The Hill of Saint Michael is at such a height that it makes it visible even from numerous kilometers outside the city, and from the top of which it is possible to admire the whole city and the hinterland, from the port and the pond of Saint Gilla, to the peaks of the Seven Brothers, from the coast of the Angels Gulf to the hills that delimit the Campidano plain.
The panoramic position of the castle is accompanied by its historical importance, which qualifies it as one of the most significant monuments of the city of Cagliari.

The park of the Hill of Saint Michael has an area of about 250 thousand square meters of lawn, pine forest and paths for jogging and physical activity. Next to the main entrance, there is another entrance that does a complete tour around the hill, very popular among runners. Along the way there are also tools for muscle exercises and stretching, as well as several fountains. Also, in this lower part of the hill, there is an area dedicated to dogs with refreshment points for the four-legged friends and large spaces and bushes among which they can relax.

Continuing towards the top of the hill we find the play area for children, with swings and slides, many trees that offer shade to the benches and flower beds. Another path leads from here to the lift which leads directly to the top of the hill. A little further up, we find the amphitheatre area, preceded by a large panoramic green lawn complete with benches, a refreshment point and toilets, overlooking Molentargius and the Gulf of Cagliari.                                                                                                                                                                      The route continues on the dirt road inside a pine forest that leads to the top where there is a restaurant-pizzeria, open all year round and which also carries out the shuttle service from the foot of the hill. At this point, the other stone-paved and drive-over road joins the pine forest to the secondary entrance of the park. On the top of the hill there is also the Castle of Saint Michael, where shows and exhibitions are organized throughout the year.

The vegetation of the park is very varied and includes the typical aromas of the Mediterranean scrub, such as rosemary, myrtle and arbutus, carob trees, olive and holm oaks. The fauna is similarly diverse, which includes several birds, including blackbirds, kestrels, sparrows, turtle doves and redstart.

In the past, the limestone used for the construction of several buildings in Cagliari was extracted from one side of the hill. In the historical context, many finds have been recovered in the area of the park, for example Roman coins, a sign of the dynamic activity in that period in this area.

Inside the Bonaria Park there are the homonym Basilica and the Monumental Cemetery, equipped with low walls, fountains and shaded areas throughout the park. From the highest point of the hill, it is possible to enjoy a wonderful panoramic view over most of the city of Cagliari and the nearby port. The main trees of the park are ficus, holm oaks, carob trees, palms and other aromatic plant bushes. There also are several flower beds. The park is open to the public every day of the year. It has two entrances: from Cemetery Square and Ravenna street. The Basilica of Bonaria is located above a very long staircase, and its view from below, from the small port of "Su Siccu", is also not to be missed. This whole area is a very romantic spot.

From the panoramic point of the Citadel of Museums you can enjoy a breathtaking panorama that dominates the whole city at 360 degrees from a considerable height.

The Citadel of Museums, located in Arsenale’s Square, beyond Cristina’s Door, is one of the places not to be missed in the Castello district of Cagliari. It is a cultural complex built around 1950 following the decision to expand the seat of the Archaeological Museum and the Picture Gallery of the city and thus build a center dedicated to the arts and history of Sardinia.

Crossing the entrance threshold, the neoclassical door of the ancient Arsenal which dates back to the early 1800s, you enter a first group of buildings, including the former Saint Pancrazio’s prison and the gallery used to set up temporary exhibitions with a pentagonal room which houses the Anatomical Wax Museum "Clemente Susini" and the Department of Archaeological and Historical-Artistic Sciences of the University of Cagliari. In the central part of the building there is the National Archaeological Museum, then, continuing the walk through a staircase (or following the path accessible to the disabled) you arrive at a garden and at the entrance of the Municipal Museum of Siamese Art and the Picture Gallery which spread over three levels. Inside the Citadel there is also the Regional Ethnographic Museum "Luigi Cocco Collection".

The Saint’s Cross Bastion offers one of the most beautiful panoramic views of Cagliari from above; It is located in the Castello district, a few steps from the Elephant Tower. From this elegant terrace, in one of the highest areas of Cagliari, overlooking the Stampace district, the center of the city's nightlife, you can comfortably sip an aperitif contemplating the breathtaking spectacle of the city streets and the intense blue sea of the port. Just below, there are the famous multicultural shopping streets.

The Pulpit of Charles V, from the destroyed church of San Francesco di Stampace in Cagliari and currently in the entrance porch of the church of San Michele in the same neighbourhood, is an emblematic example of medieval art, in marble, in which classicistic forms still late Gothic styles are combined in amalgamation with mannerist ones.

In the Pulpit there is engraved the celebratory memory of the emperor Charles V, who, in 1535, chose Cagliari as the starting point of the expedition against the Barbary pirates of North Africa.

Nowadays the well is no more visible, as in the first half of the 19th century, within a general rearrangement of the square that gives access to Castello district, its entrance was lowered under the street, together with all the facilities like a noria (water wheel) and some shelters for the animals that activated it. Furthermore, an underground brick vaulted gallery was dug to let the animals reach the noria.

The well is still accessible through the gallery, whose entrance is close to the former National Archaeological Museum. During its exploration, the visitor can see a room on the left side, surmounted by a vault and characterized by the presence of a central pillar. It must have housed the animals that used to move the water wheel, as testified by the presence of iron rings on the walls and a drinking trough, probably consisting of a reused Roman sarcophagus.

Walking through the gallery for about 30 metres, the visitor reaches the well, covered by a brick vault with two holes to let the noria lift the water. Nowadays, only a few traces of the water wheel are visible. The square-shaped well, whose sides are 6x6 metres long in the first part and 4x5 metres long in the last one, runs down for 77 metres to the aquifer, from where it stretches underground for other 11 metres.

Area where taxis wait to be hired.

Area where taxis wait to be hired.

Area where taxis wait to be hired.

Area where taxis wait to be hired.