The Basilica of San Saturno. |
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The Sanctuary of Nostra Signora di Bonaria. |
The old part of the city (called
Castello, the castle) lies on top of a
hill, with a wonderful view of the Gulf of Cagliari (also known as Angels Gulf). Most of its city walls are intact, and feature the two 13th century white lime-stone towers,
St. Pancras tower and the
Elephant tower. The local white lime-stone was also used to build the walls of the city and many builidings.
D.H. Lawrence, in his lively memoir of a voyage to Sardinia,
Sea and Sardinia, undertaken in January 1921, described the effect of the warm Mediterranean sun-light on the white lime-stone city and compared Cagliari to a "white Jerusalem".
The
Cathedral was restored in the
1930s turning the former Baroque façade into a
Medieval Pisan style façade, more akin to the original appearance of the
church. The bell tower is original. The interior has a nave and two aisles, with a pulpit (1159-1162) sculpted for the
Cathedral of Pisa but later donated to Cagliari. The crypt houses the remains of martyrs found in the Basilica of San Saturno (see below). Near the Cathedral is the palace of the Provincial Government (which used to be the island's governor's palace before
1900). In Castello is also the
Sardinian Archaeological Museum, the biggest and most important regarding the
prehistoric Nuragic civilisation of Sardinia. Finally, Castello hosts many craftsmen workshops in its tightened and scenic lanes.
The
Basilica of San Saturnino is one of the most important Palaeo-Christian monuments in Sardinia. Dedicated to the martyr killed under
Diocletian's reign, it was built in the 5th century. Of the original building the central part remain and the dome, to which two armes (one with a nave and two aisles) was added. A Palaeo-Christian crpyt is also under the church of
San Lucifero (1660). This has a Baroque façade with ancient columns and sculpted parts, some of which found in the nearby
necropolis.
The
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bonaria was built by the Aragonese in 1324-1329 during the siege to the Castle in which the Pisan had took shelter. It has a small Gothic portal in the façade and in the interior houses a wooden statue of the Madonna, which was thrown off by a Spanish ship and landed at the feet of the Bonaria hill. The cloister of the convent is home to the Marinery Museum.
The other early districts of the town (Marina, Stampace, Villanova) retain much of their original appeal and still seem to function as distinct villages within the town.
A testimony of the Roman domination is the
Roman Amphitheatre, carved into a block of rock (the typical lime-stone on which Cagliari is built). The Amphitheatre still stages open-air operas and concerts during the
summer.
The districts built in the
1930s spot some nice examples of
Art Deco architecture and some controversial examples of Fascist
neoclassicism, such as the Justice Court (Palazzo di Giustizia) in the Republic Square. The Justice Court is close to the biggest town park, Monte Urpinu, with its pine trees and artificial lakes. The park includes a vast area of a hill.
Cagliari has one of the longest beaches in an Italian town. The
Poetto beach stretches for 13 km. and was famous for its white fine-grained sand. A recent controversial intervention to save the beach from erosion has slightly altered the original texture of the sand.
Cagliari is home to the football team
Cagliari Calcio, winner of the Italian league championship in 1970, with the team led by one of the greatest Italian strikers of all times,
Gigi Riva.The place is ideal for water sports like
Kitesurf, wind blows very often with the right intensity.
Cagliari is an ideal location for
sailing,
kitesurfing,
hiking and outdoor sports. It has a mild climate, often refreshed by northern-west winds. It is close to other beautiful sea-side locations, such as Maddalena Beach, Chia or Villasimius, still relatively unspoilt by tourism and is also close to mountain parks, such as Monte Arcosu or Maidopis, with large forests and wildlife (Sardinian deers, wild boars, etc.).
Cagliari has some peculiar gastronomic traditions. Many dishes are based on the wide variety of
fish and
sea food available. Although it is possible to trace influences from Spanish gastronomy, Cagliaritanian food has a distintctive and unique character. Very good
wines are also part of Cagliaritanians' dinners: excellent wines are in fact produced in the nearby vineyards of the Campidano plain.
Life in Cagliari has been vividly depicted by
Sergio Atzeni, who set many of his novels and short stories in ancient and modern Cagliari. Among these, available in English, is "Bakunin's son".
A church in Cagliari gives its name to
Buenos Aires. The Spaniard who founded Buenos Aires visited the church of Bonaria (fair winds) and asked for help from the Mary of Bonaria, to whom the church is dedicated. The church faces the sea and was allegedly built where a sailor landed after the Mary of Bonaria appeared in the midst of a tempest and saved the sailor and his ship from sinking.
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Official website*
ItalianVisits.com*
Satellite picture by Google Maps*
Sardinia tourist information*
Sardinia travel guide
