Welcome to Sardegna’s capital
You’ve heard all about Sardegna – the mesmerising emerald waters, soft pink sand beaches and billionaire yachts but that is literally just the (northern) tip of the island. Sardegna is wild, and if you’re looking for a little less resort and a little bit more culture, history and nature, Cagliari, Sardegna’s capital city in the southern coast, is where it’s at.
Cagliari, known as Casteddu (castle) in sardo, is castle rock overlooking the water. The city sprawls out from its oldest peak down to the beach and then some. Once you get past the modern lowrises, you’re in the fairytale-looking historic city center. This is where practically everyone in the who’s who of Mediterranean explorers have all touched down – Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Aragonese, Spanish, Genovese and Pisans.
Cagliari’s history is a tapestry of different cultures, spanning centuries and marked by periods of prosperity and decline. This rich history is the foundation of the city’s present and future, making it a fascinating destination for history buffs and anyone interested in exploring the past.
And it’s climate makes it one of the best year-round destinations with average winter temperatures peaking at 15°C (59°F) and hot summers of around 30°C (86°F), though there are heat waves.
Exploring Castello
Cagliari can be a walking town, depending on where you want to go. City heart is Castello, Cagliari’s oldest neighborhood. Surrounded by medieval walls, Castello is a stunningly picturesque hilltop fortress of labyrinthine roads, medieval towers and baroque palaces.
Meandering the Castello neighborhood will walk you through Cagliari’s millennia of history from its early Neolithic foundings to its contemporary vibe, and everything in between. Modern piazzas are decorated with contemporary Sardinian art and leftover Fascist ornaments are home to Byzantine basilicas hiding Roman ruins.
From Castello’s Bastion of St. Remy, the city’s best overlook at 100 meters above sea-level, Cagliari unfurls to the port with its mess of historic cafes and buildings, sprawling parks and shopping streets.
What to do
Castello is home to the amazing National Archaeological Museum. In its new contemporary building – a kind of modern, dark sandstone ziggurat- the National Archaeological Museum shows off the island’s rich history and cultural heritage from the very early Bronze age to the Roman conquest is incredible.
The collection takes you on a deep dive Sardinian and Cagliari history through its incredible collection of ceramics, pottery, sculptures, glass and artefacts like weapons and agriculture tools. When we visited, we were so excited to come fact to face with the Giants of Mont‘e Prama, ancient stone sculptures from the Nuragic civilization, which will soon be housed in a museum of their own in another part of Sardegna.
Cagliari is a lot more than ancient. We enjoyed a walk through the Giardini Pubblici, a beautiful pedicured park to the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Cagliari and Galleria Communale d’Arte where we had a deep dive intomodern Cagliari through paintings and sculpture by Sardi artists from the late 19th century to today.
From Castello, we head slightly out of the medieval walls to the Roman amphitheater, a spectacular seaside arena. Built in the 2nd century AD, the amphitheatre is carve right out of the local rock while the rest was built in white limestone to a height of 20+ meters. By the 5th century, it abandoned and eventually used as quarry and prison. Today, the arena is an amazing site, almost wild in how it is built into the hillside.
Coastal Cagliari has a gorgeous nature. Lungomare Poetto is the city’s main urban beach. The long stretch of white sand is perfect for sunbathing, swimming, and relaxing. The beach is also a popular spot for windsurfing and kite surfing, making it a great destination for adventure seekers.
Southeast is Molentargius-Saline Regional Park,a bird watcher’s paradise. The park’s claim to fame is that it is one of the most important breeding grounds for flamingos in Europe, thanks to its natural salt ponds, so at any given time you’ll find gorgeous hot pink flamingos.
Where and what to eat
Sardinian cuisine is not quite the Italian food you’ve come to expect. While meat and cheese-based dishes are regional mainstays, pastas, breads and pastries are vary from village to village and seafood is a staple in the coastal towns and islands.
Sa Burrida, catfish with sweet and sour sauce , tomato and vinegar, with parsley and walnuts, is Cagliari’s iconic dish. Other not-to-miss dishes are the briny spaghetti alla bottarga (grated grey mullet roe), the dumpling-like culurgiones, a raviolo made with milled semolina or durum wheat flour and water and traditionally stuffed with potatoes, fresh mint,pecorino sardo (cheese) and garlic, and seadas, sweet n’ savoury cheese pastry made with fresh pecorino sardo, orange zest, wheat, eggs and a sweet veil of honey or sugar.
Cagliari restaurants to take note of include Luigi Pomata, Da Marino al St. Remy, Dal Corsaro. I also love the historic coffee bars Caffè de Candia and Antico caffè.
Where to stay
Cagliari may be a sprawling city but it has the vibe of a small town, most likely thanks to the fact that it is a pastiche of neighborhoods. Earlier, I mentioned that Castello is the oldest and considered the heart of southern capital, so my objective was to stay in the Castello neighborhood. Mission accomplished at Palazzo Doglio.
The beautifully restored 17th-century palace is just a short walk from the Bastion of St. Remy, and central to all of Cagliari. What I love about the 72-room hotel is the Sardo touches in its contemporary classic. By that I mean, the rooms were hued in muted tone, but key to each room are colourful work of arts, often paintings, from local artists.
Traveling as a couple, I find myself needing personal space more often than not, so far that we had a corner room with a charming sitting room/salotto, facing the entrance street. FYI- Piazza Doglio has plans to make the front entrance area a pedestrian piazza.
The hotel’s best feature is the piazza courtyard, a large open quad perfect for pranzo, aperitivi, dining and socializing. Hotel restaurant Osteria del Forte is one of Piazza Doglio’s four food options, and by far, my favourite. I was mesmerised by chef Alessandro Cocco’s incredible cacio e pepe with sea urchin.
A version of this article originally appeared in Forbes Travel, April 2023.
