Cagliari and Sardinia

An Outlying Italian Island

In a word Cagliari was just okay.  Located on the island of Sardinia, about half way between mainland Italy and Spain, it is probably my least favorite city in Italy.  While we didn’t have any major set backs like in Malta two days prior, the city’s few attractions and bad neighborhoods limited our attention to a few hours.

Standing in the shade of one of the narrow streets of old Cagliari.

The only thing I did to prepare for our time in Cagliari was download an app with a map of the city, on which I was also able to load points of interest (museums, archeological site, etc.).  While the app wasn’t as good as the Rhodes app, it wasn’t as bad as the Valletta app either.  Not knowing anything about the history of the island I wanted to learn more, and used the app to find our way to the Archeological Museum. 

One of the few entrances into the Citadel of Museums.  We had to doge cars to get in.

Looking at the map of streets the museum did not look very far, crowded in the Citadel of Museums with other art museums.  However, the map did not make plain the uphill hike we would have to endure through graffiti infested neighborhoods to get there.  At times it seemed there was more spray paint than actual paint on the buildings and fences.  While some of the graffiti showed promise of a talented artist, much of it was in poor taste and poorly done.  I would have moved quickly through this area if it was not for the severe uphill grade to the museums. 

Graffiti was abundant.  Some of it was nice, most of it was not.

Our end destination the Citadel of Museums is just that, a citadel in which five or so museums are collected.  Medieval Cagliari adopted much of the same anti-pirate architecture as Malta.  The medieval city was set high up on a steep hill and completely encircled in a multi-story high wall.  Within the medieval section, another set of walls at the highest point lays the Citadel of Museums. 

Many of the archeological finds on Sardinia are tiny bronze figurines.

The old city is now completely devoured within the sprawling new city, and the only indication we were making the transition was by walking through a tunnel barely wide enough for a car to fit, and through which cars do drive.  I said a silent prayer a car would run into me as I edged along the wall of the tunnel into the city.

These large statues of ancient Sardinia are mysterious, as the largest of ancient artwork no one knows why they were constructed.

The Archeological Museum was only five euro a person, and provided enough history to satisfy me.  It is currently undergoing a revitalization of its exhibit to make them multilingual, and currently only about half of the plaques sport English.  It was enough to get the general idea. 

Large, circular, flat eyes are characteristics of these statues of ancient Sardinia.

The island has been inhabited for tens of thousands of years, with bronze age dwellers particularly of carving large human-like statues built to guard their necropolises (large crypts in which the dead were interred) as small bronze figurines made of molds.  The first trade of the volcanic island was obsidian mining, much desired in the time before metal forging for its use in knives and arrowheads.  Obsidian was traded off the island to mainland Europe and Africa before written language even made it to the island.  Small groups which could be called tribes or city states emerged with time, and all fell when the Roman empire conquered the island.  Eventually Sardinia became part of Italy, the country it belongs to today. 

Underneath the altar of this church in old Cagliari are a collection of crypts, exquisitely decorated.

After our venture through the museum we meandered back downhill towards the cruise port, stopping on the way at a church with a fantastic underground crypt under its altar housing important church leaders.   After the church, we set our sights on climbing one of the defensive towers built in the thirteen hundreds. 

Off of the main crypt underneath the altar are two smaller rooms holding what I can only describe as Catholic Sarcophaguses.

Called the Elephant tower, this tower along with a few others, stand several stories tall over fearsome metal gates to the city.  Not for the weak of heart, the steep stairs will prove a challenge for many.  Plenty fit to have no problems climbing up, I took pause with my fear of heights on the descent.  The steps were so narrow my foot would only fit sideways.  I thoroughly enjoyed the tower, but was quick to descend when David reminded me how old it was. 

This elephant tower is one of many towers positioned strategically on the walls of Old Cagliari.  A gate runs through its base.

We exited the old city via the gate beneath the Elephant tower.  This saw us enter the major thoroughfare of modern Cagliari.  However, there was as much an abundance of black-market merchants peddling handbags, purses, and jackets as anything else.  Their constant presence on the sidewalk crowded the walkways and ruined the ambiance.  Not finding anything but crowded streets we headed back to the ship. 

From the elephant tower the view of Old Cagliari's walls are impressive.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit Cagliari again.  If I was on a cruise ship docked in port I am not sure I would even get off.  The rest of the island has more to offer with UNESCO world heritage sites, but it would take a good deal and some convincing to get me to commit to an excursion.  All of the excursion options we had for the rest of the island were too expensive for my taste.  I’d rather go back to mainland Italy, where I never got bored.  

The cruise ship in port as seen from the Elephant Tower.