It is the most imposing urban building in Cagliari and it stands on top of a panoramic hill surrounded by tree-lined avenues and ‘terraces’ with a view of the entire city. The prison of Buoncammino, like the surrounding urban area, owes its name to the nearby church of San Lorenzo, originally dedicated to the Virgin of Buoncammino. At the top of a high ground, at an altitude of one hundred metres, it occupies a rectangular surface area of 15 thousand square metres.

The complex, made up of six buildings, was constructed in two phases: the first around 1855 and the second between 1887 and 1897. Before Buoncammino, prisoners were held in the Tower of San Pancrazio, with its entrance in the nearby Castello district, and in annexed and surrounding buildings. The first nucleus emerged to integrate the prison facilities in use at the time, but due to overcrowding and the hazardous conditions they were experiencing, it was decided that the new prison should be extended and transformed into a real ‘citadel’ that could accommodate from 500 to a thousand prisoners, with the consequent permanent closure of the San Pancrazio complex. The current appearance is the result of further additions of buildings, which took place around the 1930s.

At the corners of the perimeter wall, you will notice octagonal bartizans, covered by a small segmented dome. Two more are up against the building at the front of the complex, where the prison entrance archway opens up. Once you cross the threshold, you will see a terreplein that can be reached via two flights of steps opposite each other. Here you will find the management building and an additional porter’s lodge that leads to a courtyard, from which the wings leading to the cells branch off.

In many areas of the prison, you will recognise neoclassical details: rounded arches, cross vaults, decorations and paintings in the cornices and ceilings. Buoncammino stands in a ‘strategic’ position, in the outskirts of the town (at the time of construction), not far from the fortifications of the Castello district and on a high ground with a view of both the east and west sides of Cagliari. During its 120 years of ‘service’, no prisoner ever managed to escape. The prison was closed in 2014, as it no longer complied with the regulations on prison conditions. Since then, it has been opened up to the public, as a stop on cultural tours, particularly on the occasion of the FAI Days (FAI is the Italian National Trust), with a view to turning it into a permanent museum.

Viale Buoncammino boasts some of the city’s most panoramic viewpoints. While walking along it, you will cross through the nineteenth-century Porta Cristina, dedicated to the wife of King Charles Felix, and you will come to Piazza Arsenale, where the Citadel of Museums is located, and Piazza Indipendenza, where you can venture into the little lanes of the Castello district and visit the Tower of the Elephant, Palazzo Regio (Royal Palace), Palazzo di Città and the Cathedral of Santa Maria.