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Castello in Cagliari at dusk, the cathedral’s white front, its dome and bell tower above stacked houses in pink, red and ochre on old stone walls

Wedding photographers in Cagliari

Sardinia’s capital, where the comune will marry you on a bastion terrace, in a medieval castle or on a stretch of the Poetto beach.

Cagliari, a city of about 145,700 people on the Golfo degli Angeli, climbs a hill to Castello, the fortified quarter the Pisans built from 1216–17, with its two Pisan towers, its cathedral and the old town hall. Below it lie Marina, Stampace and Villanova. To the east the land flattens into the Molentargius wetland, where flamingos nest, and the Poetto beach runs for about 8 km from the headland of the Sella del Diavolo.

Cagliari has opened a good part of itself to civil weddings. Since 2017 the comune has named places “outside the town hall”; in 2018 it added eleven stretches of the Poetto, and in 2023 it campaigned for couples from Italy and abroad to come and use them. So the day here can start on a Saturday morning on the bastion, go on through Castello’s lanes and end with dinner by the sea.

Photographers

7 photographers in Sardinia

They shoot everywhere in Sardinia — in Cagliari too. Their whole weddings are on their pages.

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Ceremonies

Where couples marry in Cagliari

  1. Palazzo Civico, via Roma

    The ordinary route: half-hour ceremonies in the Sala Matrimoni, Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 12:30 and on Thursday and Saturday afternoons from 16:00 to 18:30. If neither of you lives in Cagliari it costs €180 in office hours, €200 on a weekday outside them, €220 on the eve of a holiday or a Saturday morning and €250 on a Saturday afternoon; if one of you does, it is free in office hours (April 2025). The regulation allows photographs in the courtyard, on the stairs and in the Mayor’s and Deputy Mayor’s rooms.

  2. The Saint Remy bastion and the public gardens

    Available every Saturday, with hour-long slots starting at 10:30, 11:30, 16:00, 17:00 and 18:00: the Terrazza del Bastione, the great terrace on top of the city’s stone bastion, and the Giardini Pubblici at the city’s art gallery (its “area 2” was unavailable in April 2025). Places outside the town hall cost €800 if one of you lives in Cagliari and €1,200 if neither does.

  3. A castle, an old town hall, a lazaretto, a park

    The other public places have their own Saturdays, at the same times and the same fees: on the first, the Castello di San Michele, a 12th-century castle with three towers on its hill; on the second, the Antico Palazzo di Città in Castello, the town hall from the 13th century to the end of the 19th; on the third, the Lazzaretto di Sant’Elia, a 17th-century quarantine hospital that is now an arts centre; on the fourth, the park of the Ex Vetreria at Pirri.

  4. The Poetto beach

    Eleven stretches of sand of 240 m² each, on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, are registry offices for the occasion, at the same slots and fees as the other outside places. In 2018 a local paper reported that the comune supplies seats for the couple and the witnesses, a small tent, a desk, a lectern and sound; ask what comes with it now.

  5. Three private venues

    Under agreements signed in 2022, the comune also marries couples in the courtyard of Palazzo Doglio (Monday to Saturday), the Corte B of the Convento di San Giuseppe (Tuesday to Sunday) and the Rotonda of the Il Lido bathing establishment (every day). The owners do the setting up, and anything more is between you and them. These are the only outside places open on weekdays.

The Bastione di Saint Remy in Cagliari from below its staircase, a pale stone arch and curved wings against a deep blue sky
Waves breaking on the sand of the Poetto, the long dark headland of the Sella del Diavolo on the horizon under a pale evening sky

Portraits

Where to take your portraits

Through the year

When to marry in Cagliari

At the airport station (Cagliari Elmas, 1981–2010 normals) May averages highs of 23.8 °C with rain on about 4 days, June 28.2 °C with 2, September 27.9 °C with 5 and October 23.7 °C with 6; July and August reach about 31.5 °C with rain on one day. That makes late May, early June and the end of September the comfortable weeks. Sant’Efisio’s great procession leaves the city along via Roma, past the Palazzo Civico, on 1 May, a day with no ceremonies, and returns on the night of the 4th. The comune also holds no ceremonies on 2 June, 15 August, 30 October or at Easter.

Sardinia, month by month

  1. January: Quieter
  2. February: Quieter
  3. March: Quieter
  4. April: Quieter
  5. May: Best
  6. June: Best
  7. July: Good with planning
  8. August: Good with planning
  9. September: Best
  10. October: Good with planning
  11. November: Quieter
  12. December: Quieter

Practical

Good to know before the day

  • Getting there

    The airport at Elmas is about 7 km from the centre. Moving walkways lead to the Elmas Aeroporto stop, where a train reaches Cagliari’s station in about 6 minutes for €1.30; the minimum daytime taxi fare to the centre is €17.

  • Deadlines

    Ask for the banns (pubblicazioni) at least 60 days ahead; the wedding must then fall within 180 days. Book the venue by phone or email if either of you is foreign, at least 30 days ahead for the outside places and 10 for the Palazzo Civico; pay by the 15th day before; and send the witnesses’ and any interpreter’s ID 10 days before. The office: matrimonieunionicivili@comune.cagliari.it.

  • On the day

    The time allows no delay: witnesses must be there five minutes early, an interpreter ten. Flowers may decorate a room and must go straight afterwards. Throwing rice or anything else is banned, inside and in the outside areas. Ask how many guests your venue takes, and about driving into Castello, whose traffic rules we could not confirm.

  • Drones

    Anywhere in Italy a drone may not fly over a gathering of people or above 120 metres, and the D-Flight map shows the zones around airports where it may not fly at all. Elmas airport is a few kilometres from the centre, so have your operator check before promising any shot.

  • The legal route

    A foreign partner needs a nulla osta from their consulate, and an interpreter must be present if either of you doesn’t understand Italian. The same places serve for a civil union. If neither of you lives in Cagliari, the comune’s page has you send a written request to the Mayor. Our guide to getting married in Italy sets out the steps.

Questions

Questions about marrying in Cagliari

Can we really get married on the beach in Cagliari?

Yes, legally: eleven stretches of the Poetto are registry offices on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, at 10:30, 11:30, 16:00, 17:00 or 18:00. It costs €800 if one of you lives in Cagliari and €1,200 if neither does (April 2025).

How much does a civil wedding in Cagliari cost?

At the Palazzo Civico it is free in office hours if one of you lives in the city, and otherwise from €70 to €350 depending on the day and whether you live there. Every other place costs €800 or €1,200. The fee is due by the 15th day before, and it isn’t returned if you don’t come.

Can we marry in Cagliari’s cathedral?

We found no published rules from the cathedral or the archdiocese, so ask the parish directly, and well ahead. Santa Maria stands on Piazza Palazzo in Castello, with its 13th-century origins and its 1933 front.

Can same-sex couples marry in Cagliari?

Italy gives same-sex couples a civil union, not marriage. Cagliari extended its rules on weddings to civil unions in 2016, so the same places, days and fees apply.

When is the best time to marry in Cagliari?

Late May, early June and late September: average highs of about 24–28 °C and rain on two to five days a month at the airport station. July and August reach about 31.5 °C. For an outside ceremony, the 10:30 or the 18:00 slot avoids the strongest sun.

Sources (23)
  1. comune.cagliari.it/portale/page/it/sposarsi_o_unirsi_civilmente_a_cagliari?contentId=SRV2…
  2. comune.cagliari.it/portale/page/it/matrimonio_civile?contentId=SRV14340
  3. comune.cagliari.it/portale/page/it/stato_civile__matrimoni_unioni_civili_e_divorzi?conten…
  4. comune.cagliari.it/portale/protected/78066I/0/def/ref/DOC77520I
  5. comune.cagliari.it/portale/do/ComuneCagliari/bachecaAttiJIride/dowloadAllegatoBin.action?…
  6. comune.cagliari.it/portale/page/it/i_posti_del_cuore_la_nuova_campagna_del_comune_di_cagl…
  7. comune.cagliari.it/portale/page/it/i_posti_del_cuore_secondo_appuntamento_della_nuova_cam…
  8. youtg.net/primo-piano/9438-cagliari-dice-si-ai-matrimoni-in-spiaggia-il-comune-apre-il-po…
  9. sogaer.it/it/da-per-aeroporto
  10. it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroporto_di_Cagliari-Elmas
  11. it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cagliari
  12. it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castello_(Cagliari)
  13. it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastione_di_Saint_Remy
  14. it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattedrale_di_Santa_Maria_(Cagliari)
  15. it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castello_di_San_Michele_(Cagliari)
  16. it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazzaretto_di_Cagliari
  17. it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetto
  18. it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagra_di_Sant'Efisio
  19. parcomolentargius.it
  20. it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stazione_meteorologica_di_Cagliari_Elmas
  21. enac.gov.it/sicurezza-aerea/droni/categoria-aperta-open-category/limitazioni-in-categoria…
  22. enac.gov.it/sicurezza-aerea/droni/zone-geografiche-space/voli-con-droni-uas-limitazioni-r…
  23. gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/calcdetails.html

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