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| © Italo Innocenti |
Sent by "zepombal"
"An ancient city with a long history, Cagliari has seen the rule of several civilizations. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia (which in 1861 became the Kingdom of Italy) from 1324 to 1848, when Turin became the formal capital of the kingdom. Seat of the University of Cagliari from 1607 and the Primate Roman Catholic archdiocese of Sardinia, from the 5th century AD, the city is a regional cultural, educational, political and artistic centre, known for its diverse Art Nouveau architecture and several monuments. It is also Sardinia's economic and industrial hub, having one of the biggest ports in the Mediterranean sea, an international airport, and the 28th highest income rate in Italy, comparable to several Northern cities, such as Turin, Vicenza and Genoa. Under the buildings of the modern city there is a continuous stratification of human settlements of about five thousands years, from the Neolithic to today. There are some domus de janas, very damaged by cave activity, a large Carthaginian era necropolis, a Roman era amphitheater, a Byzantine basilica, two Pisan-era towers, a strong system of fortification that made the town the core of the Spanish Habsburg imperial power in the western Mediterranean sea. Its natural resources have always been its sheltered harbor, the oft-powerfully fortified hill of Monti Castru, the modern Casteddu, the salt from its lagoons, and, from inland, the Campidanian plain wheat and the Iglesiente mines." In: Wikipedia
