CATTEDRALE DI SANTA MARIA

The cathedral of Cagliari has undergone many changes over the centuries, giving it its very particular style. Its original structure dates back to the 12th and 13th centuries. It is the work of the Pisans, then very present in the Judicate of Cagliari. Originally the church had a square plan with a nave and two wings. In the 14th century, a transept was added and the cathedral had a Latin cross plan. The façade is decorated with a Gothic mullioned window and the bell tower is modified. The renovations undertaken in the 17th and 18th centuries opted for a resolutely Baroque style. Red, white, grey and black marble inlays form geometrical patterns on the floors and walls of the chapels, stuccoes generously decorate the ceilings, and the ironwork is very elaborate. But the remarkable masterpiece of the cathedral is the ambo of the master Gugliemo. Originally intended for the Cathedral of Pisa, the pulpit was installed in that of Cagliari in 1312. Also noteworthy is the mausoleum of the Aragonese king Martin I of Sicily, who died during the conquest of Sardinia, or that of the Archbishop of Cagliari Bernardo de la Cabra, who died during the plague wave in 1655. The crypt houses the Martyrs' Sanctuary, whose 179 niches contain the relics of the city's martyrs found during excavations in the 17th century. The treasure is on display in the Museo del Duomo to the right of the cathedral.