Servizi Culturali ed Informativi

INTRODUCTION

Cagliari is the main political, administrative, economic and cultural centre of Sardinia and the first port of the island. It is situated in the middle of the wide Gulf of Angels on the southern side of the island and it lies around the white limestone hills that rise between ponds, lagoons and the modern port connecting the old town neighbourhoods to commercial and industrial areas.
Cagliari is a beautiful, steep and stony town, with amazing landscapes and different chromatic effects: from the greenish of the Molentargius to the purplish-pink of the salines, from the blue of the channel port to the yellow of the lagoon of Santa Gilla, from the white rocks up to the Poetto sandy shore with its turquoise sea. Around the town, a green belt goes from the woods of Capoterra and Uta through the Sette Fratelli forest.
Thanks to its beautiful summers and its mild winters, springs and autumns, every day the town offers the opportunity to walk the streets of its historic districts.
Sun, sea, sights, culture, folklore, cuisine and natural landscapes of special charm: Cagliari offers many attractions to the tourist.
Cagliari is very ancient and - during its long history - it has had different roles; above all it has been market and stronghold according to circumstances. Its safe harbour and easy access and its barycentric position in the Mediterranean, made Cagliari one of the most important places in commercial routes.
It occupies a favourable position between the sea and a fertile plain and it owes its features to a melting pot of traditions, architectural styles and habits, influenced in turn by the former Roman, Byzantine, Spanish and Piedmontese dominations. The ancient settlements are testified - still today - by the impressive monuments and ruins that are left: the Phoenician-Punic necropolis of Tuvixeddu (which is the largest and most important sepulchral area of the Mediterranean), the emotional Grotta della Vipera (Viper's grotto) tomb and the Roman Amphitheatre.
It is one of the most destroyed towns by Second War bombings and it has been quickly rebuilt; thanks the blend of the old and the new, Cagliari is at the same time historic culture and a leading centre of Sardinian economy.