Cagliari is the main city of Italy. The province of Cagliari includes 109 communes and, especially the area of Sulcis and Iglesiente, is rich in mines of zinc, lead and fossil fuels. There are also some local industrial activities, as the chemical industry, the food industry and the textile production, while the activities connected to fishing and tourism have developed along the coast. The fastest way to reach Cagliari is flying and the airport where you can land is Elmas, that connects the town with the most important Italian and European towns through national and international flights. If you prefer travelling by sea, you can reach Sardinia and, in particular Cagliari, by covering various distances: Civitavecchia-Cagliari, Trapani-Tunisi-Cagliari, as well as Naples-Cagliari and Palermo-Cagliari. If you choose the train, the Italian Railways only cover the distance Sassari-Oristano-Cagliari and the mainroad SS 131 Carlo Felice connects Cagliari to Oristano, Sassari and Porto Torres.

Today, crowned by its historic nucleus squeezed within a protective ring of Pisan fortifications, Cagliari is less frenetic than any town of equivalent size on the Italian mainland, most of its quarter-million population housed in mushrooming apartment blocks away from the centre. Its setting is enhanced by the calm lagoons west of the city and along the airport road, the habitat for cranes, cormorants and flamingoes. In the centre, the evening promenades along Via Manno are the smartest you'll see in Sardinia, dropping down to the noisier Piazza Yenne and Largo Carlo Felice, around which most of the shops, restaurants, banks and hotels are located. At the bottom of the town, the arcades of Via Roma shelter more shops and bars, across from the port.