In Italy, castles in large cities rarely look like what we imagine when looking at a village: not a solitary tower on top of a hill, but complex systems of walls, gates, bastions and entire neighborhoods that for centuries have defined the power, urban space and even the emotional landscape of a community. Let’s think of Verona, Naples, Turin: the fortified presence not only tells of battles and sieges, but explains why certain streets go up, why a square is so wide, why there are viewpoints that seem to be placed there on purpose to make you stop and look. In metropolises and capitals, the castle is often a neighborhood transformed over time into a promenade, an open-air museum, a privileged point of view on the city.
But finding something truly iconic, capable of combining scenic beauty, historical depth and absolute visual impact, is not so obvious. Cagliari does it better than any other.
Because Cagliari wins
If you choose a criterion that rewards the scenographic impact and the quality of the visitor’s experience, the answer is Cagliari. Its Castello neighborhood is not a monument to be looked at from the outside: it is the upper city, perched on a limestone hill and surrounded by a defensive system that over the centuries has absorbed the Pisans, Spaniards and Savoys, each of whom has left a precise architectural mark. The experience is vertical in the most physical sense of the term: you rise from sea level, between narrow alleys and ocher walls, and find yourself above the city, at a point where the panorama becomes an integral part of the architecture.
The highlight is the Bastion of Saint Remy, one of the city’s most valuable monumental complexes, built on the ancient defensive curtains of the medieval circuit. The covered promenade and the majestic Umberto I terrace were designed by the architects Giuseppe Costa and Fulgenzio Setti, based on an original idea by the mid-nineteenth century architect Gaetano Cima, and built in classical style between 1896 and 1902. The staircase connects the three bastions of the Zecca, Santa Caterina and Sperone, uniting the Castello district with those of the Marina and Villanova below.
The upper terrace, covering 4,600 square meters and located at 56.54 meters above sea level, offers a view of the other historic districts and allows you to appreciate the skyline of the capital: from the Molentargius pond and the Saline Park, to Poetto and the Sella del Diavolo, up to the Sulcis mountains and the Sette Fratelli massif in the background. It’s one of those views that aren’t easily described: it’s better to see it.
The history of the Castle
The history of the Castle is, in fact, the history of Cagliari itself. The neighborhood was founded in the 13th century by the Pisans, who fortified it by providing it with walls, towers and bastions, transferring the seats of civil, military and religious power there from the judicial capital of Santa Igia, which they had previously destroyed. Two very powerful symbols remain from that period: the Tower of San Pancrazio (1305) and the Tower of the Elephant (1307), both built to defend the accesses to the upper city and still perfectly preserved today, with their openings towards the interior – an unusual feature that distinguishes them from any other Italian medieval tower.
In the following centuries, the Iberian dominations left a profound mark: between 1552 and 1571, the new defensive structure was designed by the Cremonese architect Capellino, who was responsible for the famous “tongs” that strengthened the defenses of San Pancrazio. His works were completed by Jacopo Fratino, who is responsible for the current appearance of the pentagonal bastion of Santa Croce.
The Bastion of Saint Remy also bears the weight of a darker history: in the bastion of Santa Caterina, where the Dominican convent once stood, the conspiracy took place in July 1668 which led to the killing of the Marquis of Camarassa, viceroy of Sardinia, who was shot while returning home in a carriage with his family. Those responsible were executed and their heads displayed for years at the Elephant Tower, as a warning to the whole city.
A place to cross
What makes Cagliari different from any other Italian city with a historic defensive system is the quality of the urban experience that the Castle offers today. It is not a theme park, it is not a museum separated from the life of the city: it is a lively neighbourhood, with churches, noble palaces, the university and cafes overlooking the ramparts. It is unmistakably a symbol of Cagliari and one of its most valuable exhibition spaces, but first of all it is a place where the people of Cagliari continue to live, walk and meet.
Going up to the Castle at sunset, when the grazing light colors the tuff walls and the sea lights up orange in the distance, is one of those experiences that remain. It’s not just the most beautiful castle in Italy: it’s one of the places where defensive architecture, layered history and landscape blend into something unique in the Mediterranean.
