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Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
, an
autonomous region An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy†...
of
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitants, while its metropolitan city (including Cagliari and 16 other nearby municipalities) has more than 431,000 inhabitants. According to
Eurostat Eurostat ('European Statistical Office'; DG ESTAT) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statis ...
, the population of the
Functional urban area The larger urban zone (LUZ), or functional urban area (FUA), is a measure of the population and expanse of metropolitan and surrounding areas which may or may not be exclusively urban. It consists of a city and its commuting zone outside it. Th ...
, the commuting zone of Cagliari, rises to 476,975. Cagliari is the 26th largest city in Italy and the largest city on the island of Sardinia. An ancient city with a long history, Cagliari has seen the rule of several civilisations. Under the buildings of the modern city there is a continuous stratification attesting to human settlement over the course of some five thousand years, from the
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
to today. Historical sites include the prehistoric Domus de Janas, very damaged by cave activity, a large Carthaginian era
necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...
, a Roman era
amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
, a
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
, three Pisan-era towers and a strong system of fortification that made the town the core of Spanish Habsburg imperial power in the western
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
. Its natural resources have always been its sheltered harbour, the often powerfully fortified hill of ''Castel di Castro'', the modern ''Casteddu'', the
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
from its lagoons, and, from the
hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated ...
, wheat from the Campidano plain and silver and other ores from the
Iglesiente The Iglesiente is a traditional and geographical subdivision of Sardinia, Italy. It encompasses the northern province of Carbonia-Iglesias and the south-western one of the province of Medio Campidano, and its main center is Iglesias. Languages ...
mines. Cagliari was the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1324 to 1848, when
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
became the formal capital of the kingdom (which in 1861 became the
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
). Today the city is a regional cultural, educational, political and artistic centre, known for its diverse
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
architecture and several monuments. It is also Sardinia's economic and industrial hub, having one of the biggest ports in the Mediterranean Sea, an
international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
, and the 106th highest income level in Italy (among 8,092 comuni), comparable to that of several northern Italian cities. It is also the seat of the
University of Cagliari The University of Cagliari ( it, Università degli Studi di Cagliari) is a university in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It was founded in 1606 and is organized in 11 faculties. History The ''Studium Generalis Kalaritanum'' was founded in 1606 alon ...
, founded in 1607, and of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cagliari, since the 5th century AD.


History


Early history

The Cagliari area has been inhabited since the
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
. It occupies a favourable position between the sea and a fertile plain and is surrounded by two
marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
es (which provides defence against attacks from the inland). There are high mountains nearby, to which people could evacuate if the settlement had to be given up. Relics of prehistoric inhabitants were found in the hill of Monte Claro (
Monte Claro culture The Monte Claro culture was a Chalcolithic culture that spread throughout the island of Sardinia around the second half of the 3rd millennium BC (2400-2100 BC). It takes its name from a hill located in the city of Cagliari, where important discover ...
) and in
Cape Sant'Elia A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. The ...
(several domus de janas). Karaly ( xpu, ð¤Šð¤“ð¤‹ð¤‰, ) was established around the 8th/7th century BC as one of a string of
Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
n colonies in Sardinia, including
Tharros Tharros (also spelled Tharras, Archaic Greek: , Hellenistic Greek, Tarras or Tarrae, ΤάÏÏαι) was an ancient city and former bishopric on the west coast of Sardinia, Italy. It is currently a Latin Catholic titular see and an archaeological ...
. The etymology of the toponym is unknown. It almost certainly does not come from the Phoenician language, but it has some similarities with other Sardinian or Asia Minor toponyms. Its founding is linked to its position along communication routes with Africa as well as to its excellent port. The Phoenician settlement was located in the
Stagno di Santa Gilla The Stagno di Santa Gilla, or Stagno di Cagliari (literally ‘Pool of Cagliari’), is a coastal lagoon at the mouths of the rivers Cixerri and Mannu near Cagliari, on the Golfo degli Angeli in southern Sardinia, Italy. It has been designated ...
, west of the present centre of Cagliari. This was also the site of the Roman ''Portus Scipio'', and when Arab pirates raided the area in the 8th century it became the refuge for people fleeing from the city. Other Phoenician settlements have been found at Cape Sant'Elia. In the late 6th century BC
Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
took control of part of Sardinia, and Cagliari grew substantially under their domination, as testified by the large
Tuvixeddu necropolis The necropolis of Tuvixeddu () is a Punic necropolis, the largest in the Mediterranean. It is located in a hill inside the city of Cagliari, Sardinia called Tuvixeddu (meaning "little cavity" in Sardinian). History Between the 6th and 3rd cent ...
and other remains. Cagliari was a fortified settlement in what is now the modern Marina quarter, with an annexed holy area in the modern Stampace. Sardinia and Cagliari came under Roman rule in 238 BC, shortly after the
First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...
, when the Romans defeated the Carthaginians. No mention of it is found on the occasion of the Roman conquest of the island but, during the
Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...
, Caralis was the headquarters of the praetor, Titus Manlius Torquatus, whence he conducted his operations against
Hampsicora Hampsicora (3rd century BC - Cornus, 215 BC) was a Sardo-Punic political leader and landowner of Sardinia, and the leader of the major anti-Roman revolt () in the province of 215 BC. The sources describe Hampsicora as the richest among the land ...
and the Carthaginians. At other times it was also the Romans' chief naval station on the island and the residence of its praetor. The Romans built a new settlement east of the old Punic city, the ''vicus munitus Caralis'' (i.e. the fortified
community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
of Caralis) mentioned by Varro Atacinus. The two urban agglomerations merged gradually during the second century BC; to this process is perhaps attributable the plural name Carales. Florus calls it the ''urbs urbium'' or capital of Sardinia. He represents it as taken and severely punished by
Gracchus The Gracchi brothers were two Roman brothers, sons of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus who was consul in 177 BC. Tiberius, the elder brother, was tribune of the plebs in 133 BC and Gaius, the younger brother, was tribune a decade later in ...
, but this statement is wholly at variance with Livy's account of the wars of Gracchus, in Sardinia, according to which the cities were faithful to Rome, and the revolt was confined to the mountain tribes. In the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
between
Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...
and
Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC â€“ 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
, the citizens of Caralis were the first to declare in favor of the former, an example soon followed by the other cities of Sardinia; and Caesar himself touched there with his fleet on his return from Africa. A few years later, when Sardinia fell into the hands of Menas, the lieutenant of
Sextus Pompeius Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius ( 67 – 35 BC), also known in English as Sextus Pompey, was a Roman military leader who, throughout his life, upheld the cause of his father, Pompey the Great, against Julius Caesar and his supporters during the last ...
, Caralis was the only city which offered any resistance, but was taken after a short siege. Cagliari continued to be regarded as the capital of the island under the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn RhÅmaíÅn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
, and though it did not become a
colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
, obtained the status of ''
municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privi ...
''. Remains of Roman public buildings were found to the west of Marina in Piazza del Carmine. There was an area of ordinary housing near the modern Via Roma, and richer houses on the slopes of the Marina distinct. The amphitheatre is located to the west of the Castello. A
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (ΧÏι ...
community is attested in Cagliari at least as early as the 3rd century, and by the end of that century the city had a Christian bishop. In the middle decades of the 4th century bishop
Lucifer of Cagliari Lucifer of Cagliari ( la, Lucifer Calaritanus, it, Lucifero da Cagliari; died 20 May 370 or 371) was a bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia known for his passionate opposition to Arianism. He is venerated as a Saint in Sardinia, though his status rem ...
was exiled because of his opposition to the sentence against
Athanasius of Alexandria Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓâ²â²…ⲓⲟⲥ â²â²‘â²â²›â²â²¥â²“ⲟⲩ ⲡⲓâ²â²¡â²Ÿâ²¥â²§â²Ÿâ²—ⲓⲕⲟⲥ or â² â²â²¡â² â²â²‘â²â²›â²â²¥â²“ⲟⲩ â²Ì…; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...
at the Synod of Milan. He was banished to the desert of
Thebais The Thebaid or Thebais ( grc-gre, ΘηβαÎÏ‚, ''ThÄ“baïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan. Pharaonic history The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximity to ...
by the emperor Constantius II.
Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (; c. 370 – c. 404 AD), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost ent ...
describes the ancient city of Karalis as extending to a considerable length towards the promontory or headland, the projection of which sheltered its port. The port affords good anchorage for large vessels, but besides this, which is only a well-sheltered standby, there is a large salt-water lake or lagoon, called the Stagno di Cagliari, adjoining the city and communicating by a narrow channel with the bay, which appears from Claudian to have been used in ancient times as an inner harbor or basin. The promontory adjoining the city is evidently that noticed by Ptolemy (), but the Caralitanum Promontorium of Pliny can be no other than the headland, now called
Capo Carbonara Cape Carbonara (Italian: ''Capo Carbonara'', Sardinian: ''Cabo Crabonaxa'') is a promontory on the southeastern tip of Sardinia, Italy, which forms the eastern end of the Gulf of Cagliari. Together with the nearby Cavoli Island and Serpentara Isla ...
, which forms the eastern boundary of the
Gulf of Cagliari "Sella del Diavolo" (Devil's saddle) promontory seen from the Poetto beach near Cagliari. The Golfo di Cagliari ( en, Gulf of Cagliari, sc, Golfu de Casteddu), also known as Golfo degli Angeli ( en, Gulf of the Angels) is a large bay in souther ...
and the southeast point of the whole island. Immediately off it lay the little island of Ficaria, now called the ''Isola dei Cavoli'' ("Cabbage Island" in Italian, ''Isula de is Càvurus'' "Crab Island" in Sardinian). After the fall of the
Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
Cagliari fell, together with the rest of Sardinia, into the hands of the
Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...
, but appears to have retained its importance throughout the Middle Ages.


Judicate of Cagliari

Subsequently, ruled by the Vandals,
Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...
, and then part of the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, Cagliari became the capital of a gradually independent Judicate, (from Latin Iudex, Governor and Supreme Magistrate, used in late Roman and Byzantine period, along with the medieval Greek ἄÏχων). This state was born around 1020 and was overthrown by the Republic of Pisa in 1258. Due to the overlap of buildings since the year 800 B.C., and the scarcity of archeological and historical informations, it was believed that the population was moved to more inland areas of the territory, along the lagoon, in a city called Santa Ilia or
Santa Igia Santa Igia or Santa Ilia, modern Santa Gilla lagoon (''Santa Ilia'' being a contraction of ''Santa Cecilia''Corrado Zedda; p. 121.), was a city in Sardinia, in what is now Italy, which existed from the 9th century AD to 1258, when it was destroyed ...
(modern San Gilla) and it was believed that the ancient Roman and Byzantine city had been abandoned because it was too exposed to attacks by
Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...
pirates coming from north Africa and Spain. Recent studies have instead hypothesized that the capital of the Giudicato was located around the road that it directed towards
Sassari Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...
, today called Corso Vittorio Emanuele II (in Sardinian language: Su Brugu, the borough), although there are not yet archeological confirmations, particularly of the Cathedral and the Judex Palace, destroyed after the Pisan conquest. The Judicate of Cagliari comprised a large area of the Campidano plain, the
Sulcis Sulcis (''Maurreddia'' or ''Meurreddia'' in Sardinian language) is a subregion of Sardinia, Italy, in the Province of South Sardinia. Geographical extension Its municipalities are: Calasetta, Carbonia, Carloforte, Giba, Gonnesa, Masainas, Narc ...
-
Iglesiente The Iglesiente is a traditional and geographical subdivision of Sardinia, Italy. It encompasses the northern province of Carbonia-Iglesias and the south-western one of the province of Medio Campidano, and its main center is Iglesias. Languages ...
and the mountain region of
Ogliastra The province of Ogliastra ( it, provincia dell'Ogliastra , sc, provìntzia de s'Ogiastra) was a former province in eastern Sardinia, Italy. Ogliastra was the most mountainous province in Sardinia. With only some 57,642 inhabitants, it was also t ...
.


11th to 13th century

During the 11th century, the Republic of Pisa began to extend its political influence over the Judgedom of Cagliari. Pisa and the maritime
republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...
had a keen interest in Sardinia because it was a perfect strategic base for controlling the commercial routes between Italy and North Africa. In 1215 the Pisan
Lamberto Visconti Lamberto Visconti di Eldizio (died 1225) was the Judge of Gallura from 1206, when he married the heiress Elena, to his own death. He was a member of the Visconti family of Pisa and the first of that dynasty to rule in Sardinia, where they lasted i ...
, husband of
Elena of Gallura Elena (c. 1190–1218) was the daughter and successor of Barisone II of Gallura and was named after her mother Odolina of the Lacon family. First queen regnant in Sardinia, she ruled Gallura from the death of her father until her own death, though ...
, forced the judikessa
Benedetta of Cagliari Benedetta (c. 1194 – 1232/33) was the daughter and heiress of William I of Cagliari and Adelasia, daughter of Moroello Malaspina. She succeeded her father in January or February 1214. She was consecrated in 1214 by Riccus, Archbishop of Ca ...
to give him the mount located east of
Santa Igia Santa Igia or Santa Ilia, modern Santa Gilla lagoon (''Santa Ilia'' being a contraction of ''Santa Cecilia''Corrado Zedda; p. 121.), was a city in Sardinia, in what is now Italy, which existed from the 9th century AD to 1258, when it was destroyed ...
. Soon (1216–17) Pisan merchants established there a new fortified city, known as ''Castel di Castro'', which can be considered the ancestor of the modern city of Cagliari. In 1258, after the defeat of
William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...
, the last king of Cagliari, the Pisans and their Sardinian allies (
Arborea Arborea is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding with production of vegetables, rice, fruit and milk (notably the local milk product Arborea). Histo ...
,
Gallura Gallura ( sdn, Gaddura or ; sc, Caddura ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy. The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area". Geography Gallùra has a surface of and it is situated between 40°55'20"64 latitude ...
and Logudoro) destroyed the old capital of Santa Igia. The Judgedom of Cagliari was then divided into three parts: the northeast third went to Gallura; the central portion was incorporated into Arborea;
Sulcis Sulcis (''Maurreddia'' or ''Meurreddia'' in Sardinian language) is a subregion of Sardinia, Italy, in the Province of South Sardinia. Geographical extension Its municipalities are: Calasetta, Carbonia, Carloforte, Giba, Gonnesa, Masainas, Narc ...
and
Iglesiente The Iglesiente is a traditional and geographical subdivision of Sardinia, Italy. It encompasses the northern province of Carbonia-Iglesias and the south-western one of the province of Medio Campidano, and its main center is Iglesias. Languages ...
, on the southwest, were given to the Pisan
della Gherardesca The House della Gherardesca was an old noble family of the Republic of Pisa, dating back as early as the 11th century of Longobard origin. They were an important one of the most prominent initially in Pisa, then of Volterra and eventually and of F ...
family, while the Republic of Pisa maintained control over its colony of Castel di Castro. Some of the fortifications that still surround the current district of Castello were built by the Pisans, including the two remaining white limestone towers (early 14th century) designed by the architect
Giovanni Capula Giovanni Capula was an architect of likely Sardinian origin of the 13th–14th century. Biography Little is known about him, the inscriptions of the Tower of San Pancrazio and the Tower of the Elephant of Cagliari, where he's defined ''Architec ...
. Together with the district of Castello, Castel di Castro comprised the districts of
Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
(which included the port), and later and Villanova. Marina and Stampace were guarded by walls, in contrast to Villanova, which was mostly home to peasants.


14th to 17th centuries

In the second decade of the 14th century the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...
conquered Sardinia after a series of battles against the
Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
ns. During the siege of Castel di Castro (1324-1326), the Aragonese, led by Alfonso IV of Aragon, built a stronghold on a more southern hill, that of Bonaria. When the fortified city was finally conquered by the Aragonese army, Castel di Castro (''Castel de Càller'' or simply Càller in
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
) became the administrative capital of the newborn Kingdom of Sardinia, one of the many kingdoms forming the Crown of Aragon, which later came under the rule of the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
. After the expulsion of the Tuscans, the Castello district was repopulated by the Aragonese settlers of Bonaria while the indigenous population was, as in the past, concentrated in Stampace and Villanova. The
kings of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre in ...
and later the
kings of Spain This is a list of Spanish monarchs, that is, rulers of the country of Spain. The forerunners of the monarchs of the Spanish throne were the following: *Kings of the Visigoths * Kings of Asturias * Kings of Navarre *Kings of León *Kings of Gal ...
, were represented in Cagliari by a
viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...
, who resided in the
Palazzo Regio The Palazzo Regio (''Royal palace''), also known as Viceregio (''Viceroyal palace''), is a historic building in Cagliari, the ancient residence of the representative of the king of Sardinia during the Aragonese, Spanish and Savoy domination and ...
. In the 16th century the fortifications of the city were strengthened with the construction of the
bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...
s and the rights and benefits of the Aragonese were extended to all citizens. The intellectual life was relatively lively and in the early years of the 17th century the university was founded.


18th century

In 1718, after a brief rule by the
Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
, Cagliari and
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
came under the
House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
. As rulers of Sardinia, the Savoys took the title of kings of the Sardinian kingdom. During the Savoyard Era, until 1848, the institutions of the Sardinian kingdom remained unchanged, but with the "
Perfect Fusion The Perfect Fusion ( it, Fusione perfetta) was the 1847 act of the Savoyard king Charles Albert of Sardinia which abolished the administrative differences between the mainland states ( Savoy and Piedmont) and the island of Sardinia, in a fashion ...
" in that year, all the possessions of the House of Savoy House, comprising
Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...
,
Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Îίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
(now part of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
),
Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
and from 1815
Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
, were merged into a unitary state. Although Sardinian by name, the kingdom had its parliament in
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, where the Savoys resided, and its members were mainly aristocrats from
Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
or the mainland. In the late 18th century during the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
France tried to conquer Cagliari because of its strategic role in the Mediterranean sea (''
Expédition de Sardaigne The French expedition to Sardinia was a short military campaign fought in 1793 in the Mediterranean Sea in the first year of the War of the First Coalition, during the French Revolutionary Wars. The operation was the first offensive by the new ...
''). A French army landed on Poetto beach and advanced towards Cagliari, but the French were defeated by Sardinians who had decided to defend themselves against the revolutionary army. The people of Cagliari hoped to receive some concession from the Savoys in return for their defence of the town. For example, aristocrats from Cagliari asked for a Sardinian representative in the
parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
of the kingdom. When the Savoyards refused any concession to the Sardinians, the inhabitants of Cagliari rose up against them and expelled all the representatives of the kingdom along with the Piedmontese rulers. This insurgence is celebrated in Cagliari during ''
Sa die de sa Sardigna Sardinia's Day ( sc, sa die de sa Sardigna ; sdc, la dì di la Sardigna; sdn, la dì di la Saldigna; ca, label= Algherese, lo dia de la Sardenya; it, il giorno della Sardegna), also known as Sardinian people's Day ( it, Giornata del popolo sa ...
'' ("The day of Sardinia") on the last weekend of April. However, the Savoys regained control of the town after a brief period of autonomous rule.


Modern age

The population by the 1840s had reached 29,000. Starting in the 1870s, in the wake of the
unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century Political movement, political and social movement that resulted in the Merger (politics), consolidation of List of historic stat ...
, the city experienced a century of rapid growth. Many buildings were erected by the end of the 19th century during the term of office of mayor Ottone Bacaredda. Numerous buildings combined influences from
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
together with the traditional Sardinian taste for floral decoration; an example is the white marble
City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
near the port. Bacaredda is also known for his strong repression of one of the earliest worker strikes at the beginning of the 20th century. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Cagliari was heavily bombed by the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
in February 1943. In order to escape from the danger of bombardments and difficult living conditions, many people were evacuated from the city into the countryside. In total the victims of the bombings were more than 2000 and about 80% of the buildings were damaged. The city received the
Gold Medal of Military Valour The Gold Medal of Military Valour ( it, Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The fac ...
. After the Italian armistice with the Allies in September 1943, the
German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
took control of Cagliari and the island, but soon retreated peacefully in order to reinforce their positions in mainland Italy. The
American Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
then took control of Cagliari. Airports near the city (
Elmas Elmas, Su Masu in Sardinian language, is a ''comune'' (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Cagliari in the Italian region of Sardinia, located about northwest of Cagliari. Until 1989 Elmas was a district of Cagliari. It is best known ...
,
Monserrato Monserrato (''Pauli'' or ''Paulli'' in Sardinian language) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, southern Sardinia, Italy, located about northeast of Cagliari. Monserrato borders the following municipalities: Cag ...
,
Decimomannu Decimomannu ( sc, Deximumannu or ) is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It is located about northwest of central Cagliari and had a population of about 8,115 . Geography Decimomannu borders the municipalities of ...
, currently a
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
airbase) were used by Allied aircraft to fly to North Africa or mainland Italy and
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
. After the war, the population of Cagliari grew again and many apartment blocks and recreational areas were erected in new residential districts.


Coats of Arms of Cagliari

File:Stemma di Cagliari pisana.jpg, 13th century File:STEMMA DI CAGLIARI NELLA CORONA D'ARAGONA dal gonfalone dell'università, 1606.jpg, From the 14th to 17th century File:Cagliari-Stemma sabaudo da L'archivio comunale di Cagliari.png, From the 18th century to the present


Geography

The city of Cagliari is situated in the south of Sardinia, overlooking the centre of the eponymous gulf, also called
Golfo degli Angeli "Sella del Diavolo" (Devil's saddle) promontory seen from the Poetto beach near Cagliari. The Golfo di Cagliari ( en, Gulf of Cagliari, sc, Golfu de Casteddu), also known as Golfo degli Angeli ( en, Gulf of the Angels) is a large bay in souther ...
("Bay of Angels") after an ancient legend. The city is spread over and around the hill of the historic district of Castello and nine other limestone hills of the middle-to-late Miocene, unique heights of a little more than
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...
on the long plains of Campidano. The plain is actually a
Graben In geology, a graben () is a depressed block of the crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults. Etymology ''Graben'' is a loan word from German, meaning 'ditch' or 'trench'. The word was first used in the geologic contex ...
formed during the Alpine orogeny of the Cenozoic, which separated Sardinia from the European continent, roughly where the Gulf of Lion is now. The Graben filled in the course of Tectonics, tectonic movements associated with the breakup of the ancient island Paleozoic skeleton. The repeated intrusion of the sea left calcareous sediments that formed a series of hills that mark the territory of Cagliari. Castello is where the fortified town arose in the Middle Age near the harbour of the port, other hills are those of Mount Urpinu, the St. Elias hill, also known as the ''Sella del Diavolo'' ("Saddle of the Devil") for its shape, Tuvumannu and Tuvixeddu, the site of the ancient Punic and Roman necropolis, the small Bonaria hill, where the basilica stands, and the San Michele hill, with the eponymous castle on top. The modern city occupies the flat spaces between the hills and the sea to the south and southeast, along the Poetto beach, the lagoons and ponds of Santa Gilla and Molentargius, and the remains of more recent marine intrusions, in an articulate landscape with many landmarks and panoramas of the bay, the plain, and the mountains that surround it on the east (The Seven Brothers and Serpeddì) and west (the mountains of Capoterra). On the cold, clear days of winter, the snowy peaks of Gennargentu can be seen from the highest points of the city. The city has four historic neighbourhoods: Castello, Marina, Stampace and Villanova and several modern districts (such as San Benedetto, Monte Urpinu and Genneruxi at the east, Sant'Avendrace at the west, Is Mirrionis/San Michele at north and Bonaria, La Palma and Poetto at the south), grown when part of the ancient walls had been demolished in the middle of the 19th century.


Pirri

The comune of Cagliari has one circoscrizione, the town of Pirri, Sardinia, Pirri (about 30.000 inhabitants), former village of the Campidano absorbed in the fast growth after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.


Parks and recreation

Cagliari is one of the "greenest" Italian cities. Every inhabitant of Cagliari has access to of public gardens and parks. Its mild climate allows the growth of numerous subtropical plants, such as ''Jacaranda mimosifolia'', ''Ficus macrophylla'', with some huge specimens in Via Roma and in the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Cagliari, University Botanic Gardens, ''Erythrina caffra'' with its stunning red flowers, ''Ficus retusa'', which provides shade for several of the city's streets, ''Araucaria heterophylla'', the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera''), the Canary Islands palm (''Phoenix canariensis'') and the Mexican Fan Palm (''Washingtonia robusta''). Major city parks include: * Monte Urpinu Park, the most wooded, is a low hill covered by a pine (''Pinus halepensis, Pinus halepensis Mill.'') and evergreen oak (''Quercus ilex, Quercus ilex L.'') forest with a dense Mediterranean maquis of mastic (''Pistacia lentiscus, Pistacia lentiscus L.''), juniper (''Juniperus phoenicea, Juniperus phoenicea L.''), Kermes oak (''Quercus coccifera, Quercus coccifera L.''), wild olive (''Olea europaea, Olea europaea L. ssp. europaea, var. sylvestris'') and tree spurge (''Euphorbia dendroides, Euphorbia dendroides L.''). It extends for about . * Park of San Michele hill (about 25 hectares), with its medieval castle on the top; * Terramaini Park, about , with a little pond which is home to flamingos and other wading birds; * Monte Claro Provincial Park, about , which hosts the provincial library in an old mansion on the top of the hill; * Ex-vetreria Pirri Park, about ; * Public gardens, the oldest public esplanade of the city, planted in the 19th century, with a wonderful promenade of ''Jacaranda mimosifolia, Jacaranda mimosifolia D.Don''. The Molentargius - Saline Regional Park is located near the city. Some mountain parks, such as Monte Arcosu or Maidopis, with large forests and wildlife (Sardinian deer, wild boars, etc.) are also nearby.


Beaches

The main beach of Cagliari is the Poetto. It stretches for about , from Sella del Diavolo ("Devil's Saddle") up to the coastline of Quartu Sant'Elena. Poetto is also the name of the district located on the western stretch of the strip between the beach and Saline di Molentargius ("Molentargius's Salt Mine"). Another smaller beach is that of Calamosca near the Sant'Elia district. On the coast between Calamosca and Poetto beaches, among the cliffs of the Sella del Diavolo, lies Cala Fighera, a small bay. Cagliari is close to other seaside locations such as Santa Margherita di Pula, Chia (Sardinia), Chia, Geremeas, Solanas, Villasimius and Costa Rei.


Climate

Cagliari has a Mediterranean climate, hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification, Köppen: ''Csa''), with hot, dry summers and mild winters like other historical regions along the coast. Its precipitation values also bring it closer to Semi-arid climate, semi-arid conditions. The summer extreme values can be slightly over , sometimes with very high humidity, while in winter, under special and rare conditions, the temperature drops slightly below zero. Heavy snowfalls occur on average every thirty years. The average temperature of the coldest month, January, is about , and of the warmest month, August, about . But heat waves can occur, due to African anticyclone, starting in June. From mid-June to mid-September, rain is a rare event, limited to brief afternoon storms. The rainy season starts in September, and the first cold days come in December. Winds are frequent, especially the mistral (wind), mistral and sirocco; in summer a marine sirocco breeze (called ''s'imbattu'' in Sardinian language) lowers the temperature and brings some relief from the heat.


Demographics

According to ISTAT, in 2014 there were 154,356 people residing in Cagliari (+3.0% compared with 2011), of whom 71,522 were male and 82,834 female for a human sex ratio, sex ratio of 0.86. Minors (children aged 18 and younger) totaled 12.92% of the population, compared to pensioners at 24.81%. The average age of Cagliari residents is 47.44. The ratio of the population over 65 years of age to that under the age of 18, is 53.39%. The elderly population, defined as being over 65 years of age, has increased by 21.95% over the last 10 years. The current birth rate in Cagliari is 6.29 births per 1,000 inhabitants. The average number of people of any age per household is 2.11 and the percentage of households composed of a single person is 42.53%. The population of Cagliari is structured like that of other first world countries, especially as to the prevalence of an elderly population. The trend of these rates in the Cagliari metropolitan area is proportionally reversed in the suburbs, where most younger families move. , 4.26% (6,658 people) of the population was foreign, of which the largest group were Filipinos (21.33%), followed by Ukrainians (11.93%), Romanians (10.93%), Chinese people, Chinese (9.49%) and Senegalese (9.49%). In 1928, during the fascist regime, the neighbouring municipalities of Pirri, Sardinia, Pirri,
Monserrato Monserrato (''Pauli'' or ''Paulli'' in Sardinian language) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, southern Sardinia, Italy, located about northeast of Cagliari. Monserrato borders the following municipalities: Cag ...
, Selargius, Quartucciu and
Elmas Elmas, Su Masu in Sardinian language, is a ''comune'' (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Cagliari in the Italian region of Sardinia, located about northwest of Cagliari. Until 1989 Elmas was a district of Cagliari. It is best known ...
, were merged with that of Cagliari. Mussolini's regime wanted to streamline the local administration by eliminating many small towns and at the same time show that Italy was a major power with many large cities. After the war these small municipalities gradually regained their autonomy, except for the former town of Pirri, Sardinia, Pirri. The first table shows the inhabitants of the town in its present borders, the second one the commune population including the merged municipalities.


Metropolitan City

The Metropolitan City of Cagliari has been established in 2016 by a Sardinia Regional Law and totals about 431,000 inhabitants according to ISTAT. It is composed of 17 municipalities along the coast of the gulf and up to of the inner Campidano plain. It covers an area on the plain of Campidano between large basins (Santa Gilla lagoon and salt mills of about 30 km2 or 3200 acres), ponds (Molentargius, 16,22 km2 (40,10 acres) and the depopulated mountains up to above sea level. The mountains are largely covered by forests mostly managed by the Ente Foreste of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia. To the west these amount to on the Capoterra and Pula mountains. Monte Arcosu WWF Natural Reserve has another , and to the east on Mount Serpeddì and Sette Fratelli there are a total of of forest. The Metropolitan City is defined by municipalities where the population increased between the last two censuses, in a region where the population is otherwise generally decreasing. These municipalities welcome immigrants to the urban area whose main nucleus, the city of Cagliari, has a high number of elderly people. In the last century, the population of the municipalities of the metropolitan area increased by 354% and in the last 50 years by 158% (1911: 128,444; 1961: 288,683; 2011: 454,819). For the whole of Sardinia this increase was respectively 88% and 15% (1911: 868,181; 1961: 1,419,362; 2011: 1,639,362). The urbanisation towards the area of Cagliari was, in percentage terms, impressive, making the capital of the island a metropolis surrounded by rural areas increasingly depopulated. This urbanisation is also reflected in the concentration in Cagliari of most of the economic activities and wealth.


Economy

According to 2014 data from the Italian Ministry of Economic Affairs, the inhabitants of Cagliari benefited a per capita income of 23,220 euros (being the fifth Regional Capital), that is the 122% of the national average, while all of Sardinia benefited only 16,640 euros, being the 13th Region and 86% of the national average. The metropolitan area benefited an average income of 19,185 euros, 103% of the national average. With the 26% of the island population the Cagliari Metropolitan City produces the 31% of its GDP. As the capital city of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, Cagliari is the administrative hub and headquarters of the region as well as of the provincial and regional offices of the Italian central administration. Cagliari is also the main trade and industrial centre of the island, with numerous commercial sites and factories within its metropolitan boundaries. Cagliari is the fourth port of Italy for movement of goods in tons (35,922,468), and the 18th for passengers (705,715), of whome 394,697 cruise passengers (8th in Italy). The first department store, (La Rinascente) opened in 1931 in the centre of the city, and it is still open today. Nowadays there are many commercial centres in the metropolitan area (Le Vele, Santa Gilla, La Corte del Sole, Marconi) hosting many European chain stores such as Auchan, Metro AG, Lidl, Media Markt, MediaWorld, Euronics, Jysk (store), Jysk, IKEA, Carrefour and Bata Shoes. Cagliari is also home to an Amazon.com, Amazon customer service center. Cagliari is the main operational headquarters of the Banco di Sardegna, which belongs to the BPER Group and is listed on Borsa Italiana, of the Banca di Cagliari. Banca di Credito Sardo was based in Cagliari until it was absorbed by the parent company Intesa Sanpaolo. The Macchiareddu-Grogastru area between Cagliari and Capoterra is one of the most important industrial areas of Sardinia, in conjunction with a large international container terminal port at Giorgino. Beside having one of the biggest container terminals on the Mediterranean Sea, Cagliari also has one of the largest fish markets in Italy offering for sale a vast array of fish to both the public and traders. The communications provider Tiscali also has its headquarters in Cagliari. Multinational corporations like Coca-Cola, Heineken, Unilever, Bridgestone and Eni, Eni Group have factories in town. One of the six oil refinery supersites in Europe, Saras S.p.A., Saras, is located within the metropolitan area at Sarroch. Tourism is one of the major industries of the city, although historical venues such as its monumental Middle Ages and Early modern period defence system, its Carthaginian, Roman and Byzantine ruins are less highlighted compared to the recreational beaches and coastline. Cruise ships touring the Mediterranean often stop for passengers at Cagliari, and the city is a traffic hub to the nearby beaches of Villasimius, Chia (Sardinia), Chia, Pula, Sardinia, Pula and Costa Rei, as well as to the urban beach of Poettu. Pula is home to the archaeological site of the Punic and Roman city of Nora, Italy, Nora. Especially in summer many clubs and pubs are goals for young locals and tourists. Pubs and night-clubs are concentrated in the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, a narrow street in Stampace district, in the Marina district, near the port and in the Castello district, The clubs are mostly to be found on the Poetto Beach (in summer) or in Viale Marconi (in winter). In Cagliari there are 180 B&B and 22 hotels that totals 3,300 beds. There are many others hotels in seaside resort of his gulf.


Main sights

Considerable remains of the ancient city of Karalis are still visible, including those of the
Tuvixeddu necropolis The necropolis of Tuvixeddu () is a Punic necropolis, the largest in the Mediterranean. It is located in a hill inside the city of Cagliari, Sardinia called Tuvixeddu (meaning "little cavity" in Sardinian). History Between the 6th and 3rd cent ...
(the largest Punic necropolis still in existence), the Roman amphitheatre (Cagliari), Roman amphitheatre, traditionally called ''Is centu scalas'' ("One hundred steps"), and of an Roman aqueduct, aqueduct used to provide generally scarce water. Still visible are also some ancient cisterns of vast extent, the ruins of a small circular temple, and numerous sepulchres on a hill outside the modern town that appear to have formed the necropolis of the ancient city. The amphitheatre stages open-air operas and concerts during the summer. The Palaeo-Christian Basilica of San Saturnino, dedicated to a martyr killed under Diocletian's reign, Saturninus of Cagliari, patron saint of the city, was built in the 5th century. Of the original building the dome and the central part remain, to which two arms (one with a nave and two aisles) were added later. A Palaeo-Christian crypt is also under the church of ''San Lucifero'' (1660), dedicated to Saint Lucifer, a bishop of the city. The church has a Baroque façade with ancient columns and sculpted parts, some of which came from the nearby
necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...
. The old medieval town (called ''Castello'' in Italian, ''Casteddu de susu'' in Sardinian, "the upper castle") lies on top of a hill with a view of the Gulf of Cagliari (also known as Angels' Gulf). Most of its city walls are intact and include two early 14th-century white limestone towers, the Torre di San Pancrazio and the Torre dell'Elefante, typical examples of Pisan military architecture. The local white limestone was also used to build the walls of the city and many other buildings, besides the towers. The exact period of construction of a fortress on this hill is unknown at present, due to the superposition of layers of buildings along the history. Some scholars have suggested a first urbanization of the quarter in the Punic era on the basis of similarity of the planimetry with the contemporary Carthaginian fortress of Monte Sirai. Recently, archaeological excavations have identified Punic and Roman buildings under the ramparts of the fortress. Already the Roman poet Varro called the city "Vicus munitus", a fortified city, and sixteenth-century authors describe a Roman acropolis perhaps still visible in their day. D. H. Lawrence, in his memoir of a voyage to Sardinia, ''Sea and Sardinia'', that he undertook in January 1921, described the effect of warm Mediterranean sunlight on the white limestone city and compared Cagliari to a "white Jerusalem". The Cagliari Cathedral, cathedral was restored in the 1930s, returning the former Baroque façade into a Medieval Pisan-style façade more akin to the original appearance of the church in the 13th century. 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. Before 1900 it was the island's governor's palace. The Shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria, Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bonaria (Names of Buenos Aires, from which the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, gets its name) was built by the Catalans in 1324–1329 when they were besieging the Pisans in Castello. It has a small Gothic architecture, Gothic portal in the façade and the interior houses a wooden statue of the Madonna, which, after having been thrown off a Spanish ship, landed at the foot of Bonaria hill. Bonaria hill is also the location of the Monumental Cemetery of Bonaria. The ''Chiesa della Purissima'' is a Catalan Gothic church built in the 16th century in the Castello distinct. The other early districts of the town (Marina, Stampace and Villanova) retain much of their original character. In Stampace the Torre dello Sperone, another tower built by the Pisans in the late 13th century, is located, as well as two important monumental churches: the ''Collegiata di Sant'Anna'' and the ''Chiesa di San Michele'', both built in the 18th century in a baroque style. Many more churches, both old and modern, can be found throughout the city. The Promenade Deck and the Terrazza Umberto I were designed in 1896 by the engineers Joseph Costa and Fulgenzio Setti. The entire building was built of white and yellow limestone in a classical style with Corinthian order, Corinthian columns. It was opened in 1901. A staircase with two flights provides access from Constitution Square. It is interrupted by a covered walkway and ends beneath the Arc de Triomphe, in the Terrazza Umberto I. In 1943, during World War II, the staircase and the Arch of Triumph were severely damaged by aerial bombardment, but after the conflict they were faithfully reconstructed. From the Terrazza Umberto I the Bastion of Santa Caterina can be accessed via a short flight of steps. Here there was once an old Dominican convent, destroyed by fire in 1800. According to tradition, the conspiracy to kill the Viceroy Camarassa in 1666 was set up in the surroundings of the monastery. The Promenade Deck was inaugurated in 1902. At first it was used as a banqueting hall, then during the First World War as an infirmary. In the 1930s, during the period of sanctions, it was an exhibition of autarky. During World War II it served as a shelter for displaced people whose homes had been destroyed by bombs. In 1948 it hosted the first Trade Fair of Sardinia. After many years of decay, the Promenade was restored and re-evaluated as a cultural space reserved especially for art exhibitions. The modern districts built in the late 19th and early 20th century contain examples of Art Deco architecture, as well as controversial examples of Fascist neoclassicism architecture, such as the Court of Justice (''Palazzo di Giustizia'') in Republic Square. The Court of Justice is near the biggest city park, Monte Urpinu, with its pine trees, artificial lakes, and a vast area with a hill. The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Cagliari, the city's botanical garden, is also of interest.


Culture

The city has numerous libraries and is also home to the State Archive, containing thousands of handwritten documents from the foundation of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1325 AD) to the present. In addition to numerous local and university department libraries, the most important libraries are the old University Library, with thousands of ancient books, the Provincial Library, the Regional Library, and the Mediateca of the Mediterranean, which contains the municipal archive and library collection. In the first century B.C. a famous singer and musician from Cagliari, Tigellius, lived in Rome and was satirized by Cicero and Horace. The history of Sardinian literature begins in Cagliari in the first century A.D. In the funerary monument of Atilia Pomptilla, carved into the rock of the necropolis of Tuvixeddu, poems are engraved in Greek and Latin dedicated to his dead wife. Some of them, particularly those in the Greek language, have literary merit. The first Sardinian literary author known was Bishop
Lucifer of Cagliari Lucifer of Cagliari ( la, Lucifer Calaritanus, it, Lucifero da Cagliari; died 20 May 370 or 371) was a bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia known for his passionate opposition to Arianism. He is venerated as a Saint in Sardinia, though his status rem ...
, who wrote severe pamphlets against the Arian heresy in the fourth century A.D. Only in the eleventh century A.D. did the first texts of an administrative nature appear in the modern Sardinian language, together with Hagiography, hagiographs of local martyrs written in Latin. Life in Cagliari has been depicted by many writers, starting with the late Roman poet
Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (; c. 370 – c. 404 AD), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost ent ...
. In the late 16th century, the local humanist Roderigo Hunno Baeza dedicated to his town a didactic Latin poem, ''Caralis Panegyricus''. At the beginning of the 17th century Juan Francisco Carmona wrote a hymn to Cagliari in Spanish; Jacinto Arnal De Bolea published in 1636, in Spanish, the first novel set in Cagliari, entitled ''El Forastero''. D.H. Lawrence, David Herbert Lawrence wrote about the city in his ''Sea and Sardinia''. Modern writers connected to Cagliari include Giuseppe Dessì, Giulio Angioni, Giorgio Todde, Sergio Atzeni, (who set many of his novels and short stories, such as ''Bakunin's Son'', in ancient and modern Cagliari), Flavio Soriga. Cagliari was the birthplace or residence of the composer Ennio Porrino, of the film, theatre and TV director Nanni Loy, and of the actors Gianni Agus, Amedeo Nazzari and Pier Angeli (born Anna Maria Pierangeli). Excluding the Roman era amphitheater, the first theater was inaugurated in Cagliari in 1767: the Teatro Zapata, later becoming the Civic Theatre. Devastated by bombing in 1943, it was recently restored, but the roof was not rebuilt, and today it serves as an open-air theatre. The Politeama Regina Margherita, inaugurated in 1859, was destroyed by fire in 1942 and never rebuilt. Although opera had, and in part still has, a solid tradition the city, it was left without a true theater until 1993 when a new opera house, the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Teatro Lirico, was inaugurated. Inside there is a music compound with a music conservatory with its own auditorium, and a music park. Cagliari is and was home to opera singers such as the tenors Giovanni Matteo Mario (Giovanni Matteo De Candia, 1810–1883) and Piero Schiavazzi (1875–1949), the baritone Angelo Romero (born 1940), the contralto Bernadette Manca di Nissa, born 1954 and the soprano Giusy Devinu (1960–2007). The Italian pop singer Marco Carta was also born in Cagliari, in 1985. The old Teatro Massimo was only recently renovated and is now the seat of the Teatro Stabile of Sardinia. The Municipal Auditorium, in the former 17th-century church of Santa Teresa, is the seat of the Scuola di Arte Drammatica (School of Dramatic Art) di Cagliari, while the Teatro delle Saline ("Saltworks Theatre"), is home of Akroama, Teatro Stabile di Innovazione ("Permanent Theater of Innovation"). Finally, some comic and satirical theater companies are active in the city, the most well known being the "Compagnia Teatrale Lapola", which offers an urban version of the traditional campidanese comic theater. Founded by Bepi Vigna, Antonio Serra (comics), Antonio Serra and Michele Medda, a comic book school, the Centro Internazionale del Fumetto ("Comic Strip International Centre") has been active for several decades. Its founders invented and designed the comic characters Nathan Never and Legs Weaver.


Museums and galleries

The Polo museale di Cagliari "Cittadella dei musei" (Citadel of Museums) is home to: *Museo archeologico nazionale di Cagliari (Museo archeologico nazionale (Cagliari), National Archeological Museum of Cagliari), the most important archeological museum of Sardinia, which contains finds from the
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
period (6000 B.C.) to the Early Middle Ages about 1000 A.D. *Museo civico d'arte siamese Stefano Cardu (Civic Siamese Art Museum "Stefano Cardu") the most important European collection of Siamese art, gathered by a Cagliaritan collector at the beginning of the 20th century. *Museo delle cere anatomiche Clemente Susini (Anatomical Waxwork Museum "Clemente Susini"). This collection of anatomical waxworks is considered one of the finest in the world, and perfectly describes the human body, testifying to the state of medical and surgical knowledge at the beginning of the 19th century. The collection was created by the sculptor Clemente Susini and includes faithful reproductions of dissections of cadavers performed in the School of Anatomy in Florence 1803-1805 A.D. *Pinacoteca nazionale (National Picture Gallery) *Galleria comunale d'arte (Civic art Gallery) with an important exposition of modern Italian painting offered to the city by its collector (Ingrao Collection), and an exposition of Sardinian artists. *Collezione sarda Luigi Piloni (University Sardinian Collection "Luigi Piloni") *ExMà, MEM, Castello di San Michele, and Il Ghetto exposition centers *Museo di Bonaria (Basilical Church Museum of Bonaria), with an interesting ex-voto collection *Museo del Duomo (Cathedral Museum); *Museo del tesoro di Sant'Eulalia (Treasure Museum of Saint Eulalia of Barcelona; with its important Roman era underground area. *Orto Botanico dell'Università di Cagliari, Orto botanico di Cagliari (University Botanical Gardens)


Feast of Sant'Efis

The Feast of St. Ephysius (Sant'Efisio in Italian, Sant'Efis in Sardinian) is the most important religious event of Cagliari, taking place every year on 1 May. During this festival, thousands of people from folk groups all over Sardinia wear their traditional costumes. The saint is escorted by the traditional ancient ''Milicia'', the deputy mayor (Alter Nos), numerous confraternities, and a convoy of chariots pulled by oxen in a procession to Nora (near modern Pula), from Cagliari, where, according to tradition, he was beheaded. In addition to being one of the oldest, it is also the longest Italian religious procession, with about of walks over four days, and the largest in the Mediterranean area. A plague was spreading throughout Sardinia, starting in 1652, and the epidemic infected Cagliari in particular, killing some ten thousand inhabitants. According to legend, in 1656 St. Ephysius appeared to the Spanish Viceroy, Francisco Fernández de Castro Andrade, Count of Lemos to request a procession on 1 May, in order to free the city from the plague. The Municipality of Cagliari swore that, if the plague disappeared, a procession would be held every day in the saint's honor, starting from the Stampace district and ending at Nora where the saint was martyred. In September the plague ended, and the procession and festival was therefore regularly held starting the following year on 1 May. The procession was held even during the last war; a statue of the saint was placed on a lorry and, through city ruins of the devastated by the bombs, arrived safely in Nora.


Other events

Other feasts and events in Cagliari include: *The Carnival *Holy Week and Easter celebrations *Sea processions of St. Francis of Paola, held in May, and Nostra Signora di Bonaria, in July *Cagliari Fair, in early May *Audi MedCup regatta


Languages

The native language of Cagliari, declared official along with Italian, is Sardinian language, Sardinian (''sardu''), a Romance language, specifically the Campidanese dialect (''campidanesu'') in its local variant (''casteddaju''). The variant of Cagliari in its high register has traditionally represented the linguistic model of reference for the entire southern area of the island, and the high social variant used by the middle class in the whole Campidanese domain, as well as the literary model of reference for writers and poets. This language is less spoken by the younger generations in the city, who use Italian instead as that language is compulsory in education and the mass media. Italian has increasingly become predominant in social relations, both formal and informal, relegating Sardinian to a mostly marginal role in everyday life. Young people often have only passive competence in the language, gathered from elderly relatives who still speak it, as their parents often speak only Italian, or they may use a slang (''Regional Italian#Sardinia, italianu porceddinu'') that mixes both Sardinian and Italian. Since Cagliari was the metropolis of the ancient Roman province, it absorbed innovations coming from Rome, Carthage, and Constantinople, and its language probably reflected late Latin urban dialects of the 5th-century core cities of the empire.


Gastronomy

Cagliari has some unique gastronomic traditions: unlike the rest of the island its cuisine is mostly based on the wide variety of locally available seafood. Although it is possible to trace influences from Catalan cuisine, Catalan, Sicilian cuisine, Sicilian and Genoese cuisine, Cagliaritan food has a distinctive and unique character. Excellent wines are also part of Cagliaritanians' dinners, like the Grenache, Cannonau, Nuragus di Cagliari, Nuragus, Nasco di Cagliari, Nasco, Monica (grape), Monica, Moscau, Girò di Cagliari, Girò and Malvasia, produced in the nearby vineyards of the Campidano plain.


Media

The main newspaper of Sardinia is ''L'Unione Sarda'', it was founded in Cagliari in 1889. It was one of the first European newspapers to have its own website in 1994. It has a circulation of about 85,000 copies. The main regional headquarters of RAI, the Italian state-owned radio and television network, is in Cagliari. There are also two regional television and radio companies as well as numerous information sites on the internet.


Sports

Cagliari is home to the football team Cagliari Calcio, winner of the 1969-70 Serie A, Italian league championship in 1970, when the team was led by Gigi Riva. Founded in 1920, the club played at the Stadio Sant'Elia in the city from 1970 until it was closed in the summer of 2017, causing the club to temporarily relocate to the provisional Sardegna Arena. Sant'Elia was the venue for three 1990 FIFA World Cup matches. Cagliari is an ideal location for water sports such as surfing, kitesurfing, windsurfing and sailing due to strong and reliable favourable winds. Field hockey is also popular, with two teams in the Italian top division, G.S. Amsicora and C.U.S. Cagliari, the first of which won the league title more often than any other Italian team in the men's championship (20) and is also the protagonist in the women's division. Sport venues in Cagliari include: *Sardegna Arena *Tennis Club Cagliari *Rockfeller sports hall *Rockfeller skating rink *Via dello Sport gymnastics hall *Terra Maini Olympionic pool *Amsicora Stadium *Rari Nantes pool *Esperia pool *Riccardo Santoru athletics stadium *Civic pool *Acquasport pool *Poettu hippodrome *Mario Siddi fencing gymnasium *Mulinu Becciu tennis table hall *Facilities of the University Sports Center, C.U.S. Cagliari


Government

Cagliari is the hub of the administration offices of the Sardinia Autonomous Region and of Cagliari Province. It is also the home of several local offices of the Italian central administration. It is the seat of the Superintendency of Cultural and Environmental Heritage, of the Sardinia Archival Superintendency and of the Archeological Superintendency of the Cultural Heritage Ministry, of the Sardinia and Provincial seat of the Employment and Social Policies Ministry, of the regional offices of the Finance and Economy Ministry, and of some branch offices of the Health Ministry. Cagliari is home to all criminal, civil, administrative and accounting courts for Sardinia of the Ministry of Justice up to the High Court of Assizes of Appeal. It was home to a prison, Buon Cammino, built in the late 19th century, famous because no one has ever managed to escape. A new modern prison has been built in the nearby town of Uta. Traditionally, votes in Cagliari are oriented towards the center-right wing. Since World War II, all the mayors belonged to the Democrazia Cristiana, Christian Democracy party with the exception of Salvatore Ferrara, from the Socialist Party, allied with the former. After the collapse of the traditional parties in the 1990s, the mayors belonged to the party or the coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi. The current economic and political crisis that affects Italy has prompted the electorate toward a large abstention and to elect a young mayor, Massimo Zedda, who belongs to a centre-left alliance. In the last municipal elections in June 2016, Massimo Zedda was confirmed in the first round with 50.86% of the votes.


Education

Cagliari is home to the
University of Cagliari The University of Cagliari ( it, Università degli Studi di Cagliari) is a university in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It was founded in 1606 and is organized in 11 faculties. History The ''Studium Generalis Kalaritanum'' was founded in 1606 alon ...
, the largest public university in Sardinia, founded in 1626. It currently includes six faculties: Engineering and Architecture, Medicine and Surgery, Economics, Juridical and Political Sciences, Basic Sciences, Biology and Pharmacy, Humanistic Studies. It is attended by about 35,000 students. All science faculties of the university, as well as the university hospital, have been transferred to a new "University Citadel", located in Monserrato. Cagliari's downtown houses the engineering and the humanities divisions and, in the Castle, the seat of the Rector, in an 18th-century palace with a library of thousands of ancient books. Cagliari is also the seat of the Pontifical Faculty of Theology of Sardinia and of the Istituto Europeo di Design, European Institute of Design.


Health care

Life expectancy in Cagliari is high: 79.5 years for men and 85.4 for women (provincial level). There has been a public hospital in Cagliari since the 17th century. The first modern structure was built in the middle of the 19th century, designed by the architect Gaetano Cima. This hospital is still operating, although all its departments will eventually be transferred to the new University Hospital in Monserrato. Among the other public hospitals, the Giuseppe Brotzu (San Michele) Hospital was recognized in 1993 as a High Specialization Nationally Relevant Hospital, particularly for liver transplantation, liver, heart transplantation, heart, pancreas transplantation, pancreas and Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, bone marrow transplants. Other public hospitals in the city include: the ''Santissima Trinità'' or commonly ''Is Mirrionis''; the ''Binaghi'', specialised in pulmonology; ''Marino'' specialised in traumatology, hyperbaric medicine and spinal cord injuries; ''Businco'' specialised in oncology; and ''Microcitemico'', specialised in thalassemia, Genetic diseases and rare diseases. There are in addition many private hospitals. Despite its dry climate, thanks to the regional system of dams, every inhabitant of Cagliari may have per day of safe drinking water. Waste sorting is still at a low level: only 33.4 percent of waste is separated.


Transport


Airport

The city is served by the Cagliari Elmas Airport, Cagliari-Elmas International Airport, located a few kilometres from the centre of Cagliari. It is the 13th List of the busiest airports, busiest aeroport in Italy by passengers traffic with around 4,370,000 passengers in 2018. A railway line connects the city to the airport; walkways join the railway station to the air terminal. The terminal is also connected to the city by highway SS 130 and by a bus service run by the ARST company to the central bus station in Matteotti square, in the centre of the city. There are other airports not too far from the city: Deciomannu Airport, a
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
military airport and three fields for air sports, Serdiana (used in particular for skydiving), Castiadas and Decimoputzu.


Roads

The following national roads begin in Cagliari: * ''Carlo Felice'' to Sassari - Porto Torres (motorway-like until Oristano) and to Olbia (SS131 Central Nuorese Branch). * ''Iglesiente'', to Iglesias and Carbonia. * ''Orientale Sarda'', which connects Cagliari to Tortolì and Olbia, ending in Palau, Sardinia, Palau, across from Corsica. * ''Sulcitana'', connecting Cagliari with Sulcis along the coast. * ''Cagliaritana'' * ''del Gerrei'', to Ballao and Ogliastra. *''Provincial Road 17'' connects Poetto Villasimius.


Ports

The port of Cagliari is divided in two sector, the old port and the new international container terminal. The port system of Cagliari-Sarroch is the third for freight traffic in Italy with a movement of about 38 million tons in 2017. Cagliari has scheduled services by passenger ship to Civitavecchia, Naples and Palermo. In Cagliari there are also two other small touristic ports, ''Su Siccu'' (Lega Navale) and ''Marina Piccola''.


Railways

The Ferrovie dello Stato railway station in Cagliari has services to Iglesias, Sardinia, Iglesias, Carbonia, Sardinia, Carbonia, Olbia, Golfo Aranci,
Sassari Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...
and Porto Torres. The nearby commune of
Monserrato Monserrato (''Pauli'' or ''Paulli'' in Sardinian language) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, southern Sardinia, Italy, located about northeast of Cagliari. Monserrato borders the following municipalities: Cag ...
is the terminal railway station of a narrow gauge line to Arbatax and Sorgono.


Urban and suburban mobility

Bus and trolleybus services, managed by CTM (more than 30 lines) and ARST, connect internal destinations in the city and in the metropolitan area; Cagliari is one of the few Italian cities with an extensive trolleybus network, whose fleet has been partially renovated in 2012. A metro-like tram service on its own rail, Cagliari Metro-tramway, MetroCagliari, operates between Piazza Repubblica and the new university campus near
Monserrato Monserrato (''Pauli'' or ''Paulli'' in Sardinian language) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, southern Sardinia, Italy, located about northeast of Cagliari. Monserrato borders the following municipalities: Cag ...
(line 1) and from
Monserrato Monserrato (''Pauli'' or ''Paulli'' in Sardinian language) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, southern Sardinia, Italy, located about northeast of Cagliari. Monserrato borders the following municipalities: Cag ...
San Gottardo and Settimo San Pietro (line 2). A line between Piazza Repubblica and Piazza Matteotti, the city transport hub (with train, urban and extra-urban bus stations), is planned. Trenitalia, the primary train operator in Italy, operates a metro train service between Cagliari Central Station and
Decimomannu Decimomannu ( sc, Deximumannu or ) is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It is located about northwest of central Cagliari and had a population of about 8,115 . Geography Decimomannu borders the municipalities of ...
, which connects the airport with the city center. A public bike-sharing service is operating with pick-up points at Via Sonnino - Palazzo Civico, Piazza Repubblica, Piazza Giovanni 23, and Marina Piccola.


Twin towns – sister cities

Cagliari is twin towns and sister cities, twinned with: * Buenos Aires, Argentina * Nanyuki, Kenya *
Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
, Italy * Vercelli, Italy *
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, Italy * Padua, Italy, 2002 * Biella (BI), Biella, Italy, 2003


Consulates

In Cagliari there are at present (2018) the following consulates: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Notes


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * . *


Further reading

In English: * Andrews Robert, ''The Rough Guide to Sardinia'', Publisher: Rough Guide Ltd, 2010, . * * Dyson, Stephen L. - Roland Jr. Robert, ''Archaeology and History in Sardinia from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages: Shepherds, Sailors, and Conquerors'', 2007. * Freytag-Berndt, Sardinia Travel Map. * Lawrence D. H., ''Sea and Sardinia'' * Parker, Philip M., ''The 2011 Economic and Product Market Databook for Cagliari'', Italy, Icon Group International, 2011 * Stein Eliot, ''Sardinia: Cagliari & the South, Publisher: Footprint Travel Guides'', United Kingdom, 2012, In Italian: * Alziator Francesco, ''La città del sole'', editrice La Zattera, Cagliari, 1963. * Atzeni Enrico, ''Cagliari preistorica'', editrice CUEC, Cagliari, 2003. * Barreca Ferrucio, ''La Sardegna fenicia e punica'', editore Chiarella, Sassari, 1984 * Boscolo Alberto, ''La Sardegna bizantina e altogiudicale'', editotr Chiarella, Sassari, 1982 * Cossu Giuseppe, ''Della città di Cagliari, notizie compendiose sacre e profane'', Stamperia Reale, Cagliari 1780 * Del Piano Lorenzo, ''La Sardegna nell'ottocento'', editore Chiarella, Sassari, 1984 * Gallinari Luciano, ''Il Giudicato di Cagliari tra XI e XIII secolo. Proposte di interpretazioni istituzionali'', in Rivista dell'Istituto di Storia dell'Europa Mediterranea, n°5, 2010 * Hunno Baeza Roderigo, ''Il Caralis Panegyricus'', edited by Francesco Alziator, Tipografia, Mercantile Doglio, Cagliari, 1954. * Manconi Francesco, ''La Sardegna al tempo degli Asburgo'', Il Maestrale, Nuoro, 2010, * Manconi Francesco, ''Una piccola provincia di un grande impero'', CUEC, Cagliari, 2012, * Manconi Francesco (edited by), ''La società sarda in età spagnola'', Edizioni della Torre, Cagliari, 2003, 2 vol. * Mastino Attilio, ''Storia della Sardegna Antica'', Il Maestrale, Nuoro, 2005, * Maxia Agata Rosa, ''La grammatica del dialetto cagliaritano'', editrice Della Torre, Cagliari, 2010 * Meloni Piero, ''La Sardegna Romana'', Chiarella, Sassari, 1980 * Porru Vincenzo Raimondo, ''Saggio di gramatica sul dialetto sardo meridionale'', Stamperia Reale, Cagliari, 1811. * Scano Dionigi, ''Forma Karalis, a cura del Comune di Cagliari'', pref. di E. Endrich, Cagliari, Società Editrice Italiana, 1934, (oggi in ed. anast. Cagliari, La zattera, 1970; Cagliari, 3T, 1989). * Sole Carlino, ''La Sardegna sabauda nel settecento'', edizione Chiarella, Sassari, 1984 *Sorgia Giancarlo, ''La Sardegna spagnola'', editore Chiarella, Sassari, 1983 * Spano Giovanni, ''Guida della città e dintorni di Cagliari'', ed. Timon, Cagliari, 1861 * Spanu Luigi, ''Cagliari nel seicento'', editrice Il Castello, Cagliari, 1999 * Thermes Cenza, ''Cagliari, amore mio : guida storica, artistica, sentimentale della citta di Cagliari'', editrice 3T, Cagliari, 1980–81. * Thermes Cenza, ''E a dir di Cagliari...'', editrice G. Trois, Cagliari, 1997. * Zedda Corrado, Pinna Raimondo, ''Fra Santa Igia e il Castro Novo Montis de Castro. La questione giuridica urbanistica a Cagliari all'inizio del XIII secolo'', Archivio Storico Giuridico Sardo di Sassari", n.s., 15 (2010–2011), pp. 125–187


External links

*
Cagliari Tourist Board website
{{Authority control Cagliari, Populated places established in the 7th century BC Capitals of former nations Cities and towns in Sardinia Populated coastal places in Italy Mediterranean port cities and towns in Italy Phoenician colonies in Sardinia Roman towns and cities in Italy Wine regions of Italy