620 M. This route forms part of the ‘Linea Circolare della Tunisia e
Tripolitania’ (Lines XVIII-XX) of the _Società Nazionale_, a circular
tour which offers interesting glimpses of Sardinia, Malta, and the E.
coast of Sicily, as well as of Oriental life at the N. African ports
(RR. 64, 27, 24). The steamers usually leave Genoa on Frid. evening,
Leghorn on Sat. night, and Cagliari on Mon. evening, and arrive at
Tunis on Tues. forenoon. (In the reverse direction they leave Tunis on
Mon. at noon and reach Genoa on Thurs. evening.) Fare 111 or 83 fr.
(or for the whole round 303 or 212 fr.). As some of the steamers are
hardly up to date, inquiry as to the best should be made beforehand.
Office at Genoa, see p. 114; at Leghorn, Piazza Micheli (p. 143); at
Tunis, p. 331.
_Genoa_, and voyage to (92 M.) _Leghorn_, comp. pp. 113, 134. We pass
_Melória_, a cliff 4 M. to the W. of Leghorn, off which the Genoese
destroyed the fleet of Pisa in 1284.
=Leghorn=, Ital. _Livorno_ (Marble Palace Hotel; Hôt. d’Angleterre &
Campari, Hôt. Giappone, both in Via Vittorio Emanuele, with restaurants,
good Italian houses for passing travellers; Brit, cons., M. Carmichael;
U. S. cons., E. A. Man; pop. 78,000), a provincial capital, one of the
chief seaports of Italy, and a sea-bathing place, is quite a modern
town. The harbour consists of the _Porto Nuovo_, sheltered by a
semicircular mole (_diga curvilinea_) and the new _Molo Vegliaia_, and
the old _Porto Mediceo_, or inner harbour. (Landing or embarkation 1
fr.; trunk 30 c.).
Near the harbour is the Piazza Micheli, adorned with a curious monument
of the grand-duke _Ferdinand I. of Tuscany_ (1587–1609). Straight on
runs the Via Vittorio Emanuele, the main street, lined with shops. It
leads across the large Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, which is flanked by the
_Cathedral_, the _Municipio_, and other public buildings, to the Piazza
Carlo Alberto, whence the Via Garibaldi and Via Palestro lead to the
left to the railway-station.
A pleasant walk (or tramway from the station to Antignano) is offered by
the _Viale Regina Margherita_, about 2 M. in length, the seaside
promenade to the S. of the town, in summer enlivened by numerous
bathers. Between it and the harbour, and adjoining the Piazza Mazzini,
is the _Cantiere Orlando_, the dockyards where iron-clads and other
vessels are built for the Italian navy.
At the S. end of the sea-promenade lie the villa-suburbs of _Ardenza_
and _Antignano_, which have sea-baths also.
On the fine VOYAGE from Leghorn to (339 M.) Cagliari we at first obtain
a good view of the _Tuscan Archipelago_, relics of the primæval
_Tyrrhenis_ (p. xxxi). These islands are composed mainly of granite,
with slate and limestone strata overlying it in places.
Passing at some distance from the barren fisher-island of _Gorgona_ (837
ft.) and from _Capraia_, the _Capraria_ (goats’ island) of antiquity, we
steer to the S.S.W. towards the W. coast of Elba, enjoying in clear
weather a fine distant *View of the peninsula of _Cape Corse_, the N.
extremity of _Corsica_, and of _Monte Cinto_ (8892 ft.), the highest
mountain in the interior of that island.
We next skirt the island of _Elba_, the _Æthalia_ of the Greeks and
_Ilva_ of the Romans, the largest island in the archipelago, 19 M. long,
famous as the scene of the first exile of Napoleon I. (1814–5). The
valuable iron-mines here (comp. pp. 134, 135), worked from very ancient
times, are an important factor in the industries of Italy. We pass the
rocky N. coast of the island, which is visible as far as the _Capo della
Vita_ (p. 135), and on its W. side we observe the massive granitic
_Monte Capanne_ (3343 ft.).
The steamer passes between the hardly less steep S. coast of Elba and
the flat island of _Pianosa_ (85 ft.; the ancient _Planasia_), and
steers to the S.S.W. towards the S. coast of Sardinia. On the left,
about 26 M. from Elba, appears the bold granitic island of _Montecristo_
(2126 ft.), the ancient _Oglasa_, the scene of the well-known novel ‘The
Count of Monte Cristo’, by Alex. Dumas.
The _Straits of Bonifacio_ (p. 133) lie far to the W. of the steamer’s
course. Off the N.E. coast of _Sardinia_ we first sight the massive
rocky island of _Tavolara_ (1821 ft.), the _Bucina_ of the Romans,
masking the _Bay of Terranova_; then, when off _Capo Comino_, the
eastmost point of Sardinia, we see _Monte Alvo_ (3701 ft.), a little
inland. The somewhat monotonous S.E. coast of the island is backed by
sterile mountains. We pass the little port of _Arbatax_ (_Tortolì
Marina_), the _Capo di Bellavista_, the _Capo Sferra Cavallo_, the
_Monte Ferrau_ (2878 ft.), the _Capo Ferrato_, and lastly the islet of
_Serpentara_.
Beyond _Capo Carbonara_, the S.E. point of Sardinia, and the _Isola dei
Cavoli_ (p. 118), opens the broad _Gulf of Cagliari_ on the flat S.
coast of the island. On the hill-side at the head of the gulf, beyond
the fortified _Cape Sant’Elia_, which shuts off the inner _Golfo di
Quarto_, lies the town of _Cagliari_. Around it are several large
coast-lakes, the _Stagno di Molentargius_, on the E., the _Stagno di
Cagliari_, on the W., and others, which yield quantities of salt. The
latter has been separated from the gulf only since the middle ages by a
neck of land called the _Plaia_.
=Cágliări.=—The STEAMER is moored in the Darsena. Landing or
embarkation 40, with baggage 60 c.
HOTELS. _Scala di Ferro_, Viale Regina Margherita 5, with good
restaurant, R. 2½–3 fr.; _Quattro Mori_, Largo Carlo Felice, R. from 2
fr., also restaurant.—_Café Torino_, Via Roma.
POST & TELEGRAPH OFFICE, Via Lodovico Baille 22.—CAB (bargaining
advisable) 1, at night ½ fr. per drive; baggage 20 c.
BRITISH CONSUL (also Lloyd’s Agent), _R. E. Pernis_.
_Cagliari_, Sardin. _Casteddu_, the Roman _Carales_, a very ancient
town, having been founded by the Phœnicians, now the seat of a
university and of an archbishop, with 48,000 inhab., lies in one of the
hottest and driest regions in Italy. At the foot of the _Castello_ or
old town (290 ft.) lie the new quarters of _Villanova_, _Marina_, and
_Stampace_, adjoined on the W. by the suburb of _Sant’Avendrace_.
The VIA ROMA, an avenue skirting the sea, the fashionable corso in the
evening, leads from the _Palazzo Comunale_ to the Largo Carlo Felice. On
the right are two covered _Markets_, which are worth seeing in the
forenoon. This largo leads to the PIAZZA YENNE, the business centre of
the modern town.
At the N. end of the Largo Carlo Felice rises a statue of _Charles Felix
I._ (1821–31), and in the Piazza Yenne an antique column. Between these
passes the main thoroughfare of the town: to the left the Corso Vittorio
Emanuele, ending near a group of ancient Roman houses recently
excavated, now called _Casa di Tigellio_; to the right, leading to the
upper town, the animated VIA MANNO (popularly ‘_La Costa_‘), with
numerous shops, where among other things the gold ornaments commonly
worn by the country-people should be noticed.
From the Piazza della Costituzione, at the S.E. end of the Via Manno,
the *VIALE REGINA ELENA runs to the N., beneath the precipitous E. side
of the abrupt Castello. It affords a fine view of the ancient town-wall,
of the cathedral, and of the picturesque rear of the castle-buildings;
below, on the right, lies Villanova, with its quaint tiled roofs, while
beyond it we have a splendid view of Cape Sant’ Elia and across the wide
plain of Quarto to the mountains.
From the _Giardino Pubblico_, at the N. end of the promenade, we mount
to the W. to the _Passeggiata Buon Cammino_ (see below).
Adjoining the Via Manno (p. 144) is the small Piazzetta de’Martiri
d’Italia, whence the Via Giuseppe Mazzini ascends in two bends to the
*_Castello_, still fortified in mediæval style. At the top is the new
_Passeggiata Coperta_, one of the finest points in the town. The Via
dell’Università leads hence to the left to the _University_ and to the
ponderous _Torre dell’Elefante_, which, according to the inscription,
was erected by the Pisans in 1307.
Straight on we pass through the _Torre dell’Aquila_, an old gateway now
enclosed within the _Palazzo Boyl_, to the VIA LAMARMORA, the main
street in the Castello, which is connected with the parallel streets by
steep lanes, dark vaulted passages, and steps.
From the terraced little Piazza del Municipio, with the council-hall of
the old town, a flight of steps to the right ascends to the _Cathedral_
(Santa Cecilia), completed by the Pisans in 1312, but since then
frequently altered. A new façade, in keeping with the old building, is
now under construction.
Farther to the N., in the Piazza dell’ Indipendenza, is the Pisan _Torre
San Pancrazio_ (14th cent.), a modern addition to which contains the
very notable MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITIES (if closed apply to the director,
Sig. Nissardi). Besides Phœnician and Roman antiquities we may note the
cork model of a nuraghe, one of the conical fortresses built by the
aboriginal Iberian inhabitants.
Going through the _Citadel_, which bounds the Castello on the N., we
follow the _Passeggiata Buon Cammino_ to the Piazza d’Armi. Just beyond
the barracks a road to the left leads to the Roman—
_Amphitheatre_ (greater diameter 97, smaller 80 yds.; arena 55 by 37
yds.), with tiers of seats mostly hewn in the rock.
Below the amphitheatre lie the garden of the _Poor House_ (Ricovero di
Mendicità) and the _Botanic Garden_ (Thurs. 4–7), both containing
remains of antique _Irrigation Works_, which are continued on the cliffs
to the N.W. of the old town. Close by is the ancient NECROPOLIS of
Carales. Nearest the town are the Punic tomb-chambers, sunk
perpendicularly in the rock (care should be taken here), and farther to
the W. are the mostly horizontal Roman tombs.
From the ruined castle of _San Michele_, at the top of a hill about 2
M. to the N. of the Piazza d’Armi (p. 145), we overlook the _Stagno di
Cagliari_ (p. 144) and the _Campidano_, a fruitful, but fever-stricken
plain between the bays of Cagliari and Oristano (p. 129), where the
clay-built villages and the cactus hedges recall N. Africa.