The Nuraghe Diana, located on the coastal road to Villasimius, is an ancient nuragic complex that was part of the coastal defense system. Built in the 14th century BC, it is strategically positioned on the hill of Is Mortorius, north of the promontory, and offers a panoramic view of the Gulf of Angels. Throughout its history, it has been used as a military outpost and has undergone modifications, such as the addition of an observation tower during World War II. The structure of the nuraghe consists of a central tholos, two smaller towers, a staircase, and a vestibule, all connected by imposing walls that form a triangular layout around a quadrangular courtyard. Inside, there are important architectural details, such as symmetrical niches and a triangular window. Made entirely of granite, the nuraghe features large-sized masonry. In the surroundings, the remains of a village and some huts have been discovered. The Nuraghe Diana is an important archaeological site of the nuragic culture in southern Sardinia.

Information and bookings:

Phone: +39 338 5689854

Email: info@nuraghediana.com

The Roman Villa of the Quartu coastline, located in Sant'Andrea, is one of the few testimonies of imperial age settlement in a non-urban context in Sardinia. It has been restored, consolidated, and made visitable thanks to a small square overlooking it. Along the sea, a series of non-communicating rooms are arranged in two parallel rows, and the presence of two cylindrical wells on the sides of a sort of small shrine suggests the alternation of covered and uncovered spaces. The floor was composed of large-sized bricks. Fragments of tegulae hamatae (bricks used in thermal environments) suggest that the building was equipped with a hot air heating system. Other structures, of which the elevated part has not survived, emerge at various distances from the water. At the time of the discovery, apart from the wall construction technique, no useful elements were found to date the structure: the walls were built with a regular alternation of bricks and small stone blocks, a mixed construction technique used in Sardinia in the 3rd-4th century AD. Further studies are awaited to date the Villa more precisely.

Opening hours: every day. Free access.

The coastal tower of Foxi was built by the Spaniards in 1578. Its purpose was to monitor the coasts against Saracen landings; it was manned by two soldiers with light weapons who communicated to the west with the Carcangiolas tower and to the east with the S. Andrea tower, which is now destroyed. It remains in decent condition today. Situated at an altitude of 2 meters above sea level, it has the classic truncated-conical structure consisting of three levels: a lower level with a water cistern and warehouse, a middle level with a domed vaulted room for military accommodation, and a terrace for control and armament activities. The external access was elevated and could be reached by a wooden or rope mobile staircase. From the tower, it is possible to clearly spot, in good weather and absence of fog, the other towers along the Quartu coast or in the Cagliari area (the Mezza Spiaggia tower or Spanish tower, the Poetto tower, and the Sant'Elia tower).

Opening hours: Every day. Free access.

The Basilica dedicated to Saint Helena, built in the 12th century, has been modified over the centuries by local masters and decorated with wall paintings. Its expansion in 1780 gave it its current form. The interior features a Latin cross nave with three side chapels on each side, among which the Rosary Chapel and the Most Holy Chapel stand out. It is a beautiful structure rich in marble furnishings, such as the baptismal font, pulpit, and baroque-style main altar, as well as 18th-century wooden furnishings, including the sculpture of Saint Helena and the altars of the Rosary and the Sacred Heart. The Sacristy houses the marble washbasin, wooden antependium, and numerous canvas paintings dating from the 17th to the 19th century. Many of the paintings are of significant historical and artistic value. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI elevated it to the status of a Basilica. After the restoration of the façade in 2011, a new tabernacle was placed in the Most Holy Chapel, made with polychrome marbles from the main altar of the Cagliari Cathedral.

Opening hours: Every day. Free access.

The Convent of Quartu, built in the Capuchin architectural style, bears similarities to the first two convents of the order in Cagliari. Located near the Church of Sant'Agata, it borders Matteotti Square, Brigata Sassari Street, and Azuni Square. The building has undergone numerous restoration and transformation interventions over time but still retains many of its original features, including a quadrilateral cloister with a central cistern. The southern side of the cloister is adjacent to the church wall, and the buttresses have been removed to create continuity. The portico is covered by round arches, except in the western wing where there is a lowered barrel vault. Around the cloister, there are various rooms with barrel vaulted ceilings, and a long corridor, also vaulted with a barrel vault, extends parallel to the northern side of the portico. The building has been completely renovated, and part of it is used by municipal offices.

Opening hours: Every day. Free access.

The countryside church of Our Lady of Buoncammino is located on a hill overlooking Simbirizzi, on the site of the medieval village of Simbilis. It stood near the Roman road that passed towards Sarrabus, dedicated to Madonna Odigitria, or Buoncammino, for the protection of travelers and pilgrims. The simple gabled facade of the original 14th-century structure is completed by a bell gable and preceded by a small truss loggia, added later with the intention of providing shelter to pilgrims during the patronal feasts. The entrance is through a late 16th-century rectangular door, whose jambs, lintel, and corbels are made of decorated tuff blocks with classical-style rosettes, finely executed by the local stonemasons. To the right of the entrance, the holy water font is made up of a fragment of a Roman column on which rests a capital used as recycled material. The elongated single-nave interior is concluded by a large semicircular apse that houses the old stone altar, hidden by a recent granite table on which rests a heavily repainted wooden polyptych, perhaps from the 18th century, resulting from the assembly of various parts, of which the predella, probably from the destroyed church of Sant'Elia, is the oldest piece (17th century). The artifact, which still retains its original colors, consists of eleven panels depicting the saints Cosmas and Damian, the evangelists Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John, the saints Sebastian, Lucia, Catherine, and Roch, while in the central panel, there is a representation of a presumed landing of ships, presumably in the Gulf of Cagliari. From the same church of Sant'Elia, comes the small wooden simulacrum of the holy prophet (17th century), dressed in a brown habit and carrying a book and the traditional flaming sword. Our Lady of Buoncammino also owns simulacra of the patron Virgin and St. Anastasia, attributable to local artisans operating in the 18th century.

The church is opened during the festivals dedicated to Our Lady of Buoncammino, St. Andrew, St. Anastasia, and St. Elias organized by local committees and parishes.

The church is located near the eponymous pond and essentially preserves its original structure, dating back to the late 13th century, with evident references to a late Romanesque cultural context, albeit characterized by great simplicity.

The first document attesting to the existence of the Church of San Forzorio is the report on the pastoral visit of 1599, which describes it as being in a state of semi-abandonment. This situation led Monsignor Lasso Sedano to appoint Antioco Milia and Antioco Piludu, both from Quartu, as overseers, so that they could dedicate themselves to the restoration with the money collected from the donations of the faithful, particularly those who remembered the church in their last wills. However, in the third decade of the 18th century, the building was still in ruins. It was almost completely rebuilt before 1761, as indicated by some documents mentioning the annual pension for the celebration of the feast. In 1793, as remembered by Rossi Vitelli, the building was desecrated by French soldiers who landed on the Quartu coast at 'Margine Rosso'. The church has not been officiated since the early decades of this century and is now part of a large farm owned by the heirs of the Perra family.

The lack of archival documentation makes the origin of the name of the Saint to whom it is dedicated uncertain since it does not appear in any martyrology or menology, so it may be a folk deformation of another name, probably San Lussorio or Forzore, a name still in use in Tuscany.

The facade, equipped with a small bell gable with a single opening in the form of a round arch, has a similar design to that of the Church of San Platano. The jambs of the rectangular door, the corbels on which it rests, as well as the lintel, are monoliths possibly recovered from some larger Roman construction, such as the large stone block and the fragment of a column that lie next to the building. On the corbel supporting the lintel of the door, there is an unrecognizable divided coat of arms. The entrance opening is surmounted by a rudimentary square monofora. In the rear elevation, the cylindrical body of the apse protrudes, made of stone and mortar like the upper part of the masonry and not contemporary with the original structure, surmounted by a rectangular monofora that inside takes the form of a small Greek cross. The only decorative element is the course of masonry that regularly protrudes from the side walls, interrupted in the middle to include two grooved dripstones.

Today, the church is owned by the Perra family. Guided tours are conducted by the owner, Mr. Raffaele Perra.

In the site where the church stands today, there once stood a religious building dedicated to St. Gregory the Great. The convent was founded in 1897 by Father Ferdinando Diotallevi. The construction of the church began in 1898 (under the auspices of the Franciscan friars) and was completed in 1904 with the construction of the bell tower. On December 27 of the same year, it was consecrated by Monsignor Balestra and dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. On December 19, 1954, the church was elevated to the rank of parish, becoming the third parish in the city.

The church underwent a significant restoration intervention between the 1960s and 1970s to adapt the building, particularly the presbytery, to the liturgical reform following the Second Vatican Council. The façade is tall and narrow, ending in a triangular pediment. In the center of the façade, there is a portal delimited by a molded frame and surmounted by a lunette depicting St. Anthony with the Infant Jesus. Above the portal, there is a pointed arch bifora window, with a stained glass depicting the Annunciation, flanked by two niches also with pointed arches. The niche on the left contains a statue of St. Francis, while the one on the right contains a statue of St. Clare. The bell tower, covered by a pyramidal roof, has a square plan, and the bell chamber has four large pointed arch windows. The church has a Greek cross plan. The intersection of the arms is surmounted by an octagonal dome, connected by triangular pendentives to the four pillars that delimit the central quadrilateral. Two large chapels overlook it, forming the transept: the chapel of St. Francis (on the left) and the chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (on the right). Worth noting is the chapel of the Virgin of Lourdes, which contains a reconstruction of the Grotto of Massabielle.

The Parco Europa (Europe Park) has been in existence since 1997 and is one of the largest parks among Quartu's city parks and is located in the center of the neighborhood between Via Pitz' e Serra, Via Germania e Via Irlanda, and Via S. Antonio, where the five entrances are located. The park offers various recreational attractions for both adults and children and has designated areas for animal waste disposal. It is a highly appreciated green space in the largest and most modern neighborhood of the city.

Opening hours: Every day from 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM and from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

The Parco Matteotti is located adjacent to the former convent of the Capuchin friars and is connected to what was once the convent's garden before 1888. Today, it is a family-friendly park that also caters to young people. It features playground equipment for children, a variety of plants, and a semicircular staircase.

Opening hours: Every day from 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM and from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

The Molentargius wetland is a place that strikes a balance between humans and the environment, with its water mirrors and remnants of ancient saltworks. It serves as a recreational oasis for the approximately 400,000 residents of the Cagliari area, located just a few steps away from their homes. For the famous inhabitants, the pink flamingos, it is the perfect home.

Since the discontinuation of salt extraction activities in 1985, the Molentargius wetland has undergone a process of redevelopment and transformation into one of the richest sites in terms of bird species in the whole of Sardinia. In recent years, the Molentargius pond has become the most important nesting site for flamingos in the Mediterranean basin. The park not only hosts a wide variety of habitats and species of community importance but also preserves the traces of its past, as evidenced by the fascinating early 20th-century buildings of the "City of Salt" and the ancient industrial machinery.

Opening hours: Open access every day [from 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM and from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM]

The bright tree-lined open space of Piazza IV Novembre takes its name from the armistice date at the end of World War I and is established on a previous plain free from urban embellishments dating back to the early 1900s. Instead of the trees and benches currently visible, there was once a large open space called "Le Aje" or "Is Argiolas" (aie in Sardinian) used for processing sheaves of wheat. Throughout its history, the square has undergone various modifications and served different purposes: an area for threshing wheat, a cemetery (now completely disappeared), a slaughterhouse, a commercial hub, and a venue for festivals and events such as "su pinnoni" (the greasy pole) and horse races.

This building, with its vibrant colors, stands out on Via Vittorio Emanuele (reconstructed thanks to a recent restoration) and represents one of the few remnants of the Liberty period in the city. This architectural and artistic style developed in Quartu between the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is associated with the affluent citizens who wanted to showcase their opulence and embrace an innovative style of the time: Art Nouveau.

The palace, in particular, is located at the corner of the current Via Vittorio Emanuele and one of its side streets, and it displays its beauty through its vivid and luminous colors. The structure is divided into three overlapping levels, with the top level being the most spectacular. It features an elevated open loggia divided on the façade by six decorated terracotta semicolumns with unpainted faces, which can also be observed in the pilasters on the first-floor façade. On the ground floor, there are ribbed pilasters that reflect the classical architectural tradition. In the upper loggia, remnants of a ceiling fresco can still be seen.

Outdoor basketball court renovated in 2022. The playground is located in the backshore area of Poetto.

Following the sponsorship agreement between the Municipality and The Dope Factory srl, the concept store that decided to invest in the city's coastline, the basketball court at Poetto in Quartu Sant'Elena has been completely renovated and inaugurated in June 2022. For public safety reasons and to prevent damage, the court is under video surveillance.

Opening hours: every day. Free access.