The history of the Observatory of Cagliari as such is quite short. It was founded after the closing of the Astronomical Station of Carloforte in 1899, and was devoted to making zenith observations for the International Latitude Service.
The staff working there consisted of few people, generally astronomers on temporary assigned from other National Observatories. For many of them who later became renowned, the Carloforte period marked the beginning of their careers, such is the case for Giuseppe Ciscato, Luigi Volta, Giuseppe Alessandro Favaro, Vittorio Fontana, Azeglio Bemporad, Guglielmo Righini, Andrea Vassallo.
Around 1970, Prof. E. Proverbio, Director of the Astronomical Station of Carloforte, decided that Sardinia should have a larger and more complex structure, and, thanks to the support of the University of Cagliari, the current Observatory was realized.
The oldest documents held in the archives are dated 1899; although the records are unsorted, a few homogenous series of documents have been identified.