Imagine walking under the shade of the tree-lined avenue of Via Dante, during a hot summer day, and maybe giving yourself a break after the hours spent wandering through the characteristic streets of the center of Cagliari to discover the beauties of the city. What could be better than enjoying a good ice cream?

Here among the different windows that follow one another, also emerges that of the imminent opening of the historic Cagliari ice cream shop Peter Pan, with already an office in via Roma and a second in the I Mulini shopping center, from Thursday 7 July will also be open in via Dante. As soon as we set foot into the new restaurant we are attracted by the thousand colors of the ice cream counter: vanilla, black cherry, coffee, strawberry, tiramisu, yogurt, mint, malaga, chocolate, nougat, hazelnut … The choice is really vast!

 At the counter, Matteo, one of the owners, welcomes us with a smile and immediately advises us to try their highlight: pistachio ice cream.  At the first taste, we perceive the attention used during the preparation: the right balance of the products used to create this taste allows us to fully feel the aromatic flavor of pistachio that is not covered by the sweetness of cream or milk, strictly Sardinian.

Thanks to the two variants proposed – classic and vegan – pistachio can also be tasted by lactose intolerant and by those who prefer a plant-based diet, as well as dark chocolate and all fruit flavors.  The grain and the whole pistachio garnish our ice cream, giving it a crunchiness that goes well with creaminess. The same crunchiness that we find in the pieces of biscuit that blend with the cream in the “cookies” taste.

The tastes on display are really many and before choosing what to combine with our “pistachio king” we get lost, with our eyes and imagination, to carefully observe all the possibilities. We are impressed by the combinations such as “rum and pear” and “rum and maracuja cream”, by the flavors of Sardinian cuisine, above all “Pardula” – based on ricotta and saffron – and “Aranzada” which with its caramelized orange peel, honey, and almonds, takes us directly from Cagliari to Nuoro. We end our “journey” with the scents and aromas of Sicilian cassata.

Two tastes are not enough to satisfy our gluttony and therefore we decide to add a third ball to our cone. This time, however, we want to be surprised by the most particular tastes and we decide to try “Capitano Uncino”: a hazelnut ice cream variegated with crispy gianduia and black cherry.

Strawberry, mandarin, lemon, peach, pineapple, mango, berries, an explosion of colors dominates the part of the counter dedicated to fruit flavors. We decide to taste one of the single portions: pistachio and orange, chocolate and peanuts, chocolate and biscuit, and cheesecake.

But ice cream is not the only product of the Peter Pan ice cream parlor. Behind us we notice a showcase in which semifreddo and ice cream cakes are exposed, and also in this case the choices are many: tiramisu cake, cheescake of different flavors, “hazelnut”, a semifreddo with vanilla sponge cake and hazelnut cream. Finally the “pistachio”, with pistachio in the foreground, combined with dark chocolate and white chocolate glaze.

We finish our cone and leave the Peter Pan ice cream parlor with the promise of returning very soon, ready to taste the next news.

Photographic service by Ales&Ales

Lo sapevate? A Monte Urpinu c’è una chiesetta che fu costruita nel periodo bizantino.

Seminascosta dagli alberi sorge, nel parco che precede il Tennis Club cagliaritano, una chiesetta dalle forme molto particolari, che ricordano in dimensioni molto minori la basilica più famosa di San Saturnino.

L’edificio conosciuto col nome di chiesa Aragonese è una chiesa sconsacrata di Cagliari. Sorge all’interno di un cortile, in via Pietro Leo, nel parco di Monte Urpinu.

L’edificio venne eretto tra il XVII e il XVIII secolo, per volontà di Giovanni Sanjust, barone di Teulada, sopra le rovine di una chiesa bizantina. Alla fine del XIX secolo la chiesetta venne restaurata, con l’aggiunta anche di alcune decorazioni in stile Liberty. I danni causati dai bombardamenti del 1943 richiesero ulteriori restauri, attuati nel 1968.

La chiesa Aragonese è di modeste dimensioni e presenta una piccola cupola bizantineggiante, su un corpo cubico, che potrebbe anche essere retaggio (almeno come rifacimento) della chiesa più antica.

Esternamente, presenta in facciata una finestra con balconcino in ferro battuto; lungo il fianco sinistro si trova un contrafforte. Il cupolino bizantineggiante, con copertura in coccio pesto, corona l’edificio. L’interno presenta un’unica navata, con copertura a capriate lignee, rette da mensole di pietra. Addossata alla controfacciata è presente una cantoria, o coro alto, anche questa in legno e sorretta da mensole. Il presbiterio, a pianta quadrangolare, è innalzato di un gradino rispetto al pavimento della navata; vi si accede tramite un arco a sesto acuto. Come già accennato, il presbiterio è coperto da una cupola, con base ottagonale, poggiante su pennacchi cilindrici.

L’edificio, restaurato dal Comune di Cagliari, è stato riaperto in occasione di Monumenti Aperti ed è destinato a ospitare iniziative culturali.