Sardinia is not just beautiful beaches.

In front of the Port of Cagliari, the capital city of the Italian island of Sardinia, there is an impressive white stone building on the Via Roma facing the port entrance. It is one of the first sights for visitors to Cagliari upon arrival in the city.

The building is the Palazzo Civico, or Palazzo Bacaredda, named in honour of Ottone Bacaredda, five times mayor of Cagliari. It was Bacaredda himself who decided that the structure should be built to house the seat of the city’s municipal council. The laying of the first stone took place on April 14, 1899 under the eyes of the Italian Kingdom’s second king, Umberto I, and the popular Queen Margherita of Savoy. The inauguration of the structure was in 1907. The architectural style was quite interesting with a tasteful mixture of Spanish gothic and liberty styles. Visitors to Madrid in Spain can see similarities to some buildings in that city constructed in the same period.

Unfortunately, extensive damage to Palazzo Civico was caused by Allied bombings from February to September 1943 during World War II. About 80% of the buildings in Cagliari suffered damage or destruction during the constant air raids and the Palazzo Civico underwent reconstruction from 1946 to 1953.

The front façade with several arcades is topped off with two tall octagonal shaped towers. These towers each reach a height of thirty-eight metres.  A curious detail to note while looking at the building is the presence of four small obelisks, one at each corner of the roof. At the base of each of these obelisks, four carved heads are visible: the famous blindfolded Moors. For anyone who does not know this feature, the four blindfolded Moors can be found on flags, monuments and in every aspect of Sardinian life.

Until recently, public visits were organised free of charge inside Palazzo Civico that offered an opportunity to see decoration and works of art ranging from the 17^th to early 20^th centuries. Cagliari has too many great places to visit to list them all here but the Palazzo Civico is definitely a good starting point.

For the rest of Cagliari’s great sites, contact me and I would be happy to share the secrets of the city with you.

Written by: Robert Coghlan

Photos by: Robert Coghlan