Cagliari is a port city that grew on hills, and that is the key to understanding it. The capital of Sardinia climbs from the harbour up a steep rock crowned by Castello, the old walled quarter, which the Pisans fortified in the thirteenth century with two white limestone towers that still stand, the Torre dell'Elefante and the Torre di San Pancrazio. From the ramparts you can look across the whole gulf, the salt pans, the long white beach of Poetto and the low mountains beyond. The city's history is as layered as its streets. Phoenicians founded a port here, the Romans built an amphitheatre cut into the rock, and Aragonese and Spanish rulers added churches and palaces.
Nature is close at hand. The Molentargius salt pans, on the edge of the city, are a shallow wetland where flocks of pink flamingos feed, and they are visible from the road, which is a surprise in a city of this size. Poetto beach, about eight kilometres long, is the city's backyard, crowded in summer and almost empty in winter. Seafood dominates the menu, with bottarga, the cured fish roe, and fregola, tiny toasted pasta, appearing often. In the market of San Benedetto, one of the largest covered markets in Italy, fish, cheese and vegetables are piled high.
For a rider, Cagliari is a good base for exploring the south of the island. The state road to the north, known as the Carlo Felice, runs the length of Sardinia, and one early detour leads to Su Nuraxi at Barumini, about sixty kilometres north, a Bronze Age stone fortress that is a UNESCO site. The nuraghi, conical stone towers built by Sardinia's ancient civilisation over three thousand years ago, are scattered all over the island, and nobody knows exactly what they were for. Roads on the island are generally in good condition, with long curves and fine views, and traffic is light outside the cities. Summer is hot, with the best riding in spring and autumn.
Fuel and workshops are easy to find, and parking in the old centre is difficult, so leave the bike outside the old town gates. Evening is the time for aperitivo on the terraces, when the city lights come on across the bay.