Cagliari jealously preserves the history and memory of the ancient civilizations that have succeeded here. Over the centuries, the peoples who have inhabited it have been so numerous and diverse that they have imbued it with an open and welcoming character towards visitors. Among its streets, the memory of different civilizations lingers: the Punic civilization in the remains of the Tuvixeddu Necropolis, the Roman Karales as evidenced by the grandiose Amphitheater, the Byzantine civilization with the Basilica of San Saturnino, the Pisan civilization with its tall towers, and finally, the Piedmontese civilization with the marvelous Royal Palace. Millennia-old imprints and traces are rediscovered in the narrow streets once traversed only by carts and carriages. Just a few steps away, amidst ancient and modern palaces, one suddenly discovers the emotion of fascinating monuments that tell the city's history.
Observing Cagliari from the sea, the suggestion remains of entering into a scenic city, easy to see due to the immediacy of the panoramas, and diverse in the continuous changing of perspectives. The African flavor of palm trees and limestone yellow is tempered by a distinctly Western architecture. It is precisely the combination of such distant characteristics that makes the city unique in its multiplicity.
Founded in the Neolithic period (6000-3000 BC), Cagliari only became a true city many centuries later, thanks to the Phoenician-Punic rulers who exploited its favorable geographic position in the center of the Mediterranean to make it a bustling commercial port. After the First Punic War (3rd century BC), Cagliari came under Roman rule, of which it still preserves important artifacts and testimonies, such as the Roman Amphitheater and the Villa of Tigellius. With the spread of Christianity, the city came into contact with prominent figures such as St. Augustine, and then entered a phase of decline under the Vandals, only to rise again with the return of the Byzantine Empire. This period was characterized by the birth of the Judicates (9th-10th century AD), a sort of local autonomy that allowed the island's populations a relative independence and self-determination. In the 13th century AD, however, coinciding with the decline of the Cagliari Judicate, the Pisans settled in the city and fortified its upper part by isolating it through a system of bastions and fortifications that are still visible today in the neighborhoods of Castello, Stampace, Marina, and Villanova. Not even a century later, in 1324, the Aragonese took over, later joining the Crown of Catalonia to establish Spanish rule, which generated strong discontent among the population. It was not until 1717, with the Treaty of Utrecht, that the situation changed. After an inconsequential Austrian rule, Cagliari and Sardinia passed to the House of Savoy the following year, initiating an era of significant urban interventions that gradually emancipated the city from its fortified condition in favor of a more rational development through useful and valuable works. After World War II, Cagliari experienced a new life: around the historic urban core, a new city began to emerge, which in just 20 years, from 1951 to 1971, saw the number of dwellings double, attracting the population from the surrounding areas and thus laying the foundations of the present metropolitan area. Today, Cagliari appears as a complex city, divided between its important historical and cultural heritage and the modern world. It is a capital that, however, has developed over the years in total harmony with the surrounding territory, which is an integral part of it and a distinctive sign.
Follow us