The collection features paintings and sculptures by some of the most representative Italian artists of the 20th century. All items were collected by the art collector and benefactor Francesco Paolo Ingrao.

250 works (including 40 sculptures) are collected in the 15 rooms on the two floors of the Gallery, representative of the Italian artistic movements, especially the Romans, which followed each other from the second half of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century. The exhibition itinerary follows a chronological order, starting from the ground floor with the nineteenth century by Angelo Inganni, Gioacchino Toma, Enrico Reycend and Ercole Rosa.

The early twentieth century are represented by the exponents of Divisionism Francesco Gioli, Leonardo Bistolfi, Armando Spadini, Arturo Noci and Camillo Innocenti. Among the most prestigious pieces is the Giacomo Balla’s painting depicting the sculptor Giovanni Prini, also present in the collection. Room IV contains 31 works that reflect the various stages of Umberto Boccioni's artistic career, the greatest exponent of the Italian futurist movement.

Continuing the journey through the rooms on the first floor, we move on to the twenties and thirties of Carlo Socrate and Emanuele Cavalli, of the sculptors Alfredo Biagini and Antonietta Raphael and of the neo-realism by Ardengo Soffici.

Among the works preferred by Ingrao stand out The Sailor by Filippo De Pisis and the three Still Life by Giorgio Morandi, whose numerous works enrich the collection of various oil paintings, an etching, nine drawings in ink or pencil and 241 letters.

There also are numerous works by the artists of the thirties and forties: Carlo Carrà, Fortunato Depero, Tullio Crali, Gino Severini, Fillia, Atanasio Soldati, Massimo Campigli, Adolfo Wildt, Francesco Messina, Antonio Donghi, Mario Mafai, Pio Someghini, Felice Casorati.

The final room houses Leo Longanesi and 34 works by Mino Maccari, and the latest purchases from the collection, that is the works by Enrico Paolucci, Piero Dorazio and Antonio Zoran Music.

The remaining 250 works are housed in 3 other rooms located on the ground floor, the so-called "Collector's Rooms" precisely because the works do not follow a chronological order but are placed according to personal taste: paintings by Innocenti, Socrates, Francesco Menzio, Deiva de Angelis, Pippo Rizzo, Amerigo Bartoli Natinguerra, Filippo Anvitti, Orazio Amato, Emilio Notte, Rosina Viva; drawings by Scipione, Carrà and Giovanni Omiccioli; numerous sculptures.

Tuvumannu, also called Monte della Pace, was the highest hill in the area of Cagliari. Between the hill of Tuvumannu and that of Tuvixeddu, where the Is Maglias Street is located today, there was a depressed area which identified a line of outflow of the runoff water coming from the slopes of the two hills.

The Hill of Tuvixeddu, which gives its name to the surrounding Punic necropolis, is located between the Sant'Avendrace and San Michele districts. The Tuvixeddu necropolis, which extends over the whole hill, is the largest Phoenician-Punic necropolis still existing in the Mediterranean basin. The name derives from the Sardinian "tuvu" which stands for cavity, due to the presence of numerous tombs carved into the limestone rock. Between the VI and III century BC the Carthaginians chose, indeed, the hill as a sacred place where they could keep the bodies of the dead: these burials were reached through a well dug entirely in limestone and deep from two and a half meters up to eleven meters. Inside the well a small opening led to the actual sepulchral cell where the deceased was deposited with the ritual outfits. Amphoras and ampoules were found in the funeral chambers which contained perfumed essences. On the slopes of the Hill of Tuvixeddu there is also a Roman necropolis, that overlooked the road which, at the exit of the city, became the Karalibus Turrem (today's Sant'Avendrace avenue). Both the Carthaginians and the Romans used the hill for water needs.

With the arrival of the Vandals and the Byzantines other burial systems came into use and the necropolis was abandoned.

In 1258, after the destruction of the city of Santa Igia by the Pisans, the survivors settled in the current Sant'Avendrace Avenue, on the slopes of the hill: so most of the houses leaned against Tuvixeddu, each of these using an access to the caves. Even today, in case of demolition of the old houses, caves are often found with evident signs of residential use (some of these caves can be seen behind the Siotto High School).

In the mid-nineteenth century the hill was perforated and dismembered and the cavities were blown up; its original appearance was thus erased forever. In the twentieth century it became the quarry of an Italcementi cement plant, which completed its extraction only in the eighties. Many tombs with the quarry works were irreparably destroyed, even if others were found. In addition, during the Second World War the caves were used by the inhabitants of the area as air raid shelters and as homes. In the immediate post-war period they were used by those who had lost their homes during the bombing.

The Hill of Saint Elia is one of the seven hills of Cagliari and it was frequented since ancient times, due to its strategic position, and numerous archaeological finds have been found in it. Rich in limestone rocks, it overlooks the Gulf of Angels dividing it into two arches that converge on it. It houses several towers, built and used to spot any enemy incursions. Among the defensive garrisons the lighthouse and the Fort of Saint Ignazio stand out.

The hill has a trapezoidal shape whose boundaries were once well marked by numerous towers of Pisan era in the Middle Ages. In this time the hill was equipped with a complex system of ramparts and towers of which still preserved the Elephant tower in the West side, the Eagle tower, (part of which was incorpored into Palazzo Boyl) in the East side, and finally San Pancrazio's tower in the North side. Along the eastern side lies the scenic stroll of the Terreplain and the Public Gardens, where they were built solid retaining walls close to Belvedere ridges. To the West, the two ramparts of Santa Croce and Balice offer a magnificent view of the bay and the lagoon. Moreover the Terreplain, in its side of via del Cammino Nuovo, located at the foot of the hill, allows to contemplate the medieval walls of which is possible to identify the different building phases. The old medieval fortress was used later by Spaniards and Piedmontese, who modified the military structures for defensive purposes. The value of the buildings shows how this part of the city was home of dominant groups in the previous centuries, to be inhabited later, since the end of the Second World War, from the underclass. Nowadays in addition to the original inhabitants, live there also immigrants, artists, students and families of the new middle class of Cagliari.

On the top of the hill of Buoncammino the old Arsenal with the National Archaeological Museum rise and on the other side the prison who take its name from the omonymous hill.

The hill of Buoncammino is one of the seven hills of Cagliari. It houses the homonymous prison, closed some years ago and a few steps away there is one of the historic squares of the Castello district and the Citadel of Museums, the lively cultural center of the city. From the hill you can appreciate wonderful panoramic views and the tree-lined avenue, which was built by the will of the Savoys.

In this area stands the homonymous cemetery. The name derives from the Aragonese who wanted to testify the presence of good air. On one side stands the Bonaria Park, an archaeological niche where testimonies of various necropolises stratify.

The Bonaria hill is one of the seven hills of Cagliari and has also given its name to the district that surrounds it. The area was frequented even before the Punic, the Carthaginians built a necropolis there which was later used as a quarry by the Romans. In the Middle Ages, at the foot of the hill, the church of Saint Bardilio rose, in Pisan Romanesque style, and in 1324 the fortified citadel and the religious chapel were built by the Aragonese, from which the construction of the Basilica of Bonaria would then arise. 

A cozy house, prestigious rooms, a view on the history...

Colibrì Prestige Rooms welcomes you with its renovated rooms with care and comfort for a unique and unforgettable experience.

In the heart of the historical center of Cagliari, this place of peace and tranquillity offers its guests a real well-being.

Let yourself be pampered through the personalized services of our team that will guide you through a journey to discover this magic island.

City tour open bus to discover the most striking and characteristic places of Cagliari.

A unique and fun one-hour tour to visit the spectacular and characteristics sites that make Cagliari one of the most beautiful and welcoming cities in the Mediterranean.

From the comfort of your seat, you will see the monuments and natural and architectural delights of the city from a different perspective, thanks to the unusual shape and size of the bus that can even drive through the walls and into the ancient city.

Each seat is fitted with highly technological and multilingual audio system that will accompany you during your guided visit.

Through the headphones, you will be informed all about the history and origins of the city’s most important historical, cultural and social sites with details of its museums, architecture, art and shopping.

This is particularly interesting itinerary that will introduce you to and help you discover the ancient and more recent history of this delightful Mediterranean capital.

Accessible for the disabled by reservation.