Cagliari
Cagliari is the capital city of Sardinia and the island’s largest urban centre. Founded in ancient times by Phoenician mariners, it is set between the sea and the coastal wetlands. From the sea, it appears as a shining white fortress, with an unmistakable profile formed by the fortified quarter of Castello, with its bastions, the two medieval towers looming over it and the dome of the cathedral. Its most ancient heart is divided into four quarters consisting of narrow alleyways paved in cobblestones, flanked by old houses, workshops and many, many churches, at times almost hidden. Karalis, its name in ancient times, meant “city of stone”, but in the Sardinian tongue they just call it Casteddu, the castle. Perhaps its two names are just two ways of expressing the wonder of its beauty at sunset, when the sun bathes the city in shades of red and gold.