CUADERNO DE VIAJE CERDEÑA 2 {TRAVEL NOTEBOOK SARDINIA 2}

1. Route 3 - CAGLIARI

Salimos del hotel muy temprano con la idea de visitar el Mercado de San Benedetto en Cagliari, esta vez nos dirigimos al sur. Cogimos la autopista en Tramazza. La temperatura ese día marcaba que el calor era mortal, para las 10 de la mañana teníamos 40 grados, pasear iba a ser un problema, estaba claro, así que aparcamos justo al lado del mercado y estuvimos dando una vuelta. Visitar mercados es una cosa que siempre me gusta hacer, dice mucho de una ciudad y sus habitantes.

1. We left our hotel quite early with the idea of visiting San Benedetto produce market in the Capital of Cagliari. We took the motorway in Tramazza. That day we couldn´t stand the heat, by 10 o´clock in the morning temperatures hit 40 degrees and we couldn´t have a walk towards the market, so we parked right next to it. It was worth the visit really, I love to visit markets, I think they say a lot about the city you´re visiting and the people who live in it. This time we headed to the south of the island.

Situada al sur de la Isla, es una ciudad con mucha vida y siempre muy activa. La capital es la ciudad más grande de Cerdeña, con 150.000 habitantes y una ciudad muy antigua. Destino turístico para todos los visitantes que llegan de todo el mundo, atraídos por la fama de Cerdeña, su historia y sus mares. Cagliari es una maravillosa experiencia, atmósferas exclusivas con siglos de historia, naturaleza libre de contaminación, con unas noches cargadas de una vida dinámica y una cocina caracterizada por sus muchos sabores. Uno no se la puede perder. El clima es absolutamente Mediterráneo, con veranos calurosos que en momentos extremos pueden superar los 40 grados y creo que estamos justo en ese momento. Los inviernos son suaves, comentan que nieva cada 30 años y que raramente las temperaturas alcanzan los 0 grados.

1. Situated in the south of the Island, lively and, always on the go city. The capital is the biggest city in Sardinia with a population of 150.000 people, a very old city. It´s a destination for tourists coming from all over the world, attracted by the notoriety of Sardinia with its history and its sea. Cagliari is a nice experience to live: exclusive atmospheres with centuries of history, uncontaminated nature, a young and dynamic soul perceptible in the lively night life, a cuisine characterized by unique flavours, believe me you can´t miss it. It has a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers that could reach extreme values over 40ºC, I think we are in the middle of these extreme temperatures right now. Winters are quite mild, it is said heavy snowfalls occur on average every thirty years and it´s quite rare to have temperatures below 0º

A pesar del terrible calor, nos lanzamos a subir hacia la catedral. La catedral de Cagliari, Catedral de Santa María, del siglo XIII, está situada en la Piazza Palazzo, donde nos sentamos a beber algo antes de entrar en la Catedral. Excepto por la torre de la campana, hay muy pocos detalles de la estructura gótica original que se mantienen. Los frescos adornan los techos y las capillas laterales y tiene exhuberantes esculturas torcidas. En la puerta central, destacan los dos púlpitos de piedra, esculpidos por Guglielmo da Pisa. Originalmente formaron una sola unidad, que se encontraba en la Catedral de Pisa hasta que los Pisanos la donaron a Cagliari en 1312.

1. Cagliari´s graceful 13th century cathedral, stands proudly on Piazza Palazzo, where we stopped first to have something to drink. Except for the square-based bell tower, little remains of the original Gothic structure. Bright frescoes adorn the ceilings, and the side chapels spill over with exuberant sculptural whirls. At the central door, note the two stone pulpits, sculpted by Guglielmo da Pisa. They originally formed a single unit, which stood in Pisa´s Duomo until the Pisans donated it to Cagliari in 1312.

1. The Cathedral is designed in the form of a Latin cross. The longest arm is formed of three naves, a central nave and two side ones, onto which three chapels on either side open. These contain important monuments dedicated to saints, linked to the history and culture of the city of Cagliari.

1. Beneath the altar is the Santuario dei Martiri, The Shrine of the Martyrs, the only one of several underground rooms open to the public. It has an acess stairway and three intercommunicating chapels panelled in marble.  Carved out of rock, the sanctuary, which is named after the 179 martyrs whose relics are kept here, is an impressive sight with its sculptural decoration and intricate carvings.

1. To visit the cathedral, we parked the car in the centre in Largo Carlo Felice street and we went up trillion stairs, or it was the heat that made me think they were trillion. When we finally arrived at the top of the cathedral´s piazza, we found out there´s a lift to go up, but the truth is that we never saw it.

1. The heat forced us to look for a restaurant with air conditioning, because we tried to eat al fresco but it was impossible. Thank to that, we discovered a gastronomic zone, really interesting in the centre of Cagliari, opposite the port, where besides of having a light lunch they gave me many tips about how to make fresh pasta at home. More info here.

1. Later on, we went to wander around the old medieval town, called Castello in Italian, which means upper castle. it lies on top of a hill with a view of the Gulf of Cagliari, also known as Angel´s gulf. Most of its city walls are intact and include two early 14th century white limestone towers, the Torre di San Pancrazio and the Torre dell´Elefante, typical examples of military architecture. The local white limestone was also used to build the walls of the city and many other builings.

1. More about this city.

1. We left Cagliari to go back to our hotel, once again along the coast. We were exhausted that day really.