Cagliari, Piazza Matteotti Park

Park in Piazza Matteotti. Photo by Marta Cincotti, 2025, from Catalogo BBCC.

The green area of Piazza Giacomo Matteotti is a nineteenth-century urban public space, located in front of the passenger building of the Cagliari railway station. The origin of the square dates back to the second half of the 19th century, when the space was conceived as an urban square with green elements and minimal furnishings, intended for public use and for the connection between the urban center and the port.
The rectangular planimetric layout preserves the original function of an urban reception garden, with internal walking paths and large tree specimens that define the perimeter. The flower beds consist of a regularly shaped lawn, delimited by stone borders, which help to maintain the visual and landscape continuity of the whole. They house large tree specimens, which constitute the dominant plant elements of the area and define the overall landscape structure of the garden. There are monumental examples of Ficus macrophylla and Ficus watkinsiana, including a Ficus macrophylla included in the regional list of monumental trees (stem circumference: about 1,200 cm). Registered height: about 22 m. Age: more than 200 years). In the center of the square, on the side facing the Town Hall and Via Roma, there is the statue depicting Giuseppe Verdi. Between 2023 and 2025, the square was the subject of a redevelopment project, promoted by the City of Cagliari, aimed at transforming the area, in continuity with Via Roma, into a green walk, with pedestrian paths, lawn areas, native trees and parking spaces and the safety of historic trees.

Aspects of interest
The park has a critical historical value linked to the continuity of public use and the function of connecting the historic center and the seafront, highlighting the relationship between green space, pedestrian mobility and a consolidated urban context.

City of Cagliari: Public Green Geoportal >