The chief  town of the island, Cagliari is in the southern part of Sardinia, in the gulf Degli Angeli, at the end of Campidano plain, between the sea, Montelargius and Santa Gilla's ponds, and some hills, like "Su Casteddu"(the castle). Probably founded by the Phoenicians. As we can see from its former name: Karalis or Karales, it became an important maritime and commercial town under the Carthaginian domination. Taken by the count Tiberio Gracco in 238 b. C., Cagliari went through a very prosperous period, and it became, at first, a municipality, and then seat of the bishop's palace.
With the fall of the Roman Empire the population moved towards the inland, in order to take shelter
from the barbarian invasions. Under the Byzantine domination Cagliari, that had become the chief town of the island, was in a state of neglect, and the inhabitants moved to Santa Igia. In those
years the attempts to conquer it were innumerable, but always a failure, thanks to the help from the maritime republics of Pisa and Genova; and just the Pisans and the Genoveses competed for the supremacy in Sardinia. In the XI century Cagliari became the chief town of the homonym period of development. In those years the fortified town of Castrum Kalaris was built, with the new quarters of Marina, Stampace and Villanova, and Cagliari became one of the main cities in the Mediterranean Sea, with a lively artistic flourishing. In 1324 Cagliari passed under the Aragonese domination, and Peter I of Aragona made it the seat of the first parliament; later it was involved in the war between the Aragoneses and the Judges from Arborea. During the Spanish domination, the island of Sardinia and its chief town went through a very difficult period; but with the coming of the Savoy, Cagliari was made residence of the viceroy, until in 1794, when the royal family was expelled and the viceroy killed. With the coming of the peace, in 1862, the walls were knocked down. During the Second World War, many buildings were wrecked by the bombardments. Since 1949 Cagliari has been the chief town of the Sardinian Autonomous Region.
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