Cagliari (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkaʎʎari], Sardinian: Casteddu) is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means the castle. It has about 160,000 inhabitants, or about 400,000 including the suburbs (metropolitan area): Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu Sant'Elena.
Cagliari has been inhabited since ancient times. It occupies a favourable pos...
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Cagliari (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkaʎʎari], Sardinian: Casteddu) is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means the castle. It has about 160,000 inhabitants, or about 400,000 including the suburbs (metropolitan area): Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu Sant'Elena.
Cagliari has been inhabited since ancient times. It occupies a favourable position between the sea and a fertile plain, and is surrounded by two swamps (which afforded defences from enemies from inner lands) and is close to high and green mountains (to which people could evacuate if everything else was lost). Some testimonies of prehistoric inhabitants were found in Monte Claro and in Cape Sant'Elia.
Under the name of Karalis it was established around the 7th century BC as one of a string of Phoenician colonies in Sardinia, including Tharros. Its foundation is expressly assigned to its opportune situation for...
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