Cagliari Cathedral (Cattedrale di Santa Maria)

Cagliari's cathedral occupies the highest point of the Castello quarter, a white Baroque facade (17th century) attached to a Romanesque-Pisan interior of the 13th century. The mixture of periods reflects the building's long history of modification, but the result has real character. The two Romanesque pulpits, donated by Pisa in 1312, are among the finest examples of pre-Pisano carving in Italy and alone make the cathedral worth visiting.

In the crypt below the nave, which was carved out of the rock in the 17th century, over six hundred niches hold the bones of early Christian martyrs transferred from the church of San Saturnino. The crypt is a strange, slightly unsettling space, its walls lined with inscribed marble panels. Upstairs, the treasury contains the silver votive offerings presented by devotees over several centuries — an accumulation of beliefs and gratitude rendered in metal.

things to do sight castello
A story
The two large pulpits flanking the nave were originally carved for Pisa Cathedral in 1159–1162 by the sculptor Guglielmo, one of the great Romanesque carvers. In 1312, the Pisans gave them to Cagliari as a diplomatic gift — still a remarkable act of generosity. They were sawn in half to create the present four-pulpit arrangement when installed here, but the quality of the carving remains extraordinary: each panel shows narrative biblical scenes in a style that directly prefigures the achievements of the Pisano dynasty a generation later.