Pula

Pula is a small town of 7,500 inhabitants in the province of Cagliari, south-west of the capital.

It is close to the ancient city of Nora, founded by the Phoenicians. The archaeological site is on the Pula promontory, in all likelihood the first and most important center on the island. The magnificent ruins of the ancient city of Nora testify to this, with Roman columns and mosaic floors, but also with the necropolis from the Phoenician age. Today, various cultural events of great interest are organized on the stage of the Roman Theater of Nora. Right in front of the ruins of the city of Nora is another piece of history not only of Pula but also of all Sardinia: the Church of Sant’Efisio. The church stands on the spot where it is said that the saint became a martyr. It is a beautiful and fascinating destination for a pilgrimage that takes place every year on the first of May.

Pula has a small ancient city core. In Corso Vittorio Emanuele is the Giovanni Patroni Museum, an archaeological museum that houses the relics of Nora. Here, among many other relics, you can admire the gold foil depicting the head of Medusa, which is also the museum’s logo. In the Church of San Giovanni Battista (XIX century), in Piazza Giovanni XXIII, there are marble sarcophagi, one of which contains the remains of a Cagliari duchess. Not far away is the Piazza del Popolo. On the way to Nora we come across the aristocratic Villa Santa Maria, built by the architect Gaetano Cima in the first half of the nineteenth century on the ruins of the ancient church of the same name.