Our Pick of the Best Historical Things to Do in Cagliari

Antico Caffè at the Bastion of Saint Remy is one of the most renowned historic coffee houses in Cagliari. It was the Savoyards who introduced coffee, and cafés, to the island. Opened as a bar in 1838 by Lazzaro Canepa from Genoa, it became a café in 1855 under the name Caffè Genovese. It was an elegant establishment that welcomed artists and important people such as Gabriele D’Annunzio, Grazia Deledda, and D.H. Lawrence. In 1996, the café took its current name. Definitely a place to include on your itinerary for breakfast, a coffee break or snack, or for lunch or an evening meal.

The basilica is located in the heart of the medieval quarter of the Castello district near the Bastion of Santa Croce. First built in the 13th century as a synagogue, it was later transformed into a Catholic church. Up until 1492 this area was the Jewish quarter of Castello. Ferdinand II banished all Jews and Muslims who had not converted to Christianity. The synagogue and surrounding houses was given to the Jesuits. The first radical transformation was complete in 1661. When the Jesuits were banished from the island, the church passed to the state and was elevated to a basilica.

In 1254 a Romanesque church dedicated to Santa Maria was built within the walls of the Castello. In 1313 it became the Cathedral of Cagliari. Over the centuries since, there have been many interventions and restorations. The most significant of which were in the 17th century when a crypt was cut into the bedrock beneath the presbytery and the church was given a Baroque appearance – including a new façade. The crypt is made up of three interleading chapels, in which were placed the relics of 179 martyrs gathered from around Cagliari. In the 1930 the Baroque façade was demolished in favour of a more Romanesque look.

Cagliari’s Castello district was founded around 1216/7 when Pisan merchants created a fortified city, known as Castel di Castro. Some of these fortifications still stand, but there have been many  additions and modifications over the centuries since. Today a tour of the medieval system of bastions and towers, walls and gates provides an interesting way into learning about the history of Cagliari. Within the citadel is the cultural heart of the city, with several museums, the former town hall, the Saint Mary Cathedral and the Jewish Ghetto.

Each year from 1 to 4 May the church is the focus of Cagliari’s most important annual festival, the Feast of Sant’Efisio. The first church was built in the 13th century, said to be above the rock cut cavern that was the prison where Efisio was locked up before being martyred on the beach in Nora (303 AD). The church has been modified since, but its current Baroque appearance dates to the end of the 18th century. On 1 May the chariot containing the statue of Saint Efisio is taken to Nora during a spectacular procession, and returns some days later.

High metal railing protects the remains of a church that suffered only minor damage during Allied bombings of 1943, but was nonetheless demolished in 1947 (to access post-war reconstruction funding). Although this was a church built in the early 17th century, the first recorded mention of a church at tis site is in 1119, when the church was given to the Benedictine monastery of San Saturnino. The most recent archaeological excavations were in 2023. Follow the link for an interesting audio guide to the site, available in a number of languages.

First mention of the church is in 1519, but excavations suggest the site has long been a sacred area. The chapel of the Pieta has a striking Baroque altarpiece. The burial crypt with wall decorations imitating black funeral drapery was likely built when the cemetery surrounding the church stopped being used in the early 19th century. During renovation of the sacristy in 2000 a circular basin with steps leading into it was uncovered. Thought to date to the 4th century AD, it may be part of an early Christian church. A collection of the Church’s religious artefacts are on display in the Treasury Museum.

The crypt beneath the Church of Santa Restituta has a long history. A natural cave was converted into a hypogeum, which became a religious site for the Phoenicians, storage for the Romans, a Christian place of worship, a bomb shelter for Stampace residents in 1943, and today a popular tourist attraction. A few frescoes have survived, including a well preserved painting of John the Baptist. On 17 February 1943, as people rushed for shelter, 96 people were killed by shrapnel from a bomb. A guided tour is highly recommended to understand the various rock cut cavities.

The Don Bosco refuge was one of a series of underground tunnels dug in 1700 by the Piedmontese for military purposes beyond the then walls of the city. This particular network of tunnels extends some 180 metres. Many of the passages have benches against both side walls. At the beginning of World War II, the tunnels were modified so that they could be used for air raid shelters for the inhabitants of the city. Hundreds of people sheltered here during bombing raids. The entrance to the tunnels is within the grounds of a school, and it is only possible to visit on a guided tour offered daily throughout the year.

With some of the finest examples of Baroque art in the city, this is the historic seat of the Jesuit Order in Cagliari. Three buildings make up the complex, the church, the convent and the novitate house that now houses the military hospital. The church was built at the end of the 17th century, before the cathedral. The Jesuits were expelled from the island in 1848, but returned 80 years later. Visitors are struck by the rich decoration of the church, which include stucco, frescoes and polychrome marble. The ceiling in the sacristy is worth the visit alone.

At the end of a narrow public garden on Buoncammino Hill is a 19th century neoclassical building that in 1933 became Cagliari’s art gallery. Prior to a substantial renovation, this was the Savoy munitions depot. The gallery has two main exhibition areas. The first displays the Ingrao collection, a gift to the city in 1999, which contains work by 20th century Italian masters. Displayed in the second area is art of Sardinian artists from the early 20th century and the late 1970s. The museum is committed to improving the physical, cognitive and sensory accessibility.

Given the quantity of objects from all over the island, this museum is certainly the most important in Sardinia. Since 1993 it has occupied one of the buildings in a complex known as the ‘Citadel of Museums’, built within the district of Castello, reusing the space of the ancient medieval walls. It houses more than 4,000 objects that tell 7,000 years of history, ranging from Prehistory to the Early Middle Ages, in an itinerary that is divided over 4 floors, each with different themes. In the collections visitors can admire statuettes of the mother goddesses, Nuragic bronze statues, a large part of the Nuragic giant statues of Mont’e Prama, as well as Punic and Phoenician jewellery and Roman statuary.

Located in the historic Castello quarter of Cagliari, the Royal palace, also known as the Viceregio (or Viceroyal palace), was built in the 14th century as a residence for the king’s representatives in Sardinia. It was used as such by the Aragonese, the Spanish and the Savoyards, each of which left their own mark in their adaptations. Today it serves as the administrative seat of the Metropolitan City of Cagliari. After climbing the grand 18th century staircase entry is only €3, for which you can see the ornate Council Chamber and various private and state reception rooms.

One of the best examples in Sardinia where an archaeological ruin merges with the modern city. It was built between the end of the 1st and the beginning of the 2nd century AD. Throughout its history it had many roles: it was the site of gladiatorial battles, a quarry, a family shelter and a concert arena. It is undoubtedly a symbolic place of the city of Cagliari, which can be admired from the streets that surround it. By paying a small ticket, it is possible to get closer to better observe it, but unfortunately, neither walking in the arena nor visiting its inner areas is allowed.

In the heart of the Marina district of Cagliari, and beneath the Church of Saint Eulalia, is an archaeological site with over 2,000 years of architectural features. After 20 years of excavations in an area of 900 square metres, raised walkways have been constructed providing a route through the ruins. From a Late Punic era (4th century BC) pit to 1st century AD Roman workshops, from a Late Roman Porticus to 14th century foundations of a Catalan church, to an 18th century  crypt. Excellent maps and text in both Italian and English make this ‘jumble of rocks’ intelligible.

One of the museums that makes up the ‘Citadel of Museums’, this exhibition space has been created out of the bastion of San Pancrazio. On display are a range of stone objects and other artefacts, mostly ranging from the 13th to the 17th century but also a few Roman pieces are on display. One of the highlights of the collection is Napoleon’s Sword of Honour given to Umberto I of Savoy in 1866, who gave it to the Cagliari museum. A number of other architectural features and stone coats of arms reflect the urban evolution and history of the city.

Built between the 5th and 6th centuries AD on a vast Roman necropolis, this is the site where Saint Saturno was beheaded in 304 AD for refusing to renounce Christianity. In 1089 it was given to Benedictine monks, and in 1669, it was partly dismantled for building stone for the cathedral. It suffered further damage during the WWII bombing in 1943. It is the oldest church in Cagliari, with Roman and Romanesque features still visible. Together the restored church and excavated necropolis is one of the most important paleo-Christian sites in the Mediterranean.

Cagliari’s treasury museum contains a range of precious religious artefacts from the Parish of Sant’Eulalia, including the church of the Holy Sepulchre and the now ruined church of Santa Lucia. Collections include silverware, paintings, sculptures and vestments, objects and images dating between the 16th and 19th centuries. Highlights of the collection include a 14th century painting of Madonna and Child, thought to be from the Siena region. A 15th century sculpture of Madonna and child has both Gothic and Renaissance features. A ticket to the archaeological area includes  admission to the treasury collections.

A decommissioned 744.003 locomotive stands in the main foyer of the central railway station in Cagliari, marking the entrance to the Sardinian Railway Museum that explore the development of rail transport on the island. On display are a number of artefacts that tells this story, from archival photographs to railway clocks, railway tools to machines. One of the most interesting objects is a carriage from the Sardinian royal train, equipped with armchairs that were specifically made for the height of King Vittorio Emanuele III.

The hill of Tuvixeddu is home to one of the largest necropolises in the entire Punic world, with more than 1,000 burials. The most important of these are the ‘well’ burials, which consist of vertical entrances dug into the rock, between 3 and 7 metres deep, with small chambers opening onto the walls in which the dead were laid to rest. The necropolis dates from the 6th to 4th century BC, although it was reused by the Romans until the early imperial period. In 2014, with the creation of the park, the area became public, but despite this it remains impossible to see the interior of the most famous Punic chambers, due to the impossibility of making it easy to enter.