Favorite Places: The Bastione San Remy, Cagliari

On top of the Bastione San Remy

A recent thread on Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree asked: "Sardinia where to go?" It got me thinking about the fact that I haven't written much about Sardinia yet, even though it's one of my favorite destinations and I find frequent excuses to return to it. I don't know what I love most about Sardinia. Maybe it's the historic but lively cities. Maybe it's the vast empty landscape dotted with ancient ruins... and flocks of sheep. Or maybe it's the exquisite culture of food and wine that ranges from Michelin Star-winning restaurants to delicious home cooking to the utterly bizarre (care for some snails baked in salt? calf thyroids? cheese with worms?).

Heading to the top of the  Bastione

So I decided it was time to write about Sardinia and at least begin introducing readers to one of my Favorite Places. My favorite city in Sardinia is the island's capital, Cagliari, and one of my favorite spots in Cagliari is the beautiful Bastione San Remy. The Bastione is an 18th century fortification built on top of Cagliari's old medieval wall system, originally constructed 400 years earlier. Now the Bastione serves as a beautiful look-out point from which to admire Cagliari's colorful rooftops, winding streets, and blue harbor. If you head up the Bastione's broad double stairs from Piazza Costituzione, you'll find yourself in a grand piazza. All around you stretch gorgeous views: to the south is the sea with its harbor full of cruise ships, to northwest is Cagliari's lagoon with its complement of pale pink flamingoes, and to the north, up yet more flights of stairs, rises the castello itself, Cagliari's old fortified city where you'll find one of its great cathedrals as well as its archaeological museum.

Enjoying the sun

There are plenty of benches on the Bastione if you want to sit in the sun and admire the palm trees, and there are cafes at the edges of the piazza if you need a refreshing cappuccino after climbing the stairs. If you visit the Bastione on a weekend in the summer you're likely to find an artisan market selling jewelry, sculpture, and hand-made t-shirts. And if you're looking for nightlife, the Bastione is a great stop. At night its cafes fill up with Cagliari's glitterati and occasional events like Argentine tango in the piazza keep things lively.

Napoleon's cannonballs

A final amusing note about the Bastione should appeal to history buffs. When you visit the Bastione, take a good look at the pink building you can see in the background in the picture above. The careful observer will spot three cannonballs still embedded in the wall - a small souvenir of the Napoleonic Wars.

Copyright 2010 Sara Harding