Palazzo di Città

On the right-hand side of the square, you’ll notice a small, square-shaped building with a pink façade. This is the former Palazzo di Città, Cagliari’s original town hall. It served as the seat of the city’s government from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century.

In 1896, the mayor decided to build a new city hall on Via Roma, facing the port. The municipal offices were relocated there in 1907. The origins of the Palazzo di Città go back to the 14th century, when the Aragonese authorities granted the site, previously home to an old Pisan royal lodge, to the city councillors, who needed somewhere to hold their meetings. That said, the Palazzo di Città you see today doesn’t look very medieval.

It was renovated in the 18th century, in the style of the time, Piedmontese Baroque. Take a look at the entrance, you’ll spot the city’s coat of arms above the door, along with a commemorative plaque marking Emperor Charles V’s visit to Cagliari, before launching his campaign to Tunis. After years of neglect, the building was fully restored and reopened in 2009. It now houses the permanent exhibition of the Manconi Passino Ethnographic Collection, which showcases traditional Sardinian artifacts.