It is located in the Sant’Elia neighborhood, within the vast Rings Park, adjacent to the Lazaretto, and was used as a World War II Air Raid Shelter, whose occupants, generally evicted or destitute, were supposed to take refuge inside in case of a bombing alarm.
The first adaptation project dates back to December 1940 with a planned expenditure of 45,000 of the old lira (today about 34,238 euros).
The tunnel, which has two entrances equipped with parasols, is 50 meters long, has an average width of 2, an average height of 2 meters 20, and pre-dates World War II.
There were 480 people interested in finding shelter there, for whom an area of 158.40 square meters was needed, considering that according to the calculations of the Chief Engineer of the City of Cagliari each person occupied about 0.33 square meters.
An attempt to increase the space was unsuccessful.
The presence, inside, of five niches and related seats, obtained during the excavation, suggested the presence of Basilian monks who took refuge, as a choice of life, in underground rooms.
Visible in the external part above the gallery are some stone blocks that could be evidence of the presence of a convent and the underlying place of worship.
The structure internally has several readjustments, including some arches, which do not allow an easy reading of its origin, which may also have been used as a shelter during the period of the French attack on Cagliari in 1773.
