Identity: Casteddu, autonomous Region, Saint Ephysius
Capital of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia and of the Metropolitan City set up in 2016; Pirri has its own Municipalità. Campidanese Sardinian, with the city variety (casteddaiu), is a recognised language. Saint Ephysius: procession from 1 to 4 May to Nora, uninterrupted since 1657.
Sections: Geography · History · Population · Languages · Time zone · Public holidays
Institutions
Cagliari (Casteddu in Sardinian) is the capital of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, a region with special statute: the Regional Council sits in the building on Via Roma, the Presidency and the Executive at Villa Devoto. The Comune has a single decentralised body, the Municipalità di Pirri, representing the former municipality merged in 1928, with an elected council and president. The Metropolitan City of Cagliari, set up by the Region in 2016 in place of the province, groups the capital and the municipalities of the urban area.
Languages
Sardinian is a language recognised by the national law on historic minorities and by a 2018 regional law; in Cagliari the variety is Campidanese, with the city speech called casteddaiu, today used mostly by the elderly and in working-class districts, while regional Italian is everyone's language. Bilingual place names appear in part of the city and in nearby municipalities; Sardinian courses are offered by the Comune and the university.
Saint Ephysius
The patron is Saint Ephysius, a Roman martyr of the fourth century. Under the vow made by the city during the plague of 1652, every 1 May the statue leaves the church in Stampace on an ox-drawn carriage, preceded by groups in traditional costume from all over Sardinia, by the traccas (decorated farm carts) and by horsemen, and travels in procession to Nora, site of the martyrdom, returning to Cagliari on the evening of 4 May: the procession, never interrupted since 1657, is the island's largest religious festival. The city's secular symbol is the Bastione di Saint Remy; the memory of the 1943 bombings, which destroyed much of the centre, is still alive.
Data
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Reviewed: 10/23/2026 · by piero.avolio · rev. 1 · Period: → 2027-10-31
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