The sun is shining in the garden of Casa Clàt, and that’s nothing new. It happens often in Cagliari, which this year was named the Italian city with the best climate. That means winter is never harsh (some days reach 20°C) and summer is never stifling. Credit goes to the sea within, whose breeze keeps the city breathing. On Poetto Beach — nine kilometers of pale sand stretching straight out from town — people go all year round: for a coffee break, a plate of spaghetti with bottarga at Le Palmette or Emerson, a jog or a swim, or a party at Fico d’India. They call it the “beach of one hundred thousand,” because truly everyone goes. “A deckchair, an umbrella, and you can spend the whole day there, nobody will bother you,” says Claudio Dessì of Cagliari Touring, a former butcher turned tour guide with his Instagram-ready carriage.
The day begins with a pizzetta (a flaky pastry with tomato and mozzarella) and an espresso at Caffè Antico, frozen in time and all the more wonderful for it. In the narrow streets of the Castello and Stampace districts, the vans delivering gas cylinders cross paths with colorful processions in which the whole city takes part, with unshaken fervor — especially on May 1st for the festival of Sant’Efisio. Young couples go to kiss on the Umberto I Terrace, atop the Bastione Saint Remy, and aperitivo is best at Libarium’s terrace, facing the most heart-stirring sunset. For groceries, head to San Benedetto Market, one of the largest in Europe, currently housed in a temporary space while the original is restored to become one of the finest. Live fish, Cabras bottarga, Arborea strawberries, stuffed pastries bursting with delicacies, burrida and other traditional dishes to take away or eat on the spot — it’s a hymn to Sardinian ingredients and cuisine.
And yet, for a long time, Cagliari wasn’t really seen as a travel destination. Who knows why, with its ocean light reminiscent of Lisbon, and an urban beach far more beautiful than Barceloneta. And where else can you find a city surrounded by lagoons filled with pink flamingos? Once just migratory visitors, they’ve since settled here year-round — that’s how well they live.
But things have changed, and now Cagliari is firmly on the must-go list, whatever the season. Recently, a few “just right” hotels have opened — small, with captivating interiors and stunning locations. Like Casa Clàt: nine light-filled suites, books on the city, countless nods to Sardinian culture, and a restaurant serving excellent gyoza and fish sandwiches alongside unforgettable crisp, dry fritto. The owners are mussel and sea bream farmers, so quality is guaranteed — and indeed, at lunch and dinner, most of the guests are locals. Also new is Palazzo Boyl 1840, in the upper, panoramic part of the city. Just five very large rooms, and a rare sensibility in mixing antique and design pieces, humble and grand, like in the bohemian bar on the ground floor.
Cagliari’s food scene too is opening up, without ever giving up its local soul — happily untouchable. Stefano Fois makes ramen with Sardinian ingredients, and at his Gaijin Izakaya you need to book well in advance, but good food and convivial atmosphere more than reward the effort. Sa Matracca is a prize-winning pizzeria, unusually run entirely by women, while Pierluigi Fois with Josto, Framento, and Etto is redefining modern Sardinian cuisine.
Completing Cagliari’s new face is the redesign of the waterfront by Stefano Boeri: a seaside piazza, a sports rambla, relaxation areas, and a promenade with 200 new trees and nearly 6,000 square meters of green space. Along the seafront, new five-star hotels are already announced, and the marina will rival Costa Smeralda — offering yacht arrivals a safe, vibrant haven, not yet swept up in the frenzy of international luxury markets. The work is underway, and opening is imminent.
This article has been published on Il Sole 24 Ore, the oldest economic newspaper of Italy