Poetto is the main beach of

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

in Sardinia, Italy. It stretches for about 8 km, 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

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 ...

Etymology

The name of the beach supposedly derives from an Aragon Tower named "Poet's Tower", which is still visible above the Sella del Diavolo. Another hypothesis is that the name "Poetto" is linked to the Catalan ''pohuet'' ('small well'), referring to the numerous wells and tanks scattered on the Sella del Diavolo for the storage of rainwater. The name could also derive from the Spanish word ''puerto'', since the first part, Marina Piccola, is also a port.

History

Until 1900 Poetto beach was not very popular with Cagliaritans, who instead preferred the west side of the Golfo degli Angeli, with the beaches of ''Sa Perdixedda'' ( Sardinian, 'small stone') and Giorgino. It was during the first decades of the 20th century that people began to appreciate the white

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s of Poetto, and the first seaside resorts ("Lido" and "D'Aquila"), bars and even a hospital (Ospedale Marino) were built. A number of ''casotti'' (coloured wooden constructions halfway between a dressing room and a tiny house on the seashore) were built, imitating the first Lido's "cabine" (dressing rooms). The ''casotti'', however, were entirely removed in 1986 for sanitation reasons. Their removal, the overcrowding, and a lack of erosion prevention work, caused a gradual dispersal of sand and a fast erosion of the shoreline in the nineties. To avoid the disappearance of the

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

, a rainbowinghttps://www.beachatlas.com/poet Poetto, Italy - Beach Guide, Info, Photos was tried on the

side in 2002: the sand was reclaimed and sprayed onto the beach using a fleet of dredging ships a few miles from the shore, in an attempt to restore the beach to its original size. However, the result was not as successful as expected: the white, fine-grained sand was replaced by sand of a completely different color, size and consistency. Years later the situation has not improved, and the quartese stretch, which initially remained intact after a few years, has now begun to have the same problems due to the removal of sand by the wind, people and the sea.

Administrative division

Poetto is popularly divided into ''fermate'' (stops), which means the various stretches of beach are recognized by the number of the bus stop or urban line linking the city centre district. The most popular is the 1st stop, adjacent to the port of Marina Piccola, just below the Sella del Diavolo. Very famous and popular are the 2nd (D'Aquila), 3rd (Lido), 4th and the 6th, home of an old hospital and of major events (championships of

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

beach soccer Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or sand soccer, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand between two teams of five players each. Association football has long been played informally on ...

beach football Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or sand soccer, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand between two teams of five players each. Association football has long been played informally on ...

and concerts). Around the 10th stop the coastline belonging to the

comune 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 ...

of Quartu Sant'Elena begins.

Nightlife

Poetto is also the entertainment district for Cagliari's nightlife and attracts many tourists. Especially from June to September, one can listen to live music, go to discos, participate in dance lessons or karaoke or simply walk on the seashore. The most popular clubs are Il Lido, Plan B, Sax Beach and Frontemare.

References

External links