Cagliari

SPACES FOR DREAMS

Not a slogan, but a fundamental concept for us: monuments are not-and should not be-closed, stationary, immobile places, but spaces within which people can live, think, act, design, dream.
Living spaces, then, in which the past, present and future of our community are contained and in which it regenerates, cyclically.
Therefore, we thought of dividing Cagliari’s monuments into five different “spaces” according to the major suggestion that each of them evokes. A way to facilitate your adventure during the two-day event and to immerse you, as much as possible, in the space of your dreams.

SPACES OF STORIES

From archaeological sites to key monuments of the past, in this section you will find all those places that encapsulate not only History-official and unambiguous-but multiple histories that in overlapping and interpenetrating manage to do justice to the complexity of our city. One example among all is the crypt of Santa Restituta: first a Punic quarry, then a rock church and finally an air-raid shelter in the bombings of World War II; or the archaeological zone of Sant’Eulalia, which, discovered by chance some thirty years ago, has brought to light a surprising glimpse of Cagliari’s millennial past. Today Sant’Eulalia is not only a monument but also an exhibition space and evocative setting for cultural events.
Among the various sites in this section is the archaeological area of Vico III Lanusei: one of those many hidden nooks and crannies foreclosed to the public that we hope will soon become a usable part of the city’s historical heritage.

What, then, were the monuments, what are they, and what will they be? We invite you to discover these living bodies and all the stories they have to tell.

LIVING SPACES.

A city creates its history day by day. Beyond the monuments recognized as such, it has within it many beating hearts that characterize its life today and lay the foundation for the future city.
This “space” includes all those places that give us a glimpse of current life in Cagliari and are, by their importance and vitality, already history.
From the Palazzo Siotto to the Lazzaretto, lively places of cultural production; passing through the historic sports clubs, the Amsicora Stadium and the Unipol Domus, where, while waiting to find a permanent home in the new stadium, the glorious epic of Cagliari Calcio is retraced; arriving at the Palazzo Civico, a place where the aspirations of a community in constant evolution converge, day after day.
In this section we wanted to include two itineraries to discover Villaggio Pescatori and the Villanova neighborhood. Two places that are the heart of “cagliaritanity,” which have made their way of life an ideal: that of thinking about the future in a sustainable, authentic and social way. It will be the inhabitants themselves who will lead you to discover their “villages” and a history that wants to project itself into tomorrow.

More than visiting, we invite you to experience the city!

SPACES OF THE SOUL

There are places that transcend the physical and historical dimension and are located in a space that we might call “timeless”: that of the soul. This section includes all those monuments that have a spiritual vocation and are able to tell us about another part of the city’s soul. Cagliari, a city of the sea and a Christian stronghold in the Mediterranean, has seen the construction of many places of worship throughout the centuries.
Many of these represent true works of art in which the spirit finds, in the depth of beauty, its fulfillment. Such is the case with the Cathedral’s splendid Crypt of the Martyrs, the sacristy of San Michele or the cloister of San Domenico, which recently underwent restoration and is now finally accessible again during Monumenti Aperti.
But spirituality does not have a specific faith: it encompasses them all. That is why in this section you will also find the Baptist Church, which tells us how, in the bustling Cagliari of the late 19th century, not only goods and industrial revolutions came from the sea, but also new perspectives of faith and confessions.

To visit the spaces of the soul, you do not have to be a believer. Whatever you believe in, let yourself be enveloped in the beauty that skilled architects, artists and craftsmen have built over the centuries.

SPACES OF KNOWLEDGE

“Educate yourselves, for we will need all our intelligence.” (Antonio Gramsci)

No phrase is perhaps more apt to describe this section, in which all those places whose knowledge and, more generally, culture characterize the function converge.
Museums, libraries, universities, modern and ancient collections–the spaces of knowledge are many and each has a unique story to tell.
Think of Clemente Susini’s anatomical waxes, which arrived from the sea in the early 1800s with the same cases that still guard them today; think of the beauty and variety of Sardinian artifacts contained in the Regional Ethnographic Museum or the exotic ones in the Museum of Siamese Art, which miraculously landed in the city thanks to the visionary passion of a Sardinian emigrant. Then come to the curious scientific collections and contemporary art collections. You will realize how boundless and fascinating the knowledge is!

We invite you to build your visit itinerary by including multiple museums of different types: a little art, a little science, a little history, and lots and lots of passion from those who, for one reason or another, have given us some of their knowledge!

AIR SPACES.

A city, in its crossroads of buildings, meetings and movement, also needs to breathe. Cagliari is fortunate because, in addition to having the breath of the sea, its irregular geographic and urban conformation has meant that over time it has carved out multiple “air spaces,” each with clearly recognizable forms and identities. Think of the all-nineteenth-century elegance of the Giardini Pubblici (Public Gardens), the intimate recollection of the Orto dei Cappuccini (Capuchin Garden) or, again, the post-industrial charm of the newly created urban forest at the former Dondina quarry at the foot of Monte Urpinu (one of this year’s new additions).

Our suggestion is to visit these places savoring to the fullest all the breaths that the city offers us!