Elevated to cathedral status in 1258 following the destruction of the judical capital of Santa Igia and its cathedral of Santa Cecilia, the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and Santa Cecilia preserves seven centuries of Cagliari history. Founded by the Pisans on the Castello hill around 1217 and first recorded in 1254, the church hosted the oaths of the three arms of the Sardinian parliament during the era when Cagliari served as capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia. It faces Piazza Palazzo, directly opposite the Royal Palace and the old town hall.
What to see
The exterior features an octagonal dome and a 13th-century square Pisan Romanesque bell tower decorated with hanging arches. Designed by architect Francesco Giarrizzo and completed in 1933, the Pisan Neo-Romanesque facade uses local Bonaria limestone. Its central portal retains the original 13th-century lintel carved with floral motifs beneath a mosaic of the Theotokos, while side portals display mosaics of Saint Saturninus holding a palm and Saint Cecilia with an organ. The upper facade rises in three tiers of blind loggias bearing the Latin inscription Sanctae Mariae Reginae Sardorum. On the early 14th-century transept, the northern portal is Pisan Romanesque, whereas the southern portal shows Gothic lines and incorporates a Roman sarcophagus fragment alongside a 14th-century Tuscan sculpture of the Madonna and Child.
Inside, the Latin-cross layout features three naves, marble intarsia floors, and two 17th-century holy water stoups near the entrance. Flanking the main door are two pulpits created by dividing a single ambo sculpted between 1158 and 1162 by Master Guglielmo for Pisa Cathedral, transferred to Cagliari in 1312 and split during the 1669 renovation; four carved lions that once supported its columns now sit at the base of the presbytery. Vault frescoes by Filippo Figari depict the Exaltation of the Cross, the spread of faith in Sardinia, and a Pietà. Notable side chapels include the Baroque-Piedmontese Chapel of Saint Cecilia, containing Pietro Angeletti's painting of the Mystical Marriage of St Cecilia and St Valerian and a silver tabernacle attributed to Lorenzo Lavy, and the Chapel of Our Lady of Saint Eusebius housing the Black Madonna statue. The transept contains the tomb monuments of Archbishops Machin and La Cabra, as well as the raised presbytery commissioned in 1618 by Archbishop Francisco Desquivel for the Sanctuary of the Martyrs.
Visiting
As the mother church of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cagliari, the cathedral regularly hosts major liturgical services presided over by the archbishop. Visitors walking the naves and transept arms can trace the structural overlay spanning from Pisan Romanesque origins to the Baroque redesigns of Domenico Spotorno and Pietro Fossati.
Our editors' tip
Examine the 12th-century carvings on Master Guglielmo's pulpits near the entrance, then locate the four stone lions relocated to the base of the raised presbytery.