Torre dello Sperone (Sperone Tower), Cagliari

The Sperone tower, or of the Alberti or of San Michele, is a medieval tower in Cagliari, the only testimony of the city walls, erected by the Pisans in the 13th century, to defend Stampace. The building, crossed at the base by a portico, stands between via Portoscalas and via Ospedale, adjacent to the military hospital and the church of San Michele. The Latin inscription, placed on the façade of the tower overlooking Via Portoscalas, informs that the work was completed in the month of March 1293, while an Alberti, whose coat of arms stands out in the center of the castle, was captain of the municipality of Castel di Castro. The tower, with a quadrangular barrel, was built in limestone. On the façade in via Portoscalas, in addition to the aforementioned epigraph, the building is adorned by some rectangular windows and a sort of blind loggia, made up of four round arches. The arch of the portico below is also round.

The only one still surviving of the three original fortified entrances of the Stampace district, that of Portu Scalas is the oldest of the Pisan towers in the city; Built in 1293, in fact, it precedes the best known ones located in the Castle by at least a decade. With a quadrangular plan and just over twenty meters high, the tower, also called the Sperone, has a slit as evidence of its ancient defensive function. Now without its battlements, it has become an integral part of the adjacent San Michele Military Hospital; However, it continues to serve as the entrance to "high" Stampace, overlooking the Porta dello Sperone, also called Porta degli Alberti, Puerta Escalas or Portico di San Michele.

Its existence is often ignored, people enter its door, in the heart of Stampace, but the Sperone tower resists time. Between Porto Scalas and Azuni streets, it is the oldest in Cagliari, in a city that over time has been fortified by powerful walls and majestic gates. The Sperone or Alberti tower was built in 1293 and bears the name of a Pisan citizen, captain of Castel di Castro. Today, perhaps, it is almost invisible, almost absorbed by the structures near the church of San Michele. Yet, it remains the only evidence of walls in this historic district. In the Latin epigraph above the door, one can still clearly read in the epigraph today: “In Nomine Domini Amen. Hoc hopus fuit perfectum tempore capitaneatus Domini gratiae Alberti capitanei Comunis et populi Castelli Castri currentibus annis MCCLXXXXIII mense martii”. Access road between the two parts of Stampace, its gate is called Porta dello Sperone or Puerta Escalas, thus giving its name to the street, or even Portico di San Michele, a name derived from the proximity to the church of the same name. Furthermore, if you look carefully from the side of Via Porto Scalas, the family coat of arms is still present. Although, of course, time has made him practically unrecognizable.

In Cagliari the Sperone tower resists the passing of the years, powerful and majestic. It is the oldest in the city, but it doesn't show it to the inhabitants of one of the most representative historical centres, that of Stampace. And she almost smiles ironically at those who pass under her portico, between Via Ospedale and Azuni, at the entrance to Via Porto Scalas, who sometimes ignore her presence. In any case, she, a jewel of Pisan architecture, will always be there, in time to come, to observe the Sardinian capital and to cherish its memories. Cagliari is a city of walls and towers. That of Sperone is thus one of the many representations of Pisan origin. In fact, even the Catalans, Spaniards and Savoys did not fail to fortify the capital with mighty gatesy, the existence of which is often completely unknown. In the Castle, for example, the entrance and the shutters of the Elephant tower recall distant hunts "a son'e corru". And so there are many tourists who, passing underneath, cannot help but pay attention, fearing that someone from above might lock them out of the neighborhood. The Sperone or Alberti tower was built in 1293 and bears the name of a Pisan citizen, captain of the city. Today, when you take a walk through the streets of Stampace, you notice how the building near the church of San Michele seems to have incorporated it. In fact, its balcony has also been named after the Lion and then the Eagle, over the years. However, if you look carefully, from the Via Porto Scalas side, the family coat of arms is still present. Although, of course, time has made him practically unrecognizable. ***PH***