Undeground Cagliari: refugees of war and a roman amphitheatre

Cagliari, the state capital of Sardinia, is famous for its beauties. But in the town there are a lot to see, above all a different route, far away from sea and sun: it’s underground Cagliari.

Santa Restituita crypt – According to popular tradition this is the place of imprisonment and martyrdom of the Saint, with African origins. The story of crypt is troubled and during the Second World War was used as a air-raid shelter.

Roman amphitheatre – Half dug in the rocky, half dug in the limestone. To the base of the amphitheatre start several galleries and tunnels. Places used like a prisons, cages for animals that were open during the gladiator fights.

Cavità delle Cinque Colonne (Five Columns Cave) – A long gallery realized like a mine. The last use of this one was during the Second World War as an air-raid shelter.

Underground caves and caverns:

• The Cave of Via Vittorio Veneto used during the Second World War as a bomb shelter;
• The Don Bosco gallery, part of a complex system of caves and tunnels, realized on 1700;
• In the depths of Public Gardens of Cagliari there are wide spaces, called “grottoni” (big cavern) used as a mine during the Middle Ages and then as a shelter during the war;
• In the “Orto dei Cappuccini” (vegetable garden of Capuchins), realized in 1595 on the Western hill of Roman amphitheatre, there are monumental tanks dug in the limestone.

Seven steps to discover another side of the town. And seeing underground Cagliari is one of the things to do in a trip in Sardinia.

Image source: Clickr.com/photos/cristianocani