Description of the attraction
Quartu Sant Elena is a commune in the province of Cagliari on the island of Sardinia. It is the third largest city on the island with a population of about 71 thousand people. The name of the city comes from its location in relation to Cagliari - "quart" means four miles, and also from the name of Saint Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine.
The first settlements on the territory of present-day Quartu Sant'Elena date back to the Phoenician period, as evidenced by finds in the towns of Chepola, Jeremeas, Is Mortorius and Separassiu. Ancient Roman artifacts were found near the Villa Sant Andrea, the cemetery of San Martino and in the town of Simbirizzi (several graves were found there).
In the 4th century, the territory of Sardinia was divided into several "Giudicati" - Quarta, which included 14 settlements, went to Giudicato di Cagliari. During the reign of the Aragonese dynasty, the population of Quartu suffered from various epidemics, hunger and constant raids by Saracen pirates, as well as from the general state of decline experienced by the economy of the entire island. In 1793, French troops landed near the coast of Quartu, who intended to capture the whole of Sardinia, but the inhabitants of the city, led by Antonio Pisana, fiercely attacked the aliens and threw them back during a bloody battle. In 1956, Quartu Sant'Elena received the status of a city.
From an artistic point of view, there are five interesting churches in Quartu. The most important is the church of Sant'Elena Imperatrice, built in 1589 and later rebuilt in the neoclassical style. It recently received the status of a basilica. Also worth seeing are the 11th century Santa Maria Cepola and Sant'Agata. There is an interesting house-museum in the city "Sa dom'e farra" - a large peasant building of the 17th century, in which you can see furniture typical of a peasant house, as well as tools. In the vicinity of Kvartu, you should definitely visit the nuragi - monuments of the ancient mysterious civilization.
The long, gently sloping coastline of Quartu overlooks the Molentargius Natural Park, home to pink flamingos.
