Cagliari

The history of Cagliari goes back more than 5000 years. Much later the city became the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1720 the kingdom was composed of several states including Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta Valley, Nice, Oneglia and Sardinia. By mid 19th century the Kingdom of Sardinia became an important force in Italian unification. In 1860, Piacenza, Parma, Tuscany, Modena, and Romagna voted in referenda to join the Kingdom of Sardinia. On 17 March 1861, law no. 4671 of the Sardinian Parliament proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy.

A landmark of Cagliari is the Bastion of Saint Remy built between 1896 and 1902. It was developed from an idea developed by Sardinian architect Gaetano Cima. The structure was damaged in the Second World War but rebuilt from 1946. Only after climbing the stairs it becomes clear part of Cagliari is built on a hill.

Modern Cagliari is a pleasant city of less than half a million if you count the Metropolitan City. Cruise ships dock in the harbour and I wouldn’t want to be there in summertime. In the quiet November month the atmosphere was relaxed.

Mercato Di Sanbenedetto

Address: Via Francesco Cocco Ortu, 46, 09128 Cagliari.

This food market was frustrating for me. All those beautiful fresh fishes and I couldn’t buy any! In the end I bought some chestnuts and fregula. The most popular fish were orate (gilt-head bream) and muggine (flathead grey mullet). The roe of the latter is used to make bottarga. But there were plenty of other fish. I saw red mullet, striped red mullet, sardines, tuna, swordfish, octopus, squid, skate and plenty of shrimp and crabs.

‘Trigliole’ are baby red mullet (‘triglie’). At the time I didn't think much of it, but Mohammed Benzakour, my fishing friend, became angry when he saw this photo. Fishing baby fish before they can produce offspring is not sustainable.

Aperitivo

Originally a northern Italian habit, but very much alive in Cagliari: aperitivo. For 5 euro they serve you a good glass of red wine including bread, cheeses and a selection of assorted dried meat, or an Aperol Spritz with plenty of small bites. I had drank Aperol Spritz before but strangely never a Campari Spritz. Campari is much more bitter than Aperol and has an alcohol content of up to 28% as opposed to 11% for Aperol. The alcohol percentage depends on which country both drinks are sold. I have to say I prefer Campari Spritz. Both cocktails are nowadays served in a big ballon glass instead of the more traditional Old Fashioned glass. But any old wine glass will do.