The document summarizes the history and current state of Poetto beach in Cagliari, Italy. It describes how Poetto was originally unknown but became a popular summer destination in the early 1900s with the addition of bathing establishments and a tram line. It now offers amenities and is a site for sporting events, but faces issues with erosion and an abandoned hospital building falling into disrepair. Plans are discussed to redevelop the old hospital building and address problems at the beach to preserve it for the future.

1. Liceo Scientifico “Michelangelo” Cagliari Barcelona February 28th-March 2nd 2011 Comenius Project European Cities: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.

2. Yesterday, Today and…Tomorrow

3. Introduction POETTO is a district in the municipality of Cagliari. It is located on the western stretch of the strip between the beach and the “Saline of Molentargius” and it is close to the “Quartiere del Sole”. “ Quartiere del Sole” is the newest district in Cagliari, in fact it was developed in the 70’s, and it is used as residential district. POETTO is popular for its wonderful sandy beach, about 8 km long. The name POETTO probably derives from an Aragon Tower named "Poet's Tower", which is still visible above the “Sella del Diavolo”.

4. Poetto

5. What was ‘Poetto’ Yesterday: a brief history At the beginning of XX century, the Poetto beach was almost unknown to the inhabitants of Cagliari, but in 1913 the first bathing establishment the “Bagni Carboni” was opened to the public and some years later a tram line was inaugurated. In 1920-1925 the beach changed its aspect: coloured wooden constructions halfway between dressing rooms and tiny houses were built all over the beach : they were called “CASOTTI”. The tram line was even extended. With these innovations, the beach was always very crowded.

6. 1932 was a very important year because a large road, which still today runs along the beach, was completed, all the area was supplied with public facilities and embellished with plants, bushes and trees. In addition two new bathing establishment “The Lido” and the “D’Aquila” became the centre for Cagliari social life: thanks to these transformations the “Poetto” started to be called “Summer City”. What was ‘Poetto’ like yesterday?

7. What was ‘Poetto’ like yesterday? It was designed in 1937 by architect Ubaldo Badas to be a summer seaside camp. It is located on the beach of the Poetto. The building is shaped like part of a circle, an arc that seems to want to embrace the sea, is on three floors and has an area of 13 thousand square meters. In 1947 it began to be used as a hospital and was discontinued in 1982. Since then for twenty-eight years it has been in a state of absolute degradation. Only positive aspect: its curved facade has offered a barrier to the wind blowing the sand from Poetto beach to inland an now there is a beautiful golden dune up to what remains of the balcony on the first floor. In 1947 was inaugurated the “Marine Hospital

8. What was ‘Poetto ‘ like yesterday? In 1986, the casotti, were entirely removed for sanitation reasons. During the nineties, due to their removal, to the overcrowding, and to a natural erosion and lack of prevention work, the sand , gradually but quickly started to disappear . In 2002, to avoid further dispersion of the beach a “ beach nourishment ” was made .Unfortunately, the result was not as successful as expected: the white, fine-grained sand was replaced by sand of a completely different color, size and consistency.

9. Poetto today Poetto is one of the most beautiful sandy beaches not only in Sardinia but also in the Mediterranean sea . It is famous for its beautiful crystal clear waters and beach facilities. It is one of the preferred destination for summer tourists and for the “Cagliaritani” all the year long .

10. Flora and fauna of the area. Poetto

11. Fauna In the Mediterranean sea various species live: molluscs and crustaceans like sea urchins, shrimps, mussels, lobsters, octopus, cuttlefish, squid...

12. Fauna … and fishes, like the “sarago”(Dicentrarchus punctatus), a marine and brackish water fish which lives from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea, but it is very common to see it in our gulf.

13. The greater weever (Trachinus draco) is a weever fish of the family Trachinidae. It is common along the Poetto and memorable for… its encounters: its sting is poisonous. Fauna Lithognathus mormyrus , commonly known as murmurs or Marmora, is a saltwater fish belonging to the family Sparidae. The young specimen are gregarious and tend to gather in numerous banks, but during its growth it takes on a more solitary behaviour.

14. Fauna Among the most fascinating creatures of the Mediterranean Sea, and Poetto as well, are jellyfish, dolphin and starfish.

15. Fauna The most significant marine animals, around the Poetto, are the sea urchins . From Decembre to April you can taste them in the many kiosks displaced along the sea front. The eggs of sea urchins are a delicious food and, in Sardinia, part of our local specialities.

16. Cooking and seafood Ingredients: - Spaghetti 400 gr - sea urchins 1 kg - garlic 3 cloves - Extra-virgin olive oil - parsley “ Pasta ai ricci”

17. Open the sea urchins. Clean them and remove the eggs (the yellow or red part) with a teaspoon and save it in a bowl. Cook the pasta, meanwhile, fry on a pan ½ cup of oil and three cloves of garlic. When the pasta is ready, drain it "al dente" and put it directly into the oil pan after removing the garlic. Put the pasta in a serving bowl and then flavor it with the eggs of sea urchins. Garnish the dish with parsley before serving. Cooking and seafood

18. Fauna The area has also various species of birds ...

19. ... Such as sea gulls ... Fauna ... and flamingos , that are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus . Flamingos are very special because of their pink colour. Though they live in a few areas on the planet, they are an exciting experience in Cagliari since the early ’90s.

20. Fauna The European Shag or Common Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) is a species of cormorant. This is a medium-large black bird. Common Shag is distinguished from the Great Cormorant by its smaller size. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western, southern Europe and it is also present in Sardinia. During the summer, they can be seen on the Poetto beach.

21. Flora and fauna of the area We can find, in the surrounding area of the Poetto, various species of plants that we want to protect and preserve from environmental degradation.

22. Flora Palmae is a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales; they exhibit an enormous diversity in their physical characteristics. Palms are among the best known and extensively visible plant families. In many historical cultures, these plants are symbols for ideas such as victory, peace, and fertility. Today, palms remain a popular symbol for the exotic places, vacations and, certainly, our beaches.

23. Maritime Pine is a pine native of the western and southwestern Mediterranean regions. Its ideal environment ranges from the north of the Iberian Paeninsula to the southern and western France, and from eastern to western Italy. A small pinewood is still visible in front of the whole Poetto seafront. Flora

24. Flora The tree heath (Erica arborea) is a shrub or small evergreen tree with a typical height of 1 to 4m. Its carachteristic is the incredible number of small flowers whose colour is white or violet. The tree heath prefers acid soil and it is found mostly along the sea coast.

25. Poetto today Poetto beach is an important site for sporting events such as the motor boating, Windsurfing competitions and regattas as well as Women's beach volleyball World Championship and many minor tournaments

26. Poetto today Today Poetto offers all the amenities, from dining to entertainment: Along the beach you can find the typical “ Baretti ” that are the favorite spot for Cagliari people, especially on hot summer days and … nights.

27. Poetto hosts a fantastic tourist harbour called “Marina Piccola”, dominated by the imposing “Sella del Diavolo”.

28. Poetto Beach is connected with the centre of Cagliari by the CTM bus service. POETTO BEACH is divided into "Fermate" (bus stops). The various stretches of beach are named after the ordinal number of each bus stop starting from the Devil Saddle. The most popular are the ‘LA PRIMA ( 1st one ),’LA QUARTA’ ( 4 th one) ‘and ‘’LA SESTA’ ( 6 th one‘) Poetto today

29. The main problem of today’s Poetto is the erosion of the beach caused by motorists’ wrong behaviour; infact, especially in summer months, due to insufficient parking, drivers leave their cars close to and even on the beach, causing its pollution . Poetto today :problems

30. Which lies to its own decay since 1982 and it’s in a state of absolute degradation Poetto today Old Marine Hospital

31. The Old Marine Hospital , is a dangerous ruin, an illegal dump on the beach Poetto. It is the kingdom of piles of garbage, torn metal mesh, serious danger to adventurous kids.

32. What will Poetto be like in the future? Regarding the future projects to resolve the problems of the Poetto, the regional and municipal administrations are working on some innovations. For instance, wooden barriers could be built to prevent the disappearing of the sand, traffic could be diverted, sidewalks and cycle paths could be created. Also public transportation should be increased!

33. What will the “Ospedale Marino” be like in the future? The Regional and Municipal administrations have decided to encharge private enterprise to remodel the “Vecchio Ospedale Marino” .

34. OUR PROPOSAL We would like to restore it to re-evaluate the building but also to re-evaluate the beach. We thought that it could be a good idea to transform the building into a Public Cultural Centre usable to the inhabitants of Cagliari as well as temporary visitors. OFFICIAL AND UNOFFICIAL PLANS OF REMODELLING So far 2 proposals have received particular appreciations by the administrators: 1) a beauty center with annexed restaurant and swimming pools for thallotherapia placed on the roof . 2) To integrate the area of the old “Ospedale Marino” in the wider area of the Park of “Molentargius” LOCAL AUTHORITIES PROPOSALS

35. Underground Floor: Parking Zone Storage Rooms Swimming Pool Nautic School ( Sailing and Surf) Second Floor Library Offices Multimedial Exposition Area (Museum, Cinema, Meetings) First Floor Educational Activities: (Theater, Music, Painting, Photography) Souvenir Shop Roof Covered with tarpaulins and Plexiglas Party Area Greenhouse with rare plants of the Mediterranean Our Project

36. Underground Floor Our Project

37. Our Project First Floor

38. Our Project Second Floor

39. Our Project

40. Thank you Alice Garau Alessandro Poddi Riccardo Uras Stefano Chillotti Matteo Sambenedetto Martina Milito Valentina Secchi Marco Massa Massimo Piga Giulia Gessa Matteo Arrais Martina Guiso Francesca Mattana