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Archivio di Stato di Cagliari

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Archivio di Stato di Cagliari

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The Institute

Storia, visione e ruolo pubblico dell’Archivio di Stato di Cagliari

The State Archives of Cagliari is a public institution that is part of the national network of State Archives and is responsible for protecting, preserving and promoting the documentary heritage of the local area and community.

Today, the Archive preserves documents dating from the Middle Ages to the present day, providing material evidence of Sardinia’s institutional, social, economic, and cultural history.
In addition to the physical preservation of the records, the Archive performs an essential function of arrangement, description, and mediation. It makes the heritage accessible through research tools, promotes informed access to sources, supports historical and legal research, and promotes the dissemination of archival knowledge among a broad and diverse audience.

Preserving the past

Rethinking the future

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History of the institution

A journey rooted in the Middle Ages, unfolding through Sardinia’s political and institutional transformations.

State Archives of Cagliari

History, functions and heritage of the Institute.

The Cagliari State Archives is one of the oldest archival institutions in Italy. Founded in the 14th century, it began as the general archive of the Regnum Sardiniae, at a time when written records were an essential instrument for governance, control, and territorial administration.
Over the centuries, the Archive has accompanied the island’s political and institutional transformations, through Aragonese, Spanish, Austrian, and Savoy rule, up to the Unification of Italy. Each historical phase has left deep traces in the organisation of the institution and in the documentary heritage preserved there, making the Archive a privileged observatory on the history of Sardinia.

1332

Event

The founding of the Archives of the Kingdom

The Archive was founded in Cagliari by order of Alfonso IV of Aragon, as the general archive of the Regnum Sardiniae. It emerged as a central institution for the preservation of documents produced by the Kingdom’s administration, in a context where written records were already an instrument of government.

1618

Event

The archive as heritage

With a decree by Philip III of Spain, the Royal Archive was explicitly defined as patrimonial. This reinforced the idea of the archive as an asset to be protected and permanently preserved, especially for the tax and administrative control of the territory.

1763

Event

The modern reorganisation

The royal warrant of 10 September 1763 saw the Archive reorganised and brought into order according to the cultural and administrative standards of the time. It marked a phase of rationalisation that signalled a move towards a more systematic approach to archival preservation.

1847–1874

Event

From the Archives of the Kingdom to the State Archives

The “perfect fusion” of Sardinia with the Savoy state in 1847, followed by the post-unification reorganisation, profoundly transformed the institution. With the Royal Decree of 1874, the Cagliari Archives officially became the State Archives, with provincial competence, within the national archival system.

1927

Event

The historical site and the contemporary Archive

The current headquarters in the centre of Cagliari was inaugurated, having been designed according to modern principles of archival construction. The Archive fully entered the modern era. It survived the twentieth century, war, reconstruction, and more recent changes, eventually assuming its current role as a cultural institution and a repository of memory.

The Archive today

A public institution that combines innovation and traditionto safeguard the past and ensure its accessibility for present and future generations.

Today the Cagliari State Archives is a public institution that serves as a guardian of history and, at the same time, as a cultural and civic resource for the community. Preserving documents means safeguarding their integrity and continuity over time. Ensuring access means enabling them to speak to the present, support research, inform citizens, and foster historical awareness.
The Archive approaches this task as a matter of balance: between scientific rigour and openness, protection and enhancement, archival tradition and technological innovation. Alongside the physical preservation of records, the institution works to describe and arrange its archival holdings, produce research aids, and facilitate consultation. It also broadens access through digital pathways, multimedia content, and forms of mediation designed for different audiences.
The identity of the Cagliari State Archives is rooted in the centrality of its documentary heritage: every initiative, service and project is designed to safeguard and make accessible the sources that tell the institutional, social and economic history of Sardinia. This work rests on an essential principle: access to documents is not just for specialists, but a key means of supporting knowledge, transparency, and the relationship between citizens and institutions.

Would you like to explore the role, activities and projects of the Cagliari State Archives in more detail?

Browse the other sections of the site to discover how the institution works every day in the service of the community and its documentary heritage.

  • Organisational structure: To learn more about the Archive’s internal organisation and the people who work in safeguarding, managing and enhancing its heritage.
  • Archivio e Orizzonti: To explore the projects, initiatives and cultural pathways through which the Archive gives shape to its role in the present.
  • Activities and Services: To discover the activities of safeguarding, preservation and enhancement, and the services made available to the public for the consultation, access and use of archival holdings.

Memory is a common good: it grows when it is shared.
Subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates on activities, projects, events, and initiatives of the Cagliari State Archives.

The historic headquarters

A historic building, deeply rooted in the city’s urban fabric and conceived from the outset to house and preserve the area’s documentary heritage.

The Cagliari State Archives is housed in a historic building in the heart of the city, designed from the outset to meet the specific needs of archival preservation. Its presence in the urban landscape is not merely functional but symbolic: it is a recognisable landmark, an integral part of Cagliari’s historical identity and collective memory.
Built in the 1920s according to then-advanced criteria for the protection of documentary heritage, the building is one of the earliest examples of post-unification archival architecture. Its spaces, light, ventilation and internal layout were designed to ensure suitable conditions for the preservation of the records, in recognition of both their physical fragility and their historical value.
Over time, the building has undergone events that have profoundly shaped its history, from the damage sustained during the 1943 bombing to subsequent restoration and expansion works. Each phase has helped to reinforce its role as a stable cultural institution, capable of adapting to the city’s transformations and the evolving needs of the institution.