Of over six hundred thousand bibliographic units, more than six thousand are autographs and manuscripts, with almost six hundred codices and over two hundred incunabula, including the oldest printed edition of the Carta de Logu – a code of laws in force in the Middle Ages in the Sardinian Judicates -, several very rare 15th-century works and a codex of the Divine Comedy dated between the 14th and 15th centuries. The University Library of Cagliari is a prestigious ‘guardian’ of the written memory of the Island, thanks to the huge patrimony of volumes and prints and the charm of the building and its furnishings. It was created in 1764, during the reign of Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy, and is located inside the Palazzo dell’Università, above the Balice Bastion. The complex was originally meant to include three buildings: those of the University and of the Tridentine Seminary and, between them, a theatre, which was never built. The library was located in the Great Hall, now the ‘eighteenth-century hall’, but over time it has acquired new spaces in both buildings.

Once through the entrance doors, you will reach two large entrance halls with lighting from arched windows. From the entrance halls, you can go to the upper floors via large staircases, while from the courtyard of the Palazzo dell’Università, you can get to a panoramic terrace with a view of the bastion, via a double symmetrical staircase. The Main Hall and the Rector's Office stand out, as does the ‘eighteenth-century room’, embellished with a double row of shelves, painted an ivory colour with golden friezes, and a bust depicting the historian Giuseppe Manno. The ‘Sardinian Room’ is just as good and contains texts focusing on many aspects of the Island, while the ‘bibliography room’ and the ‘audiovisual mezzanine’ contain microfilmed and digitised works.

The former Tridentine Seminary building has belonged to the university since the mid-20th century. On the ground floor you can admire ‘the chapel’: inside it, there is the oldest and most precious part of the library’s patrimony, namely the manuscripts, the incunabula and the 16th century editions. You can also see a precious multicoloured marble altar and the tempera decorations of the vault. On the same floor, there are also the rooms containing the ‘Piloni collection’, with ancient paintings, works by the most illustrious 20th-century Sardinian painters, geographical maps, traditional objects and jewellery.

The library is just one of the places to stop at on a fascinating tour of medieval Cagliari ‘preserved’ in Castello: a short distance away you will find the Torre dell’Elefante (Elephant Tower), while continuing towards the north-east you‘ll reach the Cathedral of Santa Maria, next to the Palazzo Regio and the ancient City Palace. A little further north, you’ll find Piazza Indipendenza, with the Tower of San Pancrazio. Lastly, a little further on, you’ll come across Piazza Arsenale, where the Citadel of Museums stands.