Sassari, ancient city and today main municipality of Northern Sardinia, is the capital of the province of the same name. Famous for its beauty, for its history, it became a free commune at the end of the thirteenth century, for its university which is a national excellence and for the majestic sea of its province.
What to see in Sassari
Sassari is a city that surprises visitors with its historical and cultural wealth. The civil and religious monuments offer an insight into local history and art, while the gardens and parks allow you to have moments of relaxation surrounded by nature. This combination makes Sassari a fascinating destination and worth a visit.Among the main attractions of Sassari worth a visit, the Cathedral of San Nicola.
Located in the heart of the old town, this cathedral is an extraordinary example of Gothic – Catalan architecture, with Baroque influences. The interior is richly decorated with valuable works of art, including a splendid 14th century Madonna of the Sienese School.
The Church of Santa Maria in Bethlehem, located in Piazza Santa Maria, is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The facade, in sandstone, dates back to the thirteenth century and has three levels: the first with a portal splayed and decorated with hanging arches, the second with a large rose window, and the third with an oculus of the eighteenth century. Externally, the elliptical dome and the cylindrical bell tower with dome stand out.
The interior, with a single nave with side chapels, transept and deep presbytery, is covered by cross vaults and punctuated by pilasters added in the nineteenth century. The side chapels, enlarged between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, are three on the right and four on the left. The nineteenth-century transept has a central plan with four chapels and niches containing effigies of Franciscan saints, separated by columns with composite capitals.
The Church of San Leonardo di Bosove, now Madonna del Latte Dolce, is located in Sassari in the district of the same name. The original church dates back to the 13th century and is named after a fresco found in 1825 and is located on a site mentioned in the Condaghe di San Pietro di Silki, a very important monastic document.
The church had a hospital founded in 1178 and administered first by the rectors of the Monastery of San Leonardo di Stagno and then by the Poor Clares of Santa Chiara di San Miniato, province of Pisa. Of the original remain the side elevations with single windows. In the 14th century a Gothic apse was added and in the 19th century the roof and façade were renewed.
Sassari has many beautiful churches in the city, both ancient and modern to visit, offering tourists a wide choice of architectural and historical treasures.
Among the civil monuments stands out the Ducal Palace, built in the eighteenth century, an excellent example of civil architecture of the time, today is home to the City Hall. The palace, in Piedmontese baroque style, has a sober façade in local limestone and is spread over three floors, each bordered by string courses. The windows of the main floor have semicircular and triangular gables, while the openings of the top floor are framed by a rococo cornice, decoration later adopted in other buildings of the city.
One of the most famous ornamental fountains in Sardinia, located in Sassari, is the Rosello Fountain, dating back to the seventeenth century, in late-Renaissance style, characterized by 12 vents representing the months of the year. It is located in the district of Monte Rosello, an area of the city built in the thirties of the last century.
The Walls of Sassari, dating from the thirteenth century, surrounded the old town with towers and gates. The restoration work continued until the nineteenth century. Today, the remains are visible externally along Corso Trinità, Corso Vico and Via Torre Tonda.
The Castle of Sassari, built by the Aragonese in 1330, was demolished in 1877. In its place was built the barracks La Marmora, headquarters of the Sassari Brigade, and created the homonymous square. Recent archaeological excavations in the square have brought to light the foundations of the castle, now under development.
The visitable part of the castle is the 16th century bastion, called “antemurale”. It includes several corridors on two floors with gun stations. The area, accessible and illuminated, is protected by a modern structure with green roof and glazed areas for natural light. There are two entrances: one for access upstream of the archaeological area and one for exit through the original internal staircase. You can explore a moat of about 60 meters and a shorter upper level. The archaeological area was inaugurated in December 2011.
Foto: Unsplash
The historical and cultural wealth of Sassari is also reflected in its main museums to visit: the National Art Gallery in Via Santa Caterina 4, and the National Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum “Giovanni Sanna”.
The National Art Gallery is located in the historic center of the city in the palace of the former Canopoli National Boarding School. The museum’s collection includes over four hundred works, mainly paintings, documenting the production of different Italian and European schools and artists from the Middle Ages to the present day. It also includes an important exhibition of Sardinian artists of the early twentieth century and a rich section of graphics.
The Sanna Museum is a cultural, archaeological and anthropological landmark of northern Sardinia. Named after the Sassari entrepreneur and politician Giovanni Sanna, who contributed part of the archaeological collection on display, the museum houses objects ranging from the Paleolithic to the late Middle Ages and the Modern Age. Over the years, the collection has been enriched with an expressive ethnographic section, including fabrics, woods, ceramics and traditional clothing donated by individuals. The Sanna Museum is located in a neoclassical building, inspired by the typology of the temple, built in the early twentieth century to a design by the architect Michele Busiri Vici. The original spaces have been enlarged with a modern and bright contemporary structure, designed to better accommodate the collections. The Museum is located in Via Roma 64.
The Park of Monserrato, dating from the seventeenth – nineteenth century and recently restored, is located between the SS 131 and Budapest street. Other green spaces include the Baddimanna Park, a large pine forest in the district of Monte Rosello, and the Bunnari Park, recently redeveloped, which offers a multifunctional center, a swimming pool, the reconstruction of a nuragic village and the two artificial lakes now dry.
For tourists who love archaeology, just outside Sassari there is a truly unique monument in Europe: the Prenuragic Altar of Monte d’Accodi.
The pre-hurricane complex of Monte d’Accoddi is unique in Europe and the Mediterranean, known for the different types of construction used. The main structure is an altar reminiscent of the eastern ziqqurat, with an attached village. Access is via a ramp of over 40 meters. On the sides of the ramp there is a large slab, used for offerings or sacrifices, and a menhir over 4 meters high.
The archaeological site is located at the State Road 131- Km 222,20 Sassari – is open from April to September, with visiting times to be respected and with an entrance ticket.
The beaches of the province of Sassari are among the most beautiful in Sardinia.
Foto: Unsplash
Brief history of Sassari
Sassari has an ancient history, with settlements since the pre – nuragic period and numerous sites during the nuragic age. During Roman times, the area was rich in farms belonging to the landowners of Turris Libisonis (Porto Torres). The origins of modern Sassari date back to the Early Middle Ages, when the inhabitants of Turris Libisonis took refuge in the hinterland to escape the Saracen raids. The first mention of Sassari dates back to 1131, and in 1135 the church of San Nicola a Sassari is mentioned in some documents referring to a local nobleman. This information about Sassari can be found in the Condaghe di San Pietro di Silki, compiled between 1165 and 1180. It is a very important medieval codex written in the ancient Logudorese language.
Sassari was the capital of the Giudicato of Torres and became a free confederate commune in Genoa in 1294 with the Sassaresi Statutes. The Sassari bourgeoisie joined the Kingdom of Sardinia, but tensions with the Catalan-Aragonese led to popular rebellions. Despite attempts at colonization, the city became Regia in 1331. During the Sardinian-Catalan War it was conquered by the Arborea, becoming the capital of the Giudicato of Arborea until 1420. The Aragonese built the Castle of Sassari, demolished in 1877 and can now be visited in the square of the same name.
In the sixteenth century, Sassari suffered a serious economic and social crisis due to French invasions, pirate raids and epidemics. However, in the second half of the century, the city experienced a cultural renaissance with the opening of the first Sardinian university in 1562. This renaissance was supported by artists such as Giovanni Muru and Andrea Lusso, and influential figures such as Bishop Giovanni Francesco Fara and Archbishop Salvatore Alepus. The rivalry with Cagliari led Sassari to claim a Parliament and the seat of the Inquisition.
In 1528, a plague epidemic decimated the population. The Spanish domination caused decadence to Sassari and Sardinia for the lesser Spanish interest in the island. After the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Sassari had a brief Austrian domination, followed by the passage to the Savoy dynasty in 1720. Towards the end of the 18th century, the Sassari nobility, inspired by local movements and the French Revolution, demanded autonomy from Cagliari. This provoked a reaction from Cagliari, with demonstrations in the city in 1795. Viceroy Filippo Vivalda sent Giovanni Maria Angioy as representative to calm the tempers but Angioy, after the failure of his plan, had to stop the march towards Cagliari and escape to Paris. Even after the return of the order, dissensions continued until the mid-nineteenth century, with episodes such as the execution of the Sassari patriot Efisio Tola in 1833. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Sassari experienced a second cultural and urban revival.
The University was reopened and the urban expansion continued beyond the Walls of Sassari, mainly destroyed during a cholera epidemic. New neighborhoods inspired by Turin with orthogonal streets, along with public buildings such as hospitals, prisons, and theaters were built. Railway, sewerage and oil and gas lighting networks were built. The Port of Torres was restructured and activated naval connections with Genoa using steamships.
The industry developed with the acquisition of the mine of Montevecchio, making Sassari the second Italian city for the production of leather. Urban expansion followed a regular development, adapting to the reality of the territory. The population growth of the city was supported by internal migration, influencing Italian public life with prominent political figures born in Sassari.
Typical festivals of Sassari
The Descent of the Candlesticks, which is repeated every August 14, is an unchanged moment in time that unites the whole Sassari community along the streets of the city to the Church of Santa Maria di Bethlehem. This event is not only a spectacle, but above all an expression of faith.
The bearers of the wooden candles face a hard test along the way, but they do so with the desire to pay homage to Our Lady and to dissolve the vow made five hundred years ago for the liberation of the city from the plague. The Gremi, with their traditional clothes, and the crowd that incites them along the way are the real protagonists of the “Faradda”, as it is called in Sassari dialect.
This festival is a precious heritage to be preserved: in 2013 it was recognized as an intangible World Heritage Site, along with other Italian shoulder machine festivals.
Typical cuisine of Sassari
Among the first courses, stand out the “mineshtra ‘e fasgioru” (or “mineshtra ‘e patatu”), a soup of beans, potatoes, lard, wild fennel and dried tomatoes, and the “giggioni”, gnocchi seasoned with sausage sauce. Favata is a thick soup made from dried broad beans, cabbage, fennel and pork, traditionally consumed during the carnival period or on convivial occasions. A variant is cabbage soup, where broad beans are replaced by potatoes.
The broad beans can also be cooked in ribisari, boiled and fried with garlic and parsley. The term “ribisari”, expression of the Sardinian language, implies the preparation of very low-heat food, often for a long time, so that the ingredients are cooked slowly and acquire intense and deep flavors.
In addition to broad beans, artichokes have an important role in Sassari cuisine, traditionally prepared with potatoes, eaten raw in pinzimonio (a sauce of oil, salt and pepper), cooked in a pan with garlic and parsley, or used as a condiment for lamb.
Among the main dishes of Sassari cuisine, mainly based on meat, the cordula stands out: lamb entrails wrapped in intestines and cooked with peas, onions and tomato sauce. The most known dish is ziminu, veal innards cooked on the grill, sometimes marinated before cooking.
Other characteristic dishes include “pedi d’agnoni”, lamb feet cooked with garlic and parsley or in tomato sauce with plenty of garlic and vinegar, and tripe cooked in tomato sauce, topped with plenty of grated pecorino cheese.
How to reach Sassari
You can reach Sassari in different ways, according to your location and your preferences.
- By car: Sassari can be reached via the motorway network or state roads. From Alghero, for example, take the SS131 southeastwards, while from Porto Torres follow the SS131 southwards. From other locations, take other state roads or highways, depending on your location.
- By train: Sassari is connected to the national railway network. You can take a train to Sassari from most cities in Sardinia. The railway station of Sassari is located in the city center, making it convenient to access on foot or by public transport to the area to visit.
- By bus: various bus services connect Sassari to other cities and localities in Sardinia. Check the schedules and fares of local or regional bus services to find the solution that best suits your needs.
- By plane: if you are coming from outside Sardinia, take a flight to Alghero – Fertilia airport or to Olbia – Costa Smeralda airport, both of which are located a short distance from Sassari. From the airport, take a taxi, a bus or rent a car to reach Sassari.
Copertina: Unsplash
