A stretch of medieval cobblestone road that connected the Basilica of San Saturnino to the Bonaria hill, in excellent condition. It was discovered during excavation work on the archaeological area below the Basilica of San Saturnino in Cagliari.
The discovery made it necessary to modify the initial project to take into account the changed state of the places, different from the initial context, with the aim of integrating the rediscovered road and enhancing it in the overall design. For this reason, the works were suspended in August 2023 and are now resuming. The new project in fact plans to expand the excavation area to obtain a coherent connection between the Basilica floor, the steps that will be built, the area of the ancient road and the garden.
A new light can already be seen, the new works have illuminated the ancient remains of this stratified site that traces the history of the city's construction. The removal of the blind sides that gave the archaeological area a hypogean character, not only improves its microclimate to guarantee better protection, but already allows us to glimpse the outcome of the project that includes the creation of a ring path outside the Basilica and connecting the sacred building, garden and archaeological area.
The construction site will continue until next spring, when it will be possible to appreciate the realization of the project on one side of the Basilica. The restyling of the Basilica of San Saturnino was illustrated in December 2022. During the presentation it was said that, since it was mainly an excavation, it would not be possible to predict with certainty the end of the works, because archaeological excavations can reserve surprises. And so it was.
The project manager, with an original cost of the works of over 466 thousand euros, is Patrizia Luciana Tomassetti of the Regional Secretariat. The safety coordinator during the execution phase is the architect Pedro Spinnato, the direction of the works is entrusted to the architect Sergio Casanova, the scientific manager is Simona Cisci of the Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan city of Cagliari and the provinces of Oristano and southern Sardinia. (ANSA).