The Phoenician period and the entrance door to Sardinia

The majority of the Nuragic populations that lived in the present Cagliari's zone, used to be committed to fishing, agriculture and craft. But, when in the VIII century B.C., the Phoenician approached the “Golfo degli Angeli” (Angels' Gulf), the exchange trades with the locals began. This was only the origin: Cagliari, the central point of the main Mediterranean routes, the entrance's door to Sardinia for numerous colonizer populations.

Between the VIII and the VI century AD, the Phoenician settled in the zone of Santa Igia only, while the Carthaginian arrived in the last part of the IV century B.C.: the entire area of Sant’Avendrace is very rich in finds and, during excavating works for new buildings and urban services, under its ground have often been found ruins of the old city. Moreover, in the adjacent hill of Tuvixeddu, is located a Punic-Roman necropolis.