The illustrious football club Cagliari on the island of Sardinia is used to improvising. The current Sardegna Arena has been their temporary home for years, but thanks to the fanatic football fans the atmosphere is very good. If you want to follow in the footsteps of legend Gigi Riva, you must visit one specific restaurant.
Real stadium romantics might not get very excited in Cagliari. The Sardegna Arena (Unipol Domus is the sponsor name) where Cagliari plays its home games since 2017, is in fact a temporary stadium, completely built from temporary stands as you see at Formula 1 races too. Because the old Stadio Sant'Elia couldn't meet up with the safety requirements anymore, Cagliari built a temporary home for the upcoming years on the adjacent parking lot, while they desire to build a new stadium on the old ground. But that won't be finished before 2025.
The framework of the old Stadio Sant’Elia still exists, on the southwestern edge of Cagliari, right next to the Sardegna Arena. The new stadium was supposed to be here already, but completely in line with good old South-Italian habits things go a little bit slower. Even the demolition of the old Sant'Elia isn't completely yet. You can still recognize the stadium, used for the 1990 World Cup, from its robust shape. Further, there's little going on in the direct surroundings of the stadium. It feels a bit like a construction site.
Every Sardinian knows it: The wonderful fish restaurant Stella Marina di Montecristo (Via Sardegna 140) is the favourite spot of Gigi Riva. The all-time top scorer of the Italian team, who played for Cagliari his entire career, has been coming here for decades to eat fresh fish. He even has his own private table in the classic restaurant. Chef and owner Giacomo knows exactly what he has to prepare for the living legend: Risotto with seafood. But even if Riva is not around, Stella Marina di Montecristo is a must-visit. It's hard to find a fish restaurant more authentic than this, and it's quite affordable as well. It is recommend to make a reservation as it's almost always full.
The local heroes that made Cagliari champions of Italy in 1970, still have dinner every 12th of April at Stella Marino di Montecristo. But the place where it all happened that day still exists as well: The old Stadio Amiscora. Nowadays a modest athletics stadium with just one stand, a little north of Stadio Sant’Elia, but a historic ground for Cagliari. Riva made a club from the south of Italy champions for the first time, seventeen years before Diego Maradona did the same in Naples.
North of the city centre of Cagliari, on the Via Diaz Armando 77 in the area of Quartu Sant'Elena, you'll find a beautiful small club museum: Museo Rossoblu. It's completely owned by supporter Simone, who has a wonderful collection of shoes, balls, photo's and shirts. The charm is also in the small scale of the museum: not a top-of-the-bill 'experience' with a lot of audiovisual masterpieces, but a lovely treasury in a modest Sardinian street.
Also thanks to the limited capacity of the Sardegna Arena (just over 16.000 places) it's usually quite full, but getting a hand on tickets for Cagliari is usually no problem. But stay focused, on the official website they usually go in general sale a week in advance. Also at the ticket shop at the Piazza L'Unione Sarda, you can buy tickets if you have your passport with you.
The stadium of Cagliari is at the southern edge of the city, not far from the sea. The best way to get there is by bus. Take line 5 (from the train station of Cagliari) or line 6 (from the Piazza Constituzione) and get off the bus at stop Poetto (Ponte Vittorio), within walking distance of the stadium.
Images: Shutterstock, BSR Agency
