Quartu Sant'Elena

Quartu Sant'Elena is Sardinia's third city by population, on the edge of Cagliari, with which it now forms a single large urban area. Arriving on the main road you see it as a collection of modern districts, but Quartu has an old centre of Campidano mud-brick houses, a long farming and winemaking tradition, some of the most heartfelt festivals in the Cagliari area and, above all, more than twenty-five kilometres of coastline: from the Poetto to the rocky coves towards Villasimius. For many people from Cagliari it is their home sea, and for visitors to the south of the island it is a convenient base, close to the city but already with its feet in the sand.

The fourth mile

The name Quartu comes from the Latin ad quartum lapidem, at the fourth milestone: the village stood at the fourth mile of the Roman road leading from Carales inland and towards the east coast. The area was inhabited much earlier, as its many nuraghi show, and in Roman times it was already known for its vineyards and wine.

In the Middle Ages there were several villages called Quarto in the Giudicato of Cagliari: Quarto Jossu, Quarto Donnico and Quartucciu. The one that would become Quartu grew as a large farming village, with vineyards, vegetable gardens and salt pans. Over time it officially added the name of its patron saint, becoming Quartu Sant'Elena, and in the 20th century, with Cagliari's urban growth, it expanded rapidly to over seventy thousand inhabitants.

The old centre

Old Quartu lies around the basilica of Sant'Elena, the large neoclassical church consecrated in 1828, whose dome dominates the town. Around it, among the narrow streets, many Campidano houses survive: built of mud bricks, làdiri, on a stone base, they have a large entrance gate opening onto the courtyard, the lolla, the portico onto which family life opened, and rooms arranged around it. Some now house restaurants, workshops and cultural associations.

The best place to understand life in the past is Sa Dom'e Farra, the house of flour, a large private ethnographic museum in a farmhouse. It holds thousands of objects of everyday life and farm work: ploughs, carts, looms, crockery, barrels, furniture and traditional clothes. Walking through its rooms and courtyards is like entering a Campidano village of a hundred years ago.

The Poetto and the coast

The eastern stretch of the Poetto beach belongs to Quartu. Here the sand is a little more golden, beach clubs alternate with long free stretches, and behind lie the salt pans and the Molentargius lagoon with its pink flamingos. Further east the coast changes: Margine Rosso, with small beaches among the rocks and its tower, Capitana, with its marina, Flumini and Mare Pintau, a cove of pebbles and sand with transparent water.

The coast road continues towards Geremeas and Torre delle Stelle and then on to Villasimius, with a series of coves, headlands and very clear water. This stretch of coast is much loved by Cagliari people for day trips and, out of season, is perfect for long walks by the sea.

Molentargius

The Molentargius-Saline nature park, shared with Cagliari, is one of Europe's most important wetlands for water birds. The lagoons and basins of the old salt pans host pink flamingos all year round, nesting here in their hundreds, along with herons, black-winged stilts, avocets and many other species. You can visit the park on foot, by bike or on guided tours, starting from the entrances along the Poetto or from the visitor centre. The sight of flamingos taking flight with the Poetto and the Sella del Diavolo in the background is one of the finest images of southern Sardinia.

Festivals

The patron, Sant'Elena, is celebrated in September with processions, costume groups and a long series of events. In May the feast of S'Arroseri, organised by the prioresses of the Rosary confraternity, keeps old rites alive. Quartu also takes part in the feast of Sant'Efisio, with costume groups among the largest in the 1 May parade in Cagliari. The Quartu costume, with its bright colours and filigree jewellery, is among the most elegant in the Campidano.

Wine, sweets and food

Quartu has been a town of vineyards for centuries. Its countryside produces Cannonau, Monica, Nuragus, Moscato, Malvasia and Nasco, typical grapes of the Campidano di Cagliari. Quartu's pastry tradition is famous across the island: cheese and ricotta pardulas, almond gueffus, amaretti, pabassinas with raisins and the sweets for wedding feasts, still made by hand by pastry shops and families. Local cooking combines the land dishes of the Campidano, such as malloreddus and lamb, with fish and sea urchins from the coast.

Around Quartu

Quartu is ten minutes from Cagliari and its old town. From here you can easily reach the coast of Villasimius and the Sarrabus, the Sette Fratelli forest above Sinnai, with trails among holm oaks and strawberry trees and the Sardinian deer, and the Parteolla wineries at Dolianova and Serdiana, with the Romanesque church of Santa Maria di Sibiola.

Getting there

Cagliari-Elmas airport is about twenty minutes away. Quartu is linked to Cagliari by city buses and, in summer, by lines to the coast. To explore the east coast a car or scooter is best. The Quartu coast is at its best from May to October, while in winter it belongs to walkers and to kitesurfers and windsurfers riding the mistral.

What to see

• Basilica of Sant'Elena
• Museum: Sa Dom'e Farra
• Park of Molentargius
• Spiaggia del Poetto
• Litorale di Margine Rosso

Festivals and traditions

• S'Arroseri, prima domenica di maggioMay
• Sant'ElenaSeptember

Nearby beaches

• Poetto4 km

Nearby hikes

• Sella del Diavolo6 km
• Foresta dei Sette Fratelli21 km

Nearby towns

• Quartucciu · 2 km
• Selargius · 2 km
• Monserrato · 4 km
• Settimo San Pietro · 6 km
• Maracalagonis · 6 km
• Sinnai · 7 km
• Cagliari · 7 km
• Sestu · 10 km

Sources: Grande Enciclopedia della Sardegna; ISTAT. Original texts by Gotosardinia.