With nearly thirty thousand inhabitants, it is the eighth most populous city in Sardinia. Selargius is part of the Cagliari metropolitan area, practically united with the capital city. Possibly of Roman origin, in the early Middle Ages it was Kellarios, from the Latin cellarium (agricultural storehouse). Work in the fields, the town’s historical activity, lives on in the agri-food products: wine, especially monica and nasco, homemade bread and pastries, almonds based on the typical sweets (macaroons, gueffus, pistoccus), is pardulas and, most famously, the capers of Selargius.
In Aragonese times the center was a huge fortified ‘trench’ to defend Carali: a square with sides of 200 meters, where the moat corresponded to the bed of a stream. The historic center preserves memories of this, made up of Campidanese houses, built with làdiri, unfired earth bricks, and characterized by wide portals, courtyards and covered loggias, is lollas. The most beautiful and best-preserved are on Via Roma, where you will also visit the 17th-century prison of the Marquises of Quirra. The oldest buildings of worship are the small church of St. Lussorio, a jewel of Romanesque architecture dating back to the 13th century, far from the historic center, bordering Monserrato, and St. Julian’s, dating back to the 12th century. The sanctuary has Romanesque forms, particularly the façade preceded by a portico and the nave with a wooden roof, and a special charm: it is located in a charming corner of the center that seems to stand still in time. Next to the spectacular red-brick chimney-tower of the former Si ‘e Boi distillery, now a cultural park, stands the present parish church of the Blessed Virgin of the Assumption, dating from the 15th century and remodeled in the 17th. It features a neoclassical elevation, a tall bell tower and a large dome. It houses various works of art, including the high altar in polychrome marble. Churches and the historic center are the scene, on the second Sunday of September, of the Ancient Selargino Wedding (sa coja antiga), the most heartfelt and celebrated event. A wedding procession of groups in traditional dress from all island towns and launeddas players accompany the bride and groom, bound by sa cadena, according to an ancient rite.