Cagliari's walls run all around the perimeter of the ancient Castello district and include the Towers of the Elephant and of San Pancrazio. Large parts of the old system of towers and bastions, built to protect the town, are still remaining and offer suggestive panoramic views over the city.
Between 1491 and 1508, a bastion was built on the hill of the Castello district where the town's civil and religious authorities have been ruling for centuries. In 1534, a boundary wall was built between the Tower of the Elephant and the Church of Santa Croce, a former synagogue converted into a Catholic place of worship in 1492. The Bastion of Santa Croce is now an elegant terrace and centre of nightlife, overlooking the Stampace district and facing the deep blue sea of the port.
The Tower of San Pancrazio, built in 1305, was constructed in sandstone, white limestone extracted from the Bonaria hill; at the base of the tower, the gate of San Pancrazio opens up, allowing you to enter the Castello district. The Tower of the Elephant was built two years later and its name comes from the statue of the pachyderm, symbol of the city, positioned on a corbel on the external part, facing towards the port; divided into four levels, you will be struck by the majesty of the great portcullis which is raised, but ready to close the entrance door to the old district.
Fondazione Sardegna Film Commission
Via Malta 63 — 09124 Cagliari
Phone: +39 070 2041961
Email: filmcommission@regione.sardegna.it
