Cagliari has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The old city, called the Castle, lies on a hilltop and offers an excellent view of the Gulf of Cagliari. The old white limestone city walls are mostly intact. Look for two Thirteenth Century white limestone towers, the St. Pancras Tower and the Elephant Tower. D.H. Lawrence, who wrote Sea and Sardinia and Lady Chatterly's Lover compared Cagliari to a "white Jerusalem".
You will find the fairly well-preserved Second Century Roman Amphitheatre, an aqueduct, ancient cisterns, and the ruins of a small temple. Summers the amphitheatre hosts open-air concerts, operas, and concerts. The Archeological Museum located in a Fourteenth Century castle contains many artifacts coming from unique Sardinian stone structures called Nuraghe discussed in the companion article I Love Touring Italy - Central Sardinia. The nearby the Poetto beach is an amazing 8 miles (13 kilometers) long.
Pula is known for its lovely beaches, bays, and coves. Admire the flocks of flamingos in the marshes. Nearby lies the Phoenician site of Nora, perhaps Sardinia's oldest city. Ongoing excavations have uncovered many ruins from ancient Carthage and Rome.
In early May Nora and Cagliari host perhaps the greatest and most colorful religious procession in the world, the Festa di Sant'Efisio, honoring a martyr beheaded by a Roman soldier in 303 in Nora. According to popular belief this saint's intervention stopped a deadly Seventeenth Century plague. In gratitude thousands of traditionally costumed marchers transport his statue back and forth from a Cagliari church to one in Nora. The festivities end with a torchlight parade.
Despite its magnificent coastline, native Sardinians aren't very devoted to fish and seafood. Look for burrida, a fish soup sometimes based on shark. See our companion article I Love Touring Italy - Southern Sardinia for a sample menu and more information on local wines as well as an in-depth examination of the area's tourist attractions. Carignano del Sulcis DOC is produced in the southwestern tip of Sardinia mostly from the red Carignano grape.
