The Stagno di Santa Gilla, or Stagno di Cagliari (literally ‘Pool of

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

’), is a coastal

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

at the mouths of the rivers

Cixerri The Cixerri () is an Italian river in southern Sardinia province of Cagliari.'' The Times'' (2003), ''Comprehensive Atlas of the World'' Eleventh Edition, Times Books, Plate 77 (C9). It springs from Monte Croccoriga, at above sea level, in the ...

and

Mannu ''Mannu'' ( en, The Soil) is a 1978 Malayalam film directed by K. G. George with Soman, P. K. Abraham, Sharada and Sukumaran in the lead roles. The feudal melodrama about greed & superstition narrates a tale of the struggle of the poor Damu (S ...

near Cagliari, on the

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 ...

in southern

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 ...

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 ...

. It has been designated as a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

site of international importance under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...

since 1976 and is ranked among the most important of such areas in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Geography

The area of the lagoon has substantially reduced during the 20th century, due to expanding populations in the nearby settlements of Cagliari,

Capoterra Capoterra ( sc, Cabuderra; ; from Latin ''Caput Terrae'', "head of the Earth") is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. At 2011 national census it had 24,017 inhabitants and is part of the Cagliari metropol ...

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 ...

, and to the construction of salt pans, roads and industrial plants. The current area is less than 13 km².

Fauna

The

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

present include a great variety of bird species and it is one of the main European migration sites for the

greater flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. It is found in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and in southern Europe. Taxonomy The greater flamingo was desc ...

References

External links

Summary Description
of the Stagno di Cagliari Ramsar site. Landforms of Sardinia Wetlands of Italy Geography of Cagliari Marine parks of Italy Ramsar sites in Italy Lagoons of Italy {{Europe-protected-area-stub