According to the documents, the first theatre in Cagliari was the "University Theatre", a small structure with only thirty loggias and a capacity of about three hundred spectators, built shortly before 1750 at the crossroad between Via Canelles and Via Lamarmora.

In 1764, it was demolished and replaced, shortly before 1770, by the “Royal Theatre” built on the initiative of the Baron Zapata.

Elegant and with a seating capacity of about 600 spectators, it quickly became the heart of cultural and social life in town.

In 1831, by order of King Carlo Felice, it was purchased by the Municipality, renamed "Civic Theatre" and immediately brought back to the top with high level seasons.

Starting from 1859, it had a dangerous competitor: the "Diurnal Theatre" (later called "Cerruti"), built in Viale Regina Margherita, at that time an area strongly expanding, with an almost double seating capacity and the possibility to organize all types of shows.

The Civic Theatre was essentially an Opera House, that rarely and reluctantly organised other types of shows, including prose. Throughout the long period between 1830 and the beginning of the 20th Century, the prose seasons were only a dozen, and performed by companies less valid than the ones meanwhile working at the Cerruti. In the same period, the Civic Theatre never offered operetta and, due to its small size, could not organise real circus shows but only some illusionism events.

In 1897, the Cerruti was substituted by the Politeama, an elegant, vast and multifunctional structure, which started its activity with high profile seasons of opera, operetta and prose.

The Politeama competed with the Civic Theatre for the famous tenor Piero Schiavazzi, who was synonymous with a successful season.

Due to the evidently unsustainable competition with the Politeama, in 1911 the Municipality, sold the Civic Theatre to the company Cadeddu, that turned it into a cinematograph.

It was only under the new management that the Civic Theatre offered some operetta, variety and prose seasons, in addition to the concert seasons started in the early 1920's.

The last opera, I quatro rusteghi by Ermanno Wolf Ferrari, was performed in 1939, in the presence of Umberto and Maria Jose of Savoy.

On 26th February 1943, during one of the devastating bombings on Cagliari, the Civic Theatre was centered by the bombs. Only the foyer and the perimeter walls survived, and that serious loss took place just a few months after the fire that had already destroyed the Politeama on 17th December 1942.

After the recent restoration, accomplished in April 2006, the Civic Theatre has restarted its activities with cultural events, concerts, theatre and cinema.

Research center and experimental theatre, Teatro Alkestis is a cultural space hosting cinema activities, workshops and a library.

Alkestis was inaugurated in 1972, with the aim of realizing two projects: La Cerimonia e il Teatro (The Ceremony and the Theatre) and Il Teatro e le Etnie che si incontrano (Theatre and the Ethnicity meet each other).

The former is an experimental study project, particularly focused on the Turkish Dervish Dancers and on their dancing and singing techniques.

The latter seeks to reacquaint with those aspects of human life that are generally unknown or forgotten, with all those art forms that can enrich individual and group experiences and creatively re-establish a deep continuity between our modern culture and other cultures from different ages and places, with special attention to the relationships between Sardinia and the countries of the Mediterranean basin.

(http://www.teatroalkestis.it/)

A series of fourteen artistic sculptures, depicting the Passion of Jesus, placed outside the churches of the four historical districts of Cagliari.

Promoted by Monsignor Ernesto Maria Piovella, archbishop of Cagliari from 1920 to 1949, the town's Via Crucis consists of fourteen artistic bas-reliefs on iron plates, placed on the facades of churches and palaces of the historic districts of Marina, Villanova, Castello and Stampace.


The fourteen stations:

I: Christ sentenced to death.
Church of S. Rosalia / Sanctuary of S. Salvatore da Horta
Turin Street

II: Christ loaded with the cross.
Church of S. Giacomo
S. Giacomo square

III: Christ falls for the first time under the cross.
Missing original *

IV: Christ meets the mother.
Church of S. Cesello
S. Giovanni Street

V: Christ helped by S. Simone di Cirene.
Church of S. Mauro
S. Giovanni Street

VI: St. Veronica cleanses the face of Christ.
Palace of the Conservatory of Providence
Independence square

VII: Christ falls for the second time under the cross.
Archbishop's Palace
Palazzo square

VIII: Christ warns the women of Jerusalem.
Church of S. Croce
S. Croce square

IX: Christ falls for the third time under the cross.
Church of S. Giuseppe
S. Giuseppe square

X: Christ stripped of his clothes.
Church Madonna della Pietà / Monastery of the Holy Sepulchre
Capuchin Nuns ladders

XI: Christ nailed to the cross.
Missing original **

XII: Christ died on the cross.
Church of S. Agostino
Baylle Street

XIII: Christ deposed from the cross.
Church of S. Sepolcro
S. Sepolcro Square

XIV: Body of Christ deposited in the Sepulchre.
Church of S. Rosalia / Sanctuary of S. Salvatore da Horta
Turin Street


Notes:
* Originally located on the facade of the church of S. Domenico, destroyed by bombing in 1943. In the 1950s it was replaced by a walled reproduction in a building in front of the church. Disappeared in the late seventies.
** Originally located on the facade of the church of S. Anna. It was probably destroyed by the bombings of 1943, in the fifties it was replaced by a reproduction, visible on the corner between Azuni street and S. Efisio street.

A modern building of an unmistakable white color, the Station "Repubblica" is accessible both from the square and from Via Dante.

"Repubblica" is the light rail Metro terminal and houses a ticket office and an information desk.
The stops, equipped with bright displays, speakers, video surveillance systems and stainless steel benches, are accessible to people with reduced mobility.

On the churchyard of the Basilica of Bonaria there are two bronze sculptures, with a maritime theme, made by the artist Franco d'Aspro. There is a clear reference to the legend according to which in 1370 a Spanish ship was surprised by a terrible storm off the coast of the island and, having to lighten the load in order not to sink, the sailors threw various objects into the sea including one heavy wooden crate. The crate landed in Cagliari and it was collected by the friars who found inside a statue of the Virgin with the Infant Jesus in her arms.

The statue of Saint Ignatius from Laconi has been placed on the homonymous street. Born Vincenzo Peis, in Laconi on 17 December 1701 he died in Cagliari in 1781. Belonging to the religious order of the Capuchin friars he was recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church, he was attributed some miracles thanks to his intercession as the healing of a nurse who would regain the use of her legs. His liturgical memory is celebrated on the day of his death. His remains are kept in the nearby Capuchin church.

The panoramic point of Europa Avenue, in Cagliari, is one of the most loved and appreciated destinations by tourists and residents. In addition to the spectacular view that is revealed before the eyes, with the bodies of water of the Molentargius Natural Park and the promontory of the Devil’s Saddle, the attention is drawn to the presence of the statue of Saint Francesco. The work entitled "Fratello Sole" and created in the 1980s by the internationally renowned artist Father Andrea Martini, depicts the famous religious from Assisi with his arm raised towards the sky.

The bronze statue of Saint Francesco d'Assisi was placed in Carlo Alberto Square, in the heart of the Castello district, on the occasion of the seventh centenary of his death. There are two statues in Cagliari dedicated to the patron saint of Italy: one is located in the panoramic point of Europa Avenue and another in the historic square which reveals a wonderful view of the cathedral of Santa Maria. Carlo Alberto Square is also known by the name of plazuela and it was the scene of numerous executions during the seventeenth century.