S.Efisio Celebrations in Stampace
The district Stampace extends westward from the Largo Carlo Felice. At one time, the area was a real residential area where noble families lived . If you take the characteristic Via Azuni, you can visit two large churches S. Annaand S. Michele.
The Church of St. Anna was built between 1785 and 1817, It is typical Baroque-Piedmont style and was restructured as a result of major bombings in 1943. Leaving from the side of the church, is the hypogeum of S. Restituta, a rock that keeps track of attendance from Roman until 1943-44, years during which it was used as a refuge.
At the end of Via Azuni stands the important Jesuit church of St. Michele,built during the seventeenth century. It ‘a wonderful example of baroque style, with its polychrome marble, stucco, canvases and painted wooden statues, all distributed between classroom and sacristies. The church is also formed by large porches in front and an interesting pulpit of the sixteenth century, while its original architectural structure was fundamentally characterized by a central plan shaped dome with ornaments and polychrome marbles on altars, columns and even on the pavement .The sacristy is particularly valuable, decorated with beautiful designs Colombino and Altomonte.
On the right of the church you can see a monumental door, topped by the Tower of Pisa S. Michele, built in 1293.
A little further up the hill is the easily distinguishable neoclassical building of ‘Civil Hospital, designed by Piedmont Cima. It ‘a particularly interesting building with an orderly distribution of internal lanes through a radial corridors.
Proceeding along Via S. Efisio, a fairly steep staircase leads to an underground chamber, the prison of S. Efisio, the martyr and patron saint of Cagliari. Further up Via Sant Efisio is Church of St. Efisio, built in Baroque style, within which is also venerated statue of the saint. On the first of May each year, this is the starting point for the colourful and evocative celebration of S. Efisio the saint of Cagliari in which his statue is carried to Nora, the place of his martyrdom, in memory of liberation from the terrible plague of 1652 -56.
