Description of the attraction
The old Palazzo di Citta is a historic building in Cagliari, the seat of the city administration from the Middle Ages until the early 20th century. It is located in Piazza Palazzo in the Castello quarter. Today, the palace houses the exposition of the Ethnographic Foundation of Manconi Passino, the Fondo Ceramico della Collezione Ingrao and the Foundation for Sacred Art from the same collection. In addition, the office of the Mayor of Cagliari is located here.
Palazzo di Citta was built in the 14th century and acquired its current appearance during the renovations of the 18th century, when the building was rebuilt in the Piedmontese Baroque style.
After the administration of Cagliari moved to the new Palazzo Civico, the old Palazzo di Citta housed the Pier Luigi da Palestrina Music Conservatory for many years. In 1970, the conservatory moved to its current building on Via Bacaredda. The palace was abandoned and reopened only in 2009 - after a long period of restoration.
The main façade of Palazzo di Citta, overlooking Piazza Palazzo, features an elegant portal topped with a 16th century marble slab, on which Emperor Charles V's visit to Cagliari is immortalized in an inscription. Above the slab is the coat of arms of Cagliari. The side façade of the Palazzo, overlooking Via Canelles and Piazza Carlo Alberto, attracts attention with a huge window with a tympanum in the center, over which the city's coat of arms is also placed.
The interior of the Palazzo di Citta once housed works of art that are now on display in the new municipality, including paintings by Marginotti and Pietro Cavaro. On the ground floor of the palace there is a spacious hall with wooden coffered vaults from the 16th century. In the basement, in addition to antique cisterns for collecting rainwater, you can see a cobblestone floor from the Middle Ages and two openings with arches in the late Gothic style.
