C.agliari, city of wind and sunwhere the climate never disappoints, starts from the sea, ideal for the first baths of the season. An intervention worth 10 million euros is planned for the new waterfront, entrusted to thearchitect Stefano Boeri, for the redevelopment of the promenade in via Romathe improvement of the harbor front and the definitive redevelopment of Piazza Matteotti.
The Castello district, in the upper part of Cagliari on a limestone hill. (IPA)
Doors open in Cagliari
And the city also restarts from culture and stories. Those that tell the students of elementary, middle and high schools, on the occasion of Open Monuments event that ends on 4 and 5 June, to present its heritage, reviving it with unpublished narratives. Among the places illustrated by the young storytellers: the Roman agricultural aqueduct of Elmas, the Romanesque art jewel of the church of Santa Maria di Uta and Villa Asquer di Assemini, a farm with a park of 23 hectares, open to the public for the first time. While in the city center, the following are worth a visit: the Botanical Garden, of which Italo Calvino’s mother was director from 1926 to 1929the archaeological area and the Museum of Santa Eulalia, in the historic district of the Marina, e Tuvixeddu, the largest Punic necropolis in the Mediterranean basin.
The Cagliari of Milena Agus
There are also stories set in the alleys of the ancient Castello district loved by the writer Milena Aguswho never misses an opportunity in his books to praise their beauty and amazement at the sudden flashes of light and panoramas: “It is a vertical city with sharp outlines especially when the mistral blows. Leaving the darkness of the narrow streets of the historic center, you are flooded with an almost blinding brightness, from the intense colors of the white of the stone and the blue of the sea“. You arrive at Castello gradually, climbing the stairs that from Piazza Costituzione arrive at the Bastioni di Saint Remy, named after the Viceroy who wanted them. An opportunity to take the Covered Walk, which hosts the exhibition until 12 June Galileo Galilei-Measuring the Infiniteand to go to the Citadel of Museums, for the largest Siamese collection in Europe at the Stefano Cardu Museum, and to admire, at the Municipal Art Gallery, a large collection of works of the twentieth century, including thirty Boccioni (sistemamuseale.museicivicicagliari.it).
In the oasis of pink flamingos
F. Bianchi / WWF
The stories of the salt pans are fascinating: in the one east of Cagliari, today Molentargius Saline Regional Natural Park, you pedal while breathing the scents of the Mediterranean scrub in one of the largest wetlands in Europe, a delicate habitat ecosystem of pink flamingos, increasingly numerous. For those who do not want to struggle, an electric minibus from the Info Point, at the building of the Chosen Salts (also a bike rental point), follows the same itinerary to enter the expanses of shallow water that are covered with rosa thanks to the arrubia people, the name that Sardinians give to flamingos. By boat along the canals and the ancient waterways of the Park (infopointmolentargius.com) goes around the salt flats. The longest-lived ones in Sardinia are west of the city: the Saline Conti Vecchirestored and reopened to the public by Fai. Almost three thousand hectares of the Pond of Santa Gilla, today divided between a naturalistic area, an industrial archeology site and a production plant, at the end of the 1920s were reclaimed to build a large salt pan which, thanks to the “white gold”, contributed to the development of the area.
Browsing through the stories
Finally, there is the Barca delle Storie, which hosts passengers and artists for art workshops and literature aboard a fifteen meter. The skipper Giulia Clarkson, writer passionate about sailing, organizes daily outings, where between dives, lunch and navigation towards the enchanting turquoise bay of Mari Pintau, you learn to relate to the sea element, its smells and soundshaving fun with the artists with readings, songs, poems, percussion and theater (cell. 328.6283125, arcipelaghiasd.it). Also to listen to the history of chef Marina Ravarotto from Barbagia that, in his ChiaroScuro restaurant dedicated to Grazia Deleddacombines the flavors of Nuoro with those of the sea, proposing a menu divided into chapters (cell. 347.9630924).
The bay of Mari Pintau, in the south of Sardinia, a few kilometers from Cagliari. (Alamy)
«The relationship between Cagliari and the sea is natural and varies according to the types of water: much more intense with the internal ones of ponds and lagoons, safer, richer and more generous, than with the Mediterranean» explains Marco Cadinu, landscape historian. Waves and billows, however, did not frighten the founders of the Giorgino village, the westernmost seaside village of Cagliari, inhabited by fishermen. To make known the true spirit of the place, the inhabitants organize three days of celebration, from 9 to 11 Junelinked to the territorial enhancement activities of the Nonturism project (nonturismo.it). On Saturday 11 at 18.30 a visit by Giorgino led by the inhabitants and at 20 the fish dinner in the square (reservations: cell. 338.3594289).
Cagliari city for sportsmen
Poetto beach, in the Golfo degli Angeli in Cagliari.
Cagliari is undergoing a profound transformation with many construction sites open, but boasts una among the highest percentages of public green for outdoor sports. It is a mini-metropolis of early risers. Already at dawn the diehards of the race meet along the new Su Siccu promenade, which from the Ichnusa pier, passing in front of the spectacular Marian basilica of Bonaria, arrives at the newly renovated Salt Warehouse of the great architect Pier Luigi Nervi. And it continues up to the Lazzaretto di Sant’Elia, transformed into a multipurpose cultural center with a view of the Gulf of Angels. The same route is for bikers who get on their bikes, even for hire, near the port, reachable from the airport in seven minutes.
Those who prefer to go trekking, following a simple and well-marked route, can “conquer” the Sella del Diavolo promontory in about an hoursymbol of the city, between the bay of Calamosca and the long urban beach of the Poetto, the lido of Cagliari: 12 kilometers of beach, between free and equipped, with kiosks for snacks or aperitifs by the sea: excellent mixed fry at kiosk number 1 Otium. Cagliari is a city with a discreet charm to be discovered by strolling through the historic districts: Stampace, Villan ova and Marina, with the continuous and cheerful comings and goings of people. And perhaps ending the day with a boat trip at sunset (ondalibera-boat-excursions.it) to listen to the stories that only the sea can tell.
Where sleeping in Cagliari
Victoria Literary Hotel
Tastefully renovated, it is in an early 1900s house where Joyce lived from 1910 to 1912. Rooms with private library or small apartments, for living as a local. Double from 110 €. hotelvictoriatrieste.com
The Modernist Hotel
Design hotel, furnished with care. Double from 150 €. themodernisthotel.it
Continental Hotel
In the pedestrian center, 4 stars with the charm of over a century of history. Double from 90 €. continentalhotel.com
A glimpse of the Botanical Garden of Cagliari. (Alamy)
Where to eat
Hostaria Malcanton
A cheerful environment with modern touches. Trieste seafood cuisine: mullet “in savor”, spaghetti “in busara” with prawns and marinated salmon. hostariamalcanton.it
Pier The Roof
The position at the end of the Venice pier that juts out into the gulf is priceless. Excellent carpaccio, tartare and fish soups. Do not miss the aperitif on the terrace at sunset. pierts.it
Antico Caffè San Marco
A meeting place for writers and students, in the wonder of Art Nouveau decorations. Unmissable at aperitif time, it has also become a restaurant with a cuisine of local products from the sea to the Karst. caffesanmarco.com
What to buy
La Bomboniera pastry shop
Via Trenta Ottobre 3. Historic patisserie from the early nineteenth century where you can buy putize, linzer and presnitz, the dried fruit cake cooked in a wood oven. A real jewel in the Austro-Hungarian style.
Info: Cagliariturismo.it
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