It stretches across the deepest part of the Campidano plain, six kilometres from Cagliari. It was once a district of Cagliari, between 1028 and 1983, and is situated close to two of the most evocative natural attractions in Sardinia, the Molentargius Nature Park and the Park of the Sette Fratelli. Quartucciu is a little town with thirteen thousand inhabitants, located where Quarto Suso or Quartutxo was once situated (from which it gets its name). At the beginning of the 14th century, other villages named Quarto, which indicated the distance from Carales (four miles), merged with the village of Cepola, forming the current and adjacent Quartu Sant'Elena. Quartucciu's economy is largely based on the tertiary sector, particularly services and commerce, but its artisan tradition is still alive and well, especially its textile products, weaving and the production of breads and pastries.