The pink building to your left is Cagliari’s Teatro Civico, or Civic Theatre. Built to replace an earlier wooden theatre, it was commissioned by the Marquis Zapata de las Plassas, who wanted to add a theatre to his palace. The city bought the theatre in 1831, hence the name Teatro Civico, and had it rebuilt in an elegant neoclassical style. With seating for up to 600 guests, it quickly became the heart of Cagliari’s cultural and social scene. However, the Civico soon found itself facing stiff competition when the new Cerruti Theatre opened, offering twice the capacity and a large stage able to host all kinds of performances. By 1911, the city gave up and sold the Civico to a private company, which turned it into a cinema. It was later badly damaged during the bombings of 1942. But after an extensive restoration in 2006, the theatre was brought back to life and now hosts cultural events, concerts, live shows and film screenings once again.