Looking up at a carving of a bull's head above a gate
Architecture,  History,  Monday walks,  Sardinia

Further explorations in Cagliari: Villanova and La Marina

July 8, 2024 / 30 Comments

Walkers are ‘practitioners of the city,’ for the city is made to be walked. A city is a language, a repository of possibilities, and walking is the act of speaking that language, of selecting from those possibilities.

Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking

I was drawn to that quote the moment I came across it. As anyone who travels to cities, and/or lives in one, knows, the only way to get to know a city is to walk in it. And ideally to walk without purpose, or at least open to the serendipity of the unexpected. A quaint alleyway, an unusually decorated house, a small church tucked away from the main thoroughfare, a garden or tranquil square … Who knows what you might find?

I have previously taken you for walks in the Castello and Stampace districts of Cagliari. There are two other central districts that remain to be discovered, and as we spent less time in these I am combining them in a single Monday Walk.

Villanova

We spent just part of a morning exploring the streets of Villanova. This is, as the name suggests, a rather newer part of town, although still with its own history to discover. Perhaps unsurprisingly it lacks the charming narrow streets of hilly Castello and Stampace, but it isn’t devoid of sights.

A short walk east of our rental apartment in Castello we came across a memorial to the fallen of the First World War. It sits opposite a building housing an arts centre but looking very much as if it were once a meat market. I couldn’t find any information about the building but I rather liked it so have included a photo above.

Relief carving of a woman with outstretched arms and smaller figures
Bell attached to a wall, engraved with small figures
Small altar with a large cross and curved wall

Memorial to the fallen of the First World War

A little further on was the church of San Lucifero. Sunday Mass had just finished so we were able to go inside for a look around. I was struck by the modern bronze doors with some dramatic reliefs. Inside it had an elegant appearance, seemingly a bit newer than the build date in the mid 17th century. Lovely old tiles, originally in the crypt, adorn the steps to the altar.

Bronze door with relief carvings
Tiled steps leading up to an altar
Carving of two men
Ornate gold altar

San Lucifero

A short distance further we came to the ruins of another church, San Saturnio, bombed during WW2. We watched a tortoiseshell cat catch and torment a small lizard! But the gate was locked, and we couldn’t explore properly nor get any good photos of the ruins.

From here we turned towards the water, following a long straight road beside the cemetery. It could have been dull but was enlivened by a sighting of some parakeets with white faces, which I later found out were Monk Parakeets. I was interested to find that Cagliari’s naturalised species is different from our Ring-necked London birds.

Green parrot in a tree
Monk Parakeet

There were lots of tributes to a footballer, Gigi Riva, attached to a fence. Riva was a one club player, a hero to the fans of Cagliari, as the fence plainly demonstrates. He also played 42 times for his country, scoring 35 goals. He died in January of this year and is clearly still missed and mourned by fans.

Wire fence with photos and banners attached
Poster with a black and white photo of a man

Remembering Gigi Riva

Nostra Signora di Bonario

At the end of this road we reached the church of Nostra Signora di Bonario, high on a hill overlooking the port. Unfortunately a mass was in progress so we could only look from the back of the church. But we were able to visit the sanctuary to one side of the main basilica. It contains a statue of the Madonna credited with saving the life of a ship’s crew.

The story relates to the community of friars of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy established here on the hill. It tells how one of the friars, Brother Carlo, predicted the arrival of a mysterious lady from the sea, a prophecy that was fulfilled when a chest appeared on the beach in front of the church in 1370. The chest had been thrown overboard when the captain of the ship caught in a terrible storm decided all the cargo should be jettisoned. No one knew where that chest had come from. It wasn’t part of the cargo, and it was the last item to be thrown. As it landed in the sea the storm abated immediately. The ship tried to resume course but was forced to run aground at the beach here.

Meanwhile locals had found the chest which had also landed on the beach. They tried, but failed, to open it. Then a boy in the crowd called out to fetch the brothers from the monastery. They succeeded in opening the chest where they found a statue of the Madonna with the Child in her arms and, in her right hand, a lit candle. Brother Carlo’s prophecy had come true. The Madonna had indeed come from the sea and had chosen to make her home here on the hill with the friars.

Read the full story here: https://bonaria.eu/simulacro/

Statue of the Virgin Mary
Relief carving of a clothed skeleton
Modern bronze relief of an angel
Large church with open space in front
Large bronze door with relief carvings

Nostra Signora di Bonario

From near here we caught a bus to spend some time by another beach, Poetta, but that will make a pleasant walk for another Monday perhaps. So let’s skip that and finish with the district we explored a little on our return from the beach.

La Marina

La Marina was, as the name suggests, the fishermen’s quarter, lying between Castello and the sea. Like its neighbour it has its fair share of picturesque lanes and old houses, but at the waterfront it has some much grander buildings, among them the impressive Palazzo Civico. The carved heads wearing blindfolds that ornament it are based on an early version of the Sardinian flag. Today the flag shows four men with cloth strips across their foreheads, not their eyes.

Impressive white stone building with small turrets
Impressive white stone building with small turrets
Small tower with carved heads wearing blindfolds
Small tower with carved heads wearing blindfolds
Bronze statue of a woman with wings on the side of a building

Palazzo Civico

Behind this, away from the water, is a maze of narrower streets filled with restaurants, shops, a few galleries, some homes and of courses churches. Washing hung above our heads, in typical Italian fashion, and locals leaned over their balconies to chat to neighbours or passing friends.

Street with warm coloured houses and hanging washing
Houses with shuttered windows and a church tower
Shuttered window with a small balcony
Carving of a face above a shuttered window
Street with warm coloured houses, paintings on display and hanging washing
Man looking over a balcony with wrought iron fence
Small street art stencil of a woman with a deer's head
Woman on a balcony with wrought iron fence
Soft toy unicorn holding a heart with wording 'I love you'
Rainbow striped fluffy monster toy

On the streets of La Marina

We finished our afternoon with a lovely wander here. And we returned later that evening for an excellent dinner in one of the restaurants we had spotted. A great way to round off our stay in this appealing city!

I visited Cagliari in April 2024

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