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Places in Cagliari, Sardinia

The city piles up lofty and almost miniature, and makes me think of Jerusalem: without trees, without cover, rising rather bare and proud, remote as if back in history, like a town in a monkish, illuminated missal.

Cagliari, as described by D. H. Lawrence during his visit in 1921, has changed much since then with its bustling, cool and laid back atmosphere. Cagliari is set in a favourable position in the middle of a huge natural harbour boasting 8 Km of white sandy waterfront, called Poetto, enlivened by cafes and lounges and providing well equipped areas and facilities to hundreds of beach and water sport lovers.

The waterfront beauty and uniqueness is enhanced by the surrounding Molentargius lagoon and saltpans, residence of thousands, flourishing pink flamingos and water birds nesting and breeding in a safeguarded and protected marine environment.

The city centre develops around and above the harbour area and a steep cobblestone path takes you to the old town called Castello, a medieval district on a rounded hilltop surrounded by a limestone wall.

Tiny alleys and long flight steps open into wide terraces overlooking the city and the harbour below, with the imposing gulf right in the background. Sofas and cafes, music and cocktails are the setting for every night entertainment and enjoyment and a perfect location for tourists to mingle with the friendly, suntanned and fashionable local people.

Easy to explore over a week-end, its blend of narrow streets and boulevards are lined up with 14th and 15th century buildings where churches alternate with old cafes and designer's shops. Within a short distance, the Archaeological Museum opens into an unimaginable past of the island with thousands of findings ranging from 6000 BC until 800 A.D.

Obese female statuettes, bronze warriors and animals from the Middle and Late Neolithic, funerary urns, tools, artefacts and vases, from the dominations of Punic and Phoenician, from the Romans and ultimately the Byzantines.

Before leaving the city centre, a visit to the fish market of San Benedetto is a true must. Open to the public and the trade every morning except on Sundays, it is a striking place for its colours and its shouting vendors.

They loudly sell a huge variety of fish tidily lined up in marble stalls with busy customers bargaining over fine tuna and lobsters. Not unusual to spot some very old woman making and selling fresh pasta right on spot! Cagliari city centre is a convenient starting point to some of the most enchanting beach locations of the area like Santa Margherita di Pula and Chia on the west and Villasimius and Costa Rei on the east, just to name a few.