Castello is certainly the most important historical area of Cagliari and is surrounded by ancient ramparts, Pisan towers and contains some of Cagliari’s most important buildings, museums and churches . Here you will find the beautiful Church of Santa Maria del Monte, built in 1591 and the former barracks of the Piedmontese from the eighteenth century. Other sites include Church of the Holy Cross, built in 1661 and one of the most beautiful architectural gems of the city, dell’Elefante Tower, erected in 1307. From Castello you also get spectacular views of the city, including the lagoon of Santa Gilla and the mountains of Sulcis. .
Entry to Castello is through ancient fortified towers built when the Pisans were in power.The ancient portal is still intact . A little later will meet the Porta dei Leoni, which marks the transition from the district of Castello to that ofMarina, near the port is the wonderful Terrace Umberto I, or bastion of St. Remy, built from the beginning of the twentieth century and considered as a sort of entrance to the beautiful panoramic terrace. Proceeding further, it comes to Independence Square, irregular shape, where are the National Museum and the Tower of S. Pancrazio.
The Tower of San Pancrazio, the first tower of Pisa erected in Cagliari, was designed byJohn Capulas, and was built in 1305. Near the tower is also the ancient palace of Siziate (Seat of the Sardinian Parliament). In Independence Square you can admire a particularly interesting palace that was home to the National Archaeological Museum from 1908 to 1993. Once exceeded the arcades of the museum, access to Piazza Arsenale, topped by the aforementioned Torre di San Pancrazio, on your right you can see the Porta de S’Avanzada, beyond which you can enter into Viale Regina Elena. Beyond the door dell’Arsenale will become available also to the famous Citadel of Museums, a large conglomerate urban designed by the architects Cecchini and Gazzola in 1984. The latter is home to some of the most famous universities, such as the National Archaeological Museum, the National Art Gallery, the collection of Anatomiche Wax Museum and Eastern Europe.
From Independence Square, via Martini leads to the vast Palace Square, so called because of the presence of the Palace of Government or Royal Palace, built in 1769.The square is rectangular, slightly tilted and is dominated by the Cathedral of Santa Maria, one of the most important monuments in Sardinia. The Cathedral was built between 1274 and 1300 but its structure was amended in Baroque style in 1674 by the architects and P. D. Spotorno Fossati. Its facade was rebuilt in 1933 and its Romanesque portals are still the ancient fragments of the original XIV secolo.L ‘internal Church is full of ornaments, marble and a large number of paintings. In the transepts are also two Gothic chapels built in 1300, in the left transept is a poliptico the sixteenth century, produced by M. Cavaro, while the right is the triptych of Clement III, representing Christ and Santa Margherita. In the left transept, you can also admire the mausoleum of the young Martino, an Aragonese prince who died in Cagliari in 1409.
The most important artistic masterpieces inside the facade of the Church. There are two pulpits designed by the maestro William and constructed in 1159. Originally they were constructed for the Cathedral of Pisa, but later were donated to the city of Cagliari. William created several sculptures in the pulpits, some of which depict the life of Christ, and four wonderful lions in the Romanesque style that decorate the staircase. Under the presbytery you can visit the original crypt, which is divided into three chapels and is adorned by thousands of different tiles.
Once left the Palace Square, is the City Palace, built in the eighteenth century, which was used as the City Hall for two centuries. Today it hosts the ‘municipal historical archive, . On the left of the building are also the small Gothic Church Of Hope, the Way Fossario and the near Terrace Umberto I. A short distance from the terrace leads to Buoncammino, i
