In the narrow streets of the Marina

Expected time (h:m): 

1:00

Walk for: 

2 km

Difficulty: 

  • easy

The Marina neighbourhood, in the past renown as "Lapola", has ancient origins. Various archaeological sites from the Roman era are evidence of the military use of the area. During the Aragonese period it became the centre of the commercial activity of Cagliari. Its picturesque streets, thanks to a careful restoration work, are rediscovering their former glory.

In recent years, there has been a gradual immigration, which have revived the trade and diversified the local gastronomic offer, bringing back to the neighbourhood its lively and multi-ethnic soul.

It is a good tour choice, for a pleasant walk through the façades of the buildings restored and painted in bright colours.

St. Augustine Crypt

The definition says it, it is hidden, but the crypt of St. Augustine is occulted for other reasons. It can be accessed, on scheduled days, only from the entrance hall of the Accardo building, in the Largo Carlo Felice. Only recently, with the displacement of a business that occluded the entrance, it is once again fully visible the lunette that reveals how, from 504 to 722, the site enshrined the remains of St. Augustine of Hippo, arriving at Cagliari in sequel to St. Fulgentius of Ruspe. In the second half of the XVI century, churches and convents that stood outside the city walls were demolished and then rebuilt in front of the current venue.

Church of St. Augustine

Come in from Via Baylle (street) or from Largo Carlo Felice. Come in and ask for Don Vincenzo Fois. The parish priest of Sant’Agostino (St. Augustine) will take you through the history of the Renaissance church: its patron saint and its artistic heritage scattered among the houses and the churches of the city, which with passion and tenacity, he seeks to recover.

He will show you the cloister wall now inaccessible, the silvers, the classical frame surmounting the main entrance and the fragments of altarpieces rebuilt with the patience of a lover.

The Church of Sant'Agostino was built in the Marina neighbourhood around 1577 and according to the Renaissance style, to replace the original church, of which only the crypt remained, incorporated in the Palazzo Accardo. The main entrance, crowned by a stone frame finely decorated with classical motifs, is on Via Baylle (street). However the side entrance located on the Largo Carlo Felice, which leads into the courtyard of the sacristy, is more used.

Internally, the church has a Greek cross groundplan, surmounted by barrel vaults and a dome at the intersection of the arms.

 

Phone number: 070664236

Opening hours: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. / 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Santo Sepolcro Church

The archangel Michael kindly observes the pedestrians. They seek him in the abundance of baroque façade with their nose pointed towards the sky. They seek him and find him. Then they look for the church, and they can’t find it. It seems like the architecture has played a joke on the church of San Michele (St. Michael), unique in the history of the city; its façade is rotated 90 degrees respect to the entrance of worship. This is how is resolved, in a unique balance, the contrast between the excesses of Baroque and Rococo styles and the austerity of the Mysteries, painted and sculpted.

An important historical testimony is the pulpit (from the medieval church of San Francesco, which was destroyed in the nineteenth century) where, during his visit to Cagliari in 1535, Emperor Charles V, attended Mass.

Phone number: 070658626

Opening hours:

Weekdays 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. / 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Holidays 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. / 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Baylle Street

Coffee shops, restaurants, shops of skilled craftsmanship and clothing: walk on Via Baylle (street) and you will find all of this among its old buildings with a view on the sea. The central axis of the historic neighbourhood of Marina is a kaleidoscope of colours and smiles, nestled between old nurseries, the Baroque façade of Sant’Agostino and the colours of the palazzata.

 

Regina Margherita Boulevard

At the Piazza Amendola (square), take a deep breath. Time has arrived to undertake stairs and slope and past vestiges, near and distant, visible and hidden. The story of Viale Regina Margherita (boulevard) begins with the fullonica (an ancient structure for textile manufacturing) from the Roman era, hidden by the INPS building, and continues to the right with the former tobacco factory, built on the monastery of Jesus and Mary (abandoned in 1749). On the left, passed some renowned restaurants, stands the so-called Scala di Ferro. Today, seat of the Prefecture (the main entrance is on a parallel street), it was once fortified. The last witness is the base conserved for the current construction. Reaching almost the top of the boulevard, you can admire, from the bottom to the top, the bulk of the bastion of Saint Remy, built on the bastions of the Sperone and of the Zecca.

Costituzione Square

It is always welcome to have a little pause and to sit for a while. The Piazza Constituzione (square) with the Bastion of Saint Remy in the background, with its candour and its grandeur, is perfect to rest. With its historic coffee shops and mansions, it is the connection point between the historic districts of Marina, Villanova and Castello.

Shops:

- Intrecci (V.le Regina Margherita, 63): crafts

St Eulalia archeological area

Nearly a thousand square meters underneath the bustle of the historic neighbourhood of the Marina, the archaeological site of Sant’Eulalia, located near the homonym church, is divided into different levels each corresponding to a certain period of the History.

 

The most interesting element rediscovered was a road portion with a northeast-southwest orientation provided of a sewer tunnel and constructed with large square blocks well united to each other. 

 

Phone number: 070663724 / 3337576694

Email: mutseu@tiscali.it

Website: web.tiscali.it  

Opening hours:  10 a.m. to 1 p.m. / 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Closed on Mondays

 

Prices: 

Adults € 5

Students:  € 4 

Children from 6 to 12 years old and groups of 20 persons: € 2.50

 

Under the arcades of Via Roma

At one time, it was a tree-lined boulevard. From its past guise, Via Roma (street) has preserved its beauty and its elegance that give an unforgettable welcome to those arriving by sea. The Palazzata, dominating the portico, was built in the second half of the XIX century to replace the fishermen hamlet and its modest homes with stuccoes, colours and large windows overlooking the harbour. The soul of the old quarter still resurfaces the junction of each cross street, in the quiet of the church of San Francesco da Paola, to find a sudden architectural interruption in the building of the Regional Council, a hymn to the contemporary style.

They are waiting for you:

- Caffè Roma (Via Roma, 111): Coffee shop

- Nuovo Caffè Torino (Via Roma, 123): Coffee shop

- Avio (Via Roma, 149): Coffee shop

- Loi 1926 Classic (Via Roma, 87): man classic clothing

- Candido Operti (Via Roma, 71): jewellery, goldsmith

- New Summer (Via Roma, 61): Coffee shop

- La rosa dei venti (Via Roma, 51): Coffee shop

- Fiorenza (Via Roma, 49): Sardinian handcraft

- La stazione (Via Roma, 24): stationers and bookshop