Cagliari (, , ; ; ;

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Caralis'') is an Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, an

autonomous region An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, zone, entity, unit, region, subdivision, province, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or territory, internal territory of a sovereign state that has ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It has about 146,627 inhabitants, while its metropolitan city, 16 other nearby municipalities, has about 417,079 inhabitants. According to

Eurostat Eurostat ("European Statistical Office"; also DG ESTAT) is a department of the European Commission ( Directorate-General), located in the Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statist ...

, the population of the functional urban area, 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 or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

to today. Historical sites include the prehistoric Domus de Janas, partly damaged by cave activity, a large Carthaginian era

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

, a Roman era

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) 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 ('), meani ...

, a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

, three Pisan-era towers and a strong system of fortification that made the town the core of

Spanish Habsburg Habsburg Spain refers to Spain and the Hispanic Monarchy, also known as the Catholic Monarchy, in the period from 1516 to 1700 when it was ruled by kings from the House of Habsburg. In this period the Spanish Empire was at the zenith of its in ...

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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. Its natural resources have always been its sheltered harbour, the often powerfully fortified hill of ''Castel di Castro'', the modern ''Casteddu'', the

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

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 wi ...

, wheat from the

Campidano Campidano () is a plain located in South-Western Sardinia (Italy), covering approximately 100 kilometres between Cagliari and Oristano. Geography Geologically, it is a graben, a tectonic structure formed in the mid-Pliocene/early Pleistocene ...

plain and silver and other ores from the Iglesiente mines. Cagliari was the capital of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

from 1324 to 1848, when

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) 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 from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

became the formal capital of the kingdom (which in 1861 became the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

). Today the city is a regional cultural, educational, political and artistic centre, known for its diverse

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

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. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

, and the 106th highest income level in Italy (among 8,092

comuni A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

), comparable to that of several northern Italian cities. It is also the seat of the

University of Cagliari The University of Cagliari () is a public research 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 along the lines of the old ...

, founded in 1607, and of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cagliari The Archdiocese of Cagliari (; ) is a Latin Church, Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church centred on the city of Cagliari. It holds the Primate (bishop), Primacy of Sardinia.Gaius Julius Solinus __NOTOC__ Gaius Julius Solinus, better known simply as Solinus, was a Latin grammarian, geographer, and compiler who probably flourished in the early 3rd century AD. Historical scholar Theodor Mommsen dates him to the middle of the 3rd century. ...

, says that Caralis was founded by

Aristaeus Aristaeus (; ''Aristaios'') was the mythological culture hero credited with the discovery of many rural useful arts and handicrafts, including bee-keeping; He was the son of the huntress Cyrene and Apollo. ''Aristaeus'' ("the best") was a cu ...

, son of the god

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

and the nymph Cyrene. Aristaeus introduced hunting and agriculture to Sardinia, reconciled the indigenous populations who were fighting among themselves and founded the city of Caralis, over which he later reigned.

Early history

The Cagliari area has been inhabited since the

. It occupies a favourable position between the sea and a fertile plain and is surrounded by two

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

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 discove ...

) and in Cape Sant'Elia (several domus de janas). File:MONTE CLARO.jpg, Monte Claro culture pottery File:Mosaico Karalitani Ostia.jpg, Karalitan ship owners and traders, mosaic in

Ostia Antica Ostia Antica () is an ancient Roman city and the port of Rome located at the mouth of the Tiber. It is near modern Ostia, southwest of Rome. Due to silting and the invasion of sand, the site now lies from the sea. The name ''Ostia'' (the pl ...

Karaly (, ) was established around the 8th/7th century BC as one of a string of

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n colonies in Sardinia, including Tharros. 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, 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 an ancient city in Northern Africa, 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 classic ...

took control of part of Sardinia, and Cagliari grew substantially under its domination, as testified by the large Tuvixeddu necropolis 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. File:Necropoli di Tuvixeddu.jpg, Necropolis of Tuvixeddu File:At Sardinia 2024 019.jpg, ''Is Centu Scalas'' ("a hundred steps"), the Roman amphitheatre of Cagliari 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 Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

, Caralis was the headquarters of the praetor, Titus Manlius Torquatus, whence he conducted his operations against Hampsicora 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 people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

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 Three main sets of works are attributed to Florus (a Roman cognomen): ''Virgilius orator an poeta'', the ''Epitome of Roman History'' and a collection of 14 short poems (66 lines in all). As to whether these were composed by the same person, or ...

calls it the ''urbs urbium'' or capital of Sardinia. He represents it as taken and severely punished by Gracchus, 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 is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

between

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a 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 a civil war. He ...

and

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

, 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 la ...

, 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 ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, and though it did not become a

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

, obtained the status of ''

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) 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 privileges ...

''. 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 A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

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 St. Lucifer of 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. Life Lucifer first appears in history as an envoy from Pope Lib ...

was exiled because of his opposition to the sentence against

Athanasius of Alexandria Athanasius I of Alexandria ( – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, Athanasius the Confessor, or, among Coptic Christians, Athanasius the Apostolic, was a Christian theologian and the 20th patriarch of Alexandria (as Athanasius ...

at the

Synod of Milan The Synod of Milan or Council of Milan may refer to any of several synods which occurred in late Roman Mediolanum or medieval Milan in northern Italy's Po valley: Synod of 345 In 353 or 354, Pope Liberius wrote thus: ''"Eight years ago the Eusebi ...

. He was banished to the desert of

Thebais The Thebaid or Thebais (, ''Thēbaïs'') 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 the ancient Egyptian c ...

by the emperor

Constantius II Constantius II (; ; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civ ...

Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (Greek: Κλαυδιανός; ), 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 almo ...

describes the ancient city of Karalis as extending to a considerable length towards the promontory or headland, the projection of which sheltered its port. A few decades before the fall of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

Cagliari fell, together with the rest of Sardinia, into the hands of the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

, an East

Germanic people The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

, but appears to have retained its importance throughout the Middle Ages.

Judicate of Cagliari

Subsequently, ruled by the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, apart from a short occupation (551–552) by the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths () 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 Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...

during the Gothic War, Cagliari became the capital of a gradually independent Judicate (from Latin ''Iudex''). This state was born around 1020 and was overthrown by the

Republic of Pisa The Republic of Pisa () was an independent state existing from the 11th to the 15th century centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated Mediterranean and Italian t ...

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 moved to more inland areas of the territory, along the lagoon, in a city called Santa Ilia or Santa Igia (modern San Gilla) and it was believed that the ancient Roman and Byzantine Caralis had been abandoned because it was too exposed to attacks by

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

pirates coming from north Africa and Spain. Recent studies have instead hypothesized that the capital of the Giudicato, Santa Igia, was located around the road that it directed towards

Sassari Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...

, 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- Iglesiente and the mountain region of

Ogliastra The province of Ogliastra ( , ) was a former Provinces of Italy, province in eastern Sardinia, Italy. Ogliastra was the most mountainous province in Sardinia. With only some 57,642 inhabitants, it was also the least populous province of Italy. Th ...

11th to 13th century

Cagliari - Chiesa di San Pietro dei Pescatori - 2023-09-17 20-33-10 001

During the 11th century, the

began to extend its political influence over the Judgedom of Cagliari. Pisa and the maritime

republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...

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, husband of Elena of Gallura, forced the judikessa Benedetta of Cagliari to give him the mount located east of Santa Igia. 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, 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 ( or ; ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy. The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area". Geography Gallùra has an area of . It is from the Italian peninsula and from the French island of Corsica. ...

and

Logudoro The Logudoro (; ) is a large historical region Sardinia, Italy. It is the namesake of the Logudorese dialect of Sardinian language, Sardinian, which covers a large area of northern-central Sardinia. The first denomination of the area is contai ...

) 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 and Iglesiente, on the southwest, were given to the Pisan della Gherardesca 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. Together with the district of Castello, Castel di Castro comprised the districts of

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") 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 or cargo ...

(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 (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

conquered Sardinia after a series of battles against the

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) 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 the Leaning Tow ...

ns. During the siege of Castel di Castro (1324–1326), the Aragonese, led by

Alfonso IV of Aragon Alfonso IV (2 November 1299 – 24 January 1336), called the Kind (also ''the Gentle'' or ''the Nice'', ), was King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona (as Alfons III) from 1327 to his death. His reign saw the incorporation of the County of Urgell ...

, 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 (''Castell de Càller'' or simply Càller in Catalan) became the administrative capital of the newborn

, one of the many kingdoms forming the Crown of Aragon, which later came under the rule of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

. 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. PalazzoRegio3

The

kings of Sardinia Sardinia is traditionally known to have been initially ruled by the Nuragic civilization, which was followed by Greek colonization, conquest by the Carthagians, Carthaginians, and occupied by the Ancient Rome, Romans for around a thousand years, ...

, who were also the kings of Aragon and later the

kings of Spain This is a list of monarchs of Spain, a dominion started with the dynastic union of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. The regnal numbers follow those of the rulers of Asturias, León, and Castile. ...

, ruled the island as part of a wider Mediterranean empire. In Cagliari, their authority was exercised 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 Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

, the king's appointed representative, who resided in the Royal Palace of Cagliari, the official seat of government during the Aragonese and Spanish periods. In the 16th century the fortifications of the city were strengthened with the construction of the

bastion A bastion 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 fire from the ...

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 (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

, Cagliari and

came under the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

. 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 () 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 within the Kingdom of Sardinia, i ...

" in that year, all the possessions of the House of Savoy House, comprising

Savoy Savoy (; )  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 and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

and

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) 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 roughly coextensive with ...

, were merged into a unitary state. Although Sardinian by name, the kingdom had its parliament in

, where the Savoys resided, and its members were mainly aristocrats from

or the mainland. In the late 18th century during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

France tried to conquer Cagliari because of its strategic role in the Mediterranean sea ('' Expédition de Sardaigne''). 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'' ("The day of Sardinia") on the last weekend of April. However, the Savoys regained control of the town after a brief period of

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be defi ...

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 ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

, the city experienced a century of rapid growth. Numerous buildings combined influences from

together with the traditional Sardinian taste for floral decoration; an example is the

white marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is typically not foliat ...

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

near the port. Many buildings were erected by the end of the 19th century during the term of office of mayor Ottone Bacaredda. In 1905 he had to face up to the a violent, bloody revolt against the exorbitant cost of living, stoked by his political opponents and which caused a number of victims and extensive material damage. After various other ups and downs, and following another resignation, he was returned to office between 1911 and 1917. Ottone Bacaredda died in his modest house in Via San Giovanni, on 26 December 1921, During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

in February 1943. In order to escape from the danger of

bombardment A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or cities and buildings. Prior to World War I, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended obje ...

s 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. 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 Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

took control of Cagliari and the island, but soon retreated peacefully in order to reinforce their positions in mainland Italy. The American Army then took control of Cagliari. Airports near the city (

Elmas Elmas ( Sardinian: ''Su Masu'') 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 locally as ...

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: Caglia ...

, Decimomannu, currently a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

airbase) were used by Allied aircraft to fly to North Africa or mainland Italy and

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. 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 del Comune di Cagliari-Corona d'Aragona.svg, From the 14th to 17th century File:Cagliari-Stemma.svg, 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 ("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 a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

on the long plains of Campidano. The plain is actually a

Graben In geology, a graben () is a depression (geology), depressed block of the Crust (geology), crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults. Etymology ''Graben'' is a loan word from German language, German, meaning 'ditch' or 't ...

formed during the

Alpine orogeny The Alpine orogeny, sometimes referred to as the Alpide orogeny, is an orogenic phase in the Late Mesozoic and the current Cenozoic which has formed the mountain ranges of the Alpide belt. Cause The Alpine orogeny was caused by the African c ...

of the

Cenozoic The Cenozoic Era ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three g ...

, which separated Sardinia from the European continent, roughly where the

Gulf of Lion The Gulf of Lion or Gulf of Lions is a wide embayment of the Mediterranean coastline of Catalonia in Spain with Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence in France, extending from Begur in the west to Toulon in the east. The chief port on the gulf is ...

is now. The Graben filled in the course of

tectonic Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes ...

movements associated with the breakup of the ancient island

Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

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 Middle age (or middle adulthood) is the age range of the years halfway between childhood and old age. The exact range is subject to public debate, but the term is commonly used to denote the age range from 45 to 65 years. Overall This time span ...

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. Cagliari

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 ''Circoscrizione'' (; : ''circoscrizioni'') can refer to two different administrative units of Italy. One is an electoral district approximating to the English constituency, but typically the size of a province or region, depending on the electio ...

, the town of

Pirri José Martínez Sánchez (born 11 March 1945), nicknamed Pirri, is a Spanish former footballer. A central midfielder in the early part of his career, he finished up as a sweeper. He spent the vast majority of his career with Real Madrid, ap ...

(about 30.000 inhabitants), former village of the Campidano absorbed in the fast growth after the

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 ''Jacaranda mimosifolia'' is a sub-tropical tree native to south-central South America that has been widely planted elsewhere because of its attractive and long-lasting Violet (color), violet-colored flowers. It is also known as the jacaranda, b ...

'', ''

Ficus macrophylla ''Ficus macrophylla'', commonly known as the Moreton Bay fig or Australian banyan, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the mulberry and fig family Moraceae. It is native to eastern Australia, from the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland i ...

'', with some huge specimens in Via Roma and in the University Botanic Gardens, '' Erythrina afra'' with its stunning red flowers, '' Ficus retusa'', which provides shade for several of the city's streets, '' Araucaria heterophylla'', the date palm (''

Phoenix dactylifera ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern A ...

''), 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 Mill.'') and evergreen oak ('' Quercus ilex L.'') forest with a dense Mediterranean maquis of mastic ('' Pistacia lentiscus L.''), juniper ('' Juniperus phoenicea L.''), Kermes oak ('' Quercus coccifera L.''), wild olive ('' Olea europaea L. ssp. europaea, var. sylvestris'') and tree spurge ('' 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 D.Don''. The

Molentargius - Saline Regional Park 250px, View towards the Molentargius salt mills. Molentargius - Saline Regional Park (Italian: ''Parco naturale regionale Molentargius - Saline'') is a regional park in Sardinia, Italy. It was established in 1999 to protect and enhance a site ...

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. The city is the starting and ending point of the Path of 100 Towers, which consist of a trekking route named after the 105 towers located along the whole Sardinian coast. Poetto spiaggia

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, Geremeas, Solanas, Villasimius and Costa Rei.

Climate

Cagliari has a

cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BSk''), with hot, dry summers and mild winters like other historical regions along the coast. Its precipitation values also bring it closer to

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

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 and

sirocco Sirocco ( ) or scirocco is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season. Names ''Sirocco'' derives from '' šurūq'' (), verbal noun o ...

; in summer a marine sirocco breeze (called ''s'imbattu'' in

Sardinian language Sardinian or Sard ( , , , , or , ) is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken by the Sardinians on the Western Mediterranean island of Sardinia. The original character of the Sardinian language among the Romance idioms has long been know ...

) 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

sex ratio A sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. However, many species deviate from an even sex ratio, ei ...

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. , 6.1% (9,034 people) of the population was foreign, of which the largest group were

Filipinos Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino language, Filipino, Philippine English, English, or other Philippine language ...

(18.65%), followed by

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

(11.01%), Chinese (7.72%),

Senegalese Demographic features of the population of Senegal include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. About 42% of Senegal's population i ...

(7.29%) and

Bangladeshis Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the permanent residents ...

(7.16%). In 1928, during the fascist regime, the neighbouring municipalities of

, Selargius, Quartucciu and

, 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

. 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 420,000 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 250px, View towards the Molentargius salt mills. Molentargius - Saline Regional Park (Italian: ''Parco naturale regionale Molentargius - Saline'') is a regional park in Sardinia, Italy. It was established in 1999 to protect and enhance a site ...

), 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 whom 394,697 cruise passengers (8th in Italy). The first department store, (

La Rinascente ; ) is a high-end Italian department store chain that operates nine stores in Italy, including two flagship locations in Milan ( Piazza del Duomo) and Rome (Via del Tritone). The company was a member of the International Association of Depar ...

) 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 Auchan () is a French multinational retail group headquartered in Croix, France. It was founded in 1961 by Gérard Mulliez and is owned by the Mulliez family, who has 95% stake in the company. With 354,851 employees, of which 261,000 have 5% ...

Metro AG Metro AG is a German multinational company based in Düsseldorf which operates business membership-only cash and carry stores primarily under the Metro brand. , Metro is operating 626 wholesale stores in 21 countries, including Europe and P ...

Lidl Lidl ( ) is a trademark, used by two Germany, German international discount supermarket, discount retailer chain store, chains that operates over 12,600 stores. The ''LD Stiftung'' operates the stores in Germany and the ''Lidl Stiftung & Co. K ...

, MediaWorld, Euronics, Jysk,

IKEA IKEA ( , ) is a Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in Sweden that designs and sells , household goods, and various related services. IKEA is owned and operated by a series of not-for-profit an ...

Carrefour Carrefour Group, S.A. (, ), is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, Essonne, Massy, France. It operates a chain of hypermarkets, grocery stores and convenience stores. By 2024, the group had 14,000 ...

and Bata Shoes. Cagliari is also home to an

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

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 Borsa Italiana () or Borsa di Milano (), based in Milan at Palazzo Mezzanotte, Mezzanotte Palace, is the Italy, Italian stock exchange. It manages and organises domestic market, regulating procedures for admission and listing of companies and i ...

, of the Banca di Cagliari. Banca di Credito Sardo was based in Cagliari until it was absorbed by the parent company

Intesa Sanpaolo Intesa Sanpaolo Società per azioni, S.p.A. is an Italian international banking group. It is Italy's largest bank by total assets and the world's 27th largest. It was formed through the merger of Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI in 2007, but has a ...

. 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 Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

Heineken Heineken Lager Beer (), or simply Heineken (), is a Dutch pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 February 1864, ...

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (18891976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of (), meaning ...

and Eni Group have factories in town. One of the six oil refinery supersites in Europe, Saras, is located within the metropolitan area at Sarroch. Navigator of the Seas Cagliari

Tourism is one of the major industries of the city, although historical venues such as its monumental

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and

Early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

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,

Pula Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...

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. 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).

Main sights

Considerable remains of the ancient city of Karalis are still visible, including those of the Tuvixeddu necropolis (the largest Punic necropolis still in existence), the

Roman amphitheatre Roman amphitheatres are theatres — large, circular or oval open-air venues with tiered seating — built by the ancient Romans. They were used for events such as gladiator combats, ''venationes'' (animal slayings) and executions. About List of R ...

, traditionally called ''Is centu scalas'' ("One hundred steps"), and of an aqueduct used to provide generally scarce water. Still visible are also some ancient cisterns of vast extent. Basilica di S

The Palaeo-Christian Basilica of San Saturnino, dedicated to a martyr killed under

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

's reign,

Saturninus of Cagliari Saint Saturninus of Cagliari () is venerated as the patron saint of Cagliari. According to Christian tradition, Saturninus was a local martyr –that is, he was killed at Cagliari by order of governor Barbarus.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

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 ''Torre'' (plurals ''torri'' and ''torres'') means ''tower'' in seven Romance languages ( Portuguese, Spanish, Galician, Catalan, Italian, Occitan and Corsican) and may refer to: Biology * Muir-Torre syndrome, the inherited cancer syndrom ...

, 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 Monte Sirai is an archaeological site near Carbonia, Sardinia, Carbonia, in the province of South Sardinia, Sardinia, Italy. It is a settlement built at the top of a hill by the Phoenicians of Sulci (today's Sant'Antioco). The history of studies ...

. Recently, archaeological excavations have identified Punic and Roman buildings under the ramparts of the fortress. Already the Roman poet

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes call ...

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". Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta e di Santa Cecilia di notte

Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta e di Santa Cecilia di notte

The exterior of the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

was restored in the 1930s, returning the former

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

façade into a

Pisan Romanesque Pisan Romanesque style is a variant of the Romanesque architectural style that developed in Pisa at the end of the 10th century and which influenced a wide geographical area at the time when the city was a powerful maritime republic (from the s ...

-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 Saturnino. Near the cathedral is the Palazzo Regio or Viceregio and the Old City Hall. Basilica di Bonaria

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bonaria ( 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 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 Basilica and the

Monumental Cemetery of Bonaria The Monumental Cemetery of Bonaria is located in Cagliari, Sardinia. In use between 1829 and 1968, this monumental cemetery originally occupied an area at the base of the hill of Bonaria, and over time expanded upwards. The main entrance is lo ...

. 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 Bastion of Saint Remy was built between 1896 and 1903, designed by architects Giuseppe Costa and Fulgenzio Setti, who followed a previous proposal by Gaetano Cima. The entire building was built of white and yellow limestone in a classical style with

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...

. A staircase with two flights provides access from Constitution Square. 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. In 1948 the covered walk hosted the first Trade Fair of Sardinia. After many years of decay, it was restored and re-evaluated as a cultural space reserved especially for art exhibitions. 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. Liberty Cagliari

The modern districts built in the late 19th and early 20th century contain examples of

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

architecture, as well as controversial examples of

Fascist architecture Fascist architecture encompasses various stylistic trends in architecture developed by architects of fascist states, primarily in the early 20th century. Fascist architectural styles gained popularity in the late 1920s with the ri ...

, 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 Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

and

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

. 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

, 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

, together with hagiographies of local martyrs written in Latin. 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''. Life in Cagliari has been depicted by many writers, David Herbert Lawrence wrote about the city in his '' Sea and Sardinia''. Modern writers connected to Cagliari include Giuseppe Dessì,

Giulio Angioni Giulio Angioni (28 October 1939 – 12 January 2017) was an Italian writer and anthropologist. Biography Angioni was a leading Italian anthropologist, professor at the University of Cagliari and fellow of St Antony's College of the University o ...

, 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. Lirico Cagliari

Cagliari was the birthplace or residence of the composer Ennio Porrino, of the film, theatre and TV director

Nanni Loy Nanni Loy (born Giovanni Loi; 23 October 1925 – 21 August 1995) was an Italian film, theatre and TV director. Specifically, Nanni Loy was Sardinian people, Sardinian, and one of several notable Sardinian film makers, including Franco Solin ...

, 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 Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

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, 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

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

Giovanni Matteo Mario Giovanni Matteo De Candia, also known as Mario (17 October 1810 – 11 December 1883), was an Italian opera singer. The most celebrated tenor of his era, he was lionized by audiences in Paris and London. He was the partner of the opera singer Giu ...

(Giovanni Matteo De Candia, 1810–1883) and Piero Schiavazzi (1875–1949), the

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

Angelo Romero (born 1940), the

contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...

Bernadette Manca di Nissa, born 1954 and the

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

Giusy Devinu (1960–2007). The Italian pop singer

Marco Carta Marco Carta (born 21 May 1985) is an Italian singer. To date, he has sold more than 245,000 albums and 60,000 singles. Biography and career Early life and victory to ''Amici'' Marco Carta was born in Cagliari, Sardinia, in 1985. In 2007, he ...

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 Antonio Serra was a late 16th-century Italian philosopher and economist in the mercantilist tradition. Biography Little is known about Serra's life. He was born in Cosenza in the late 16th century (the dates of his birth and death are unknown Al ...

and

Michele Medda Michele Medda (born 7 December 1962) is an Italian comics writer. Medda was born in Cagliari, Sardinia. In 1991, together with Antonio Serra (comics), Antonio Serra and Bepi Vigna, he created the science fiction series ''Nathan Never'' for Sergi ...

, a

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

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 ''Nathan Never'' is a black-and-white, science fiction Italian comics, Italian comic book, published monthly in Italy since 1991 by Sergio Bonelli Editore. It is written by Michele Medda, Antonio Serra (comics), Antonio Serra and Bepi Vigna. Art ...

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 ( National Archeological Museum of Cagliari), the most important archeological museum of Sardinia, which contains finds from the

period (6000 B.C.) to the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

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 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 (''sardu''), a

Romance language The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...

, specifically the

Campidanese dialect Campidanese Sardinian (, ) also known as Southern Sardinian () is one of the two written standards of the Sardinian language, which is often considered one of the most, if not the most conservative of all the Romance languages. The orthography ...

(''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 ('' 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. Sea food Cagliari

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 Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...

. Although it is possible to trace influences from Catalan and Ligurian cuisine, Cagliaritan food has a distinctive and unique character. Excellent

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

s are also part of Cagliaritanians' dinners, like the Cannonau, Nuragus, Nasco, Monica, Moscau,

Girò Girò is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown on Sardinia and is used mostly in the production of fortified wines in the Giro di Cagliari ''Denominazione di origine controllata'' (DOC). The grape was once widely planted throughout Sardi ...

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 Cagliari Calcio, commonly referred to as Cagliari (), is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia, that plays in Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. The club currently plays home matches at the 16,416-sea ...

, winner of the 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 (now Unipol Domus). Sant'Elia was the venue for three

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

matches. Cagliari is an ideal location for water sports such as

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

kitesurfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

and

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

due to strong and reliable favourable winds.

Field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

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: * Unipol Domus *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

Christian Democracy Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...

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 Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

. 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

, 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 The Pontifical Faculty of Theology of Sardinia is a theological academic institution founded by pope Pius XI in Cuglieri (Sardinia – Italy) with the Apostolic Constitution ''Nostrarum Partem'' of 5 August 1927. It was the first Italian Faculty ...

and of the European Institute of Design.

Health care

Ospedale_San_Michele_-_scale_antincendio

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 Giuseppe Brotzu ( Cagliari, 24 January 1895 – Cagliari, 8 April 1976) was an Italian pharmacologist and politician. Biography Giuseppe Brotzu was born in Ghilarza, a town now part of the Province of Oristano, Sardinia. He graduated from ...

(San Michele) Hospital was recognized in 1993 as a High Specialization Nationally Relevant Hospital, particularly for

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

pancreas The pancreas (plural pancreases, or pancreata) is an Organ (anatomy), organ of the Digestion, digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdominal cavity, abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a ...

and bone marrow transplants. Other public hospitals in the city include: the ''Santissima Trinità'' or commonly ''Is Mirrionis''; the ''Binaghi'', specialised in

pulmonology Pulmonology (, , from Latin ''pulmō, -ōnis'' "lung" and the Greek suffix "study of"), pneumology (, built on Greek πνεύμων "lung") or pneumonology () is a medical specialty that deals with diseases involving the respiratory tract. ...

; ''Marino'' specialised in

traumatology In medicine, traumatology (from Greek ''trauma'', meaning injury or wound) is the study of wounds and injuries caused by accidents or violence to a person, and the surgical therapy and repair of the damage. Traumatology is a branch of medicine. ...

hyperbaric medicine Hyperbaric medicine is medical treatment in which an increase in barometric pressure of typically air or oxygen is used. The immediate effects include reducing the size of gas emboli and raising the partial pressures of the gases present. Initial ...

and

spinal cord injuries A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. It is a destructive neurological and pathological state that causes major motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions. Symptoms of ...

; ''Businco'' specialised in

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's Etymology, etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγ ...

; and ''Microcitemico'', specialised in

thalassemia Thalassemias are a group of Genetic disorder, inherited blood disorders that manifest as the production of reduced hemoglobin. Symptoms depend on the type of thalassemia and can vary from none to severe, including death. Often there is mild to ...

Genetic diseases A genetic disorder is a health problem caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome. It can be caused by a mutation in a single gene (monogenic) or multiple genes (polygenic) or by a chromosome abnormality. Although polygenic disorders are ...

and

rare diseases A rare disease is any disease that affects a small percentage of the population. In some parts of the world, the term orphan disease describes a rare disease whose rarity results in little or no funding or research for treatments, without financ ...

. 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 International Airport, located a few kilometres from the centre of Cagliari. It is the 13th 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

military airport and three fields for air sports, Serdiana (used in particular for skydiving), Castiadas and Decimoputzu.

Roads

Cable-stayed bridge of the Monserrato University Campus interchange

The following national roads begin in Cagliari: * ''Carlo Felice'' to Sassari - Porto Torres (motorway-like until Oristano) and to Olbia (SS131 Central Nuorese Branch). * Strada Statale 130 Italia

''Iglesiente'', to Iglesias and Carbonia. * Strada Statale 125 Italia

''Orientale Sarda'', which connects Cagliari to Tortolì and Olbia, ending in

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

, across from Corsica. * Strada Statale 195 Italia

''Sulcitana'', connecting Cagliari with Sulcis along the coast. * Strada Statale 554 Italia

''Cagliaritana'' * Strada Statale 387 Italia

''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 A container port, container terminal, or intermodal terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land v ...

. 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 Civitavecchia (, meaning "ancient town") is a city and major Port, sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea west-northwest of Rome. Its legal status is a ''comune'' (municipality) of Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Rome, Lazio. The harbour is formed by ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

. In Cagliari there are also two other small touristic ports, ''Su Siccu'' (Lega Navale) and ''Marina Piccola''.

Railways

The

Ferrovie dello Stato Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. (; ; previously only Ferrovie dello Stato, hence the initialism FS) is Italy's national state-owned enterprise, state-owned railway holding company that manages transport, infrastructure, real estate service ...

railway station in Cagliari has services to Iglesias, Carbonia,

Olbia Olbia (, ; ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune of 61,000 inhabitants in the Italy, Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called in the Roman age, Civita in the Middle ...

, Golfo Aranci,

and

Porto Torres Porto Torres (; ) is a (municipality) and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as , it was the first Roman colony of the entire Sardinia, island. It is situated on the coast at abo ...

. The nearby commune of

is the terminal railway station of a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

line to Arbatax and Sorgono.

Urban and suburban mobility

Bus and

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

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 was fully renewed with new vehicles in 2012–2016. A

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

service, MetroCagliari, operates between Piazza Repubblica and the new university campus near

(line 1) and from

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 Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...

, the primary train operator in Italy, operates a metro train service between Cagliari Central Station and Decimomannu, 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.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Cagliari is twinned with: *

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Argentina *

Nanyuki Nanyuki is a market town in Laikipia County of Kenya lying northwest of Mount Kenya along the A2 road (Kenya), A2 road and at the terminus of the branch railway from Nairobi. The name is derived from Enyaanyukie Maasai word for resemblance. It ...

, Kenya *

, Italy *

Vercelli Vercelli (; ) is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around 600 BC. ...

, Italy *

, Italy * Szigethalom, Hungary, since 1989 *

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, Italy, since 2002 *

Biella Biella (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the northern Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the Province of Biella, province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of ...

, Italy, since 2003

Consulates

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

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * . *

External links

*
Cagliari Tourist Board website
* {{Authority control 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

Early history

Judicate of Cagliari

11th to 13th century

14th to 17th centuries

18th century

Modern age

Coats of Arms of Cagliari

Geography

Pirri

Parks and recreation

Beaches

Climate

Demographics

Metropolitan City

Economy

Main sights

Culture

Museums and galleries

Feast of Sant'Efis

Other events

Languages

Gastronomy

Media

Sports

Government

Education

Health care

Transport

Airport

Roads

Ports

Railways

Urban and suburban mobility

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Consulates

See also

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

Further reading

External links