Cagliari, in via Dettori shops and restaurants on their last legs: "We no longer work"

Many businesses have closed their doors , others threaten to do so very soon if something doesn't change in via Giovanni Maria Dettori in Cagliari . Blame the post-pandemic crisis, to which the risk of collapse has been added for two weeks. Cracks have opened up in the facade of a building, the pink one immediately after Piazza Mario Aramu towards Piazzetta Savoia. The short stretch of road near the unsafe building has been cordoned off, off limits to pedestrians. To get to via Dettori it is necessary to follow often uphill paths, which do not entice Cagliari residents, but neither do tourists.

The scenery

The result is there for all to see: yesterday, just before 2 pm, there was only one girl sitting at an outside table eating a sandwich and a drink. A souvenir shop and a shoe shop were open. And the premises of what once, in the direction of viale Regina Margherita, was considered "sa passillara", the favorite promenade of a Cagliari that no longer exists? All closed. «The catering businesses open after 5.30 pm», was the voice of a resident, «but the movement here is now equal to zero». Is it possible, in the realm of nightlife in the regional capital? "Unfortunately".

The owners of the premises in crisis

Stefano Trudu, owner of "Sa Panada" , recalls that many businesses are on their last legs: «We too will close for a while, temporarily. I'm sorry for our collaborators » . Daniele Canosa, an employee of "Sardissimo" recalls that, since the day the barriers were erected that block access to via Dettori from piazza Aramu due to the danger of collapse, sales of food and typical products «have dropped considerably ». And Fabio Vacca, owner of "L'Angolo Rosa", hopes that "a solution will be found for the Easter period, when the first tourists begin to see each other: with this closure, they will descend towards the port, from Piazza Yenne, they will never pass here ». Gianni Carboni , historic owner, together with his brother Raimondo, of the "Caffè Savoia" closes, hoping that "the checks and surveys on unsafe buildings will be carried out without bouncing between entities".

Shutters down

Meanwhile, the closures of businesses related to food are multiplying: after that of the "Little", it was the turn of the "Buffhouse", which put its most valuable bottles up for auction . Finally, " Abissi": after having lowered the shutters due to force majeure ("A building near the club began to collapse for still unknown reasons and, like a domino effect, began to cause enormous structural damage to all the homes and places, including mine") , Nicolò Balia, the young owner, who had invested all his savings in the 25-seat seafood restaurant , started a fundraiser on Gofundme.com to raise 70,000 euros, so as to reopen the its seafood street food . At midnight yesterday, thanks to 276 donors, he had collected 6,869 euros. Who knows if he will succeed in his intent. And via Dettori, once the heart and meeting place of Cagliari, young people and the nightlife in more recent times, will it go back to being the one we all know?