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Sassari in Sardinia – Spanish legacy

However, the town was first mentioned in documents only in the 12th century. The once wealthiest city in the country declared itself to an independent city republic under the rule of the Genoese in the 12th century, while Sassari’s inhabitants did not even back away from killing the judge of the judicatory Torres in order to achieve this goal. However, even the own constitution (Statui Sassaresi) could not prevent that the city fell under the 400 years rule of the Spanish occupiers, not even 50 years later.

Even the coup attempt by Carlo Maria Angioj (the leader of the Sardian revolution) (1751 – 1808) in the course of the freedom movement, at the end of the 18th century, failed and was the death of the folk hero.

However, already under the rule of the Aragonese, the bishop’s seat was moved to Sassari in 1438 and a university city was founded in 1617, which additionally increased the city’s significance. Then, Sassari belonged to the Austrians after the Spanish war of succession (1700 – 1714) and only a couple years later it belonged to the Savoyards in 1720.

When the foreign rule was finally finished, the marks of the former occupiers wanted to be erased, so the Aragonese castle, amongst others, was knocked down at the end of the 19th century.

Sassari’s inhabitants still maintain some unmistakable Spanish sound traces, up to the present, in their language and, of course, they did not knock down all the buildings, but kept their beautiful historic centre.

There, you can wander along the wide shopping street and promenade, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, which passes through the old-town centre. It already existed in the 13th century as “Platha de cotinas” (paved street) and nowadays presents a large number of restaurants, bars, cafes and shops. In 1829, the boulevard passes the Teatro Civico, built by Giuseppe Cominotti, directly on the Piazza Azuni with the marble statue of the town’s historian D.A. Azuni (1749 – 1874).

However, a place that is, without a doubt, much more impressive is the Piazza d’Italia, which was built as a fairground and place for representations. The marble monument of the King Vittorio Emanuele II from 1899 is guarding the exactly one square kilometre big area.
Besides the Palazzo Giordano (1878), in which the seat of the Banco di Napoli is located at the present, the building of the province government (Palazzo della Provincia), which was built in a neo classical style in 1880, is especially attracting attention. The beautiful frescoes inside the house’s hall of council members such as “The Proclamation of the Republic Sassari” and “The Entering of Giommaria Angioys into Sassari” recall the highlights of the town’s history. Nowadays, the Palazzo’s courtyard frequently is the venue, for concerts and theatre plays, with its beautiful scenery. Visiting the Piazza d’Italia, people with a sweet tooth should not miss to taste some of the compelling goody bags from one of the city’s oldest confectioneries. There, you, of course, will be able to taste “faine”, an age-old Sassarian pastry speciality made from chickpeas flour.

As the Golfo dell’Asinara, including a kilometres long beach, is only about 10 kilometres away and you have access to the fishpond Largo Pescheria, fish lovers can find plenty of fish and seafood directly at the trader on the pond or in the large market halls.

The Piazza Tola is located not far away from the Largo Perscheria. It is not only a place, where flea markets are frequently held, but also worth a visit for the local Renaissance palace “Palazzo d’Urini” from the 16th century and the monument for the historian and judge Pasquale Tolas (1800 – 1874) who was born in Sassari.

The cathedral San Nicola that is simply called “Cattedrale Turritana” by the city’s inhabitants, was ordained to the holy Nicolas and has art- and culture historical interest. Due to its unmistakable Aragonian-Catalanian style, this building dates from the 15th and 16th century and was built on a place where, originally, a Roman basilica was located, from which today only the facade’s basis and the bell tower remained. Together with the city’s patron saints, the holy Nicolas greets welcomes anyone from the cathedral’s gable. While, from the outside the church’s facade is richly adorned with chalk stone and inside the visitors are awaited by a magnificent Baroque altar and a Gothic style interior. However, the church’s most astonishing piece of art is the high altar painting “Madonna del Bosco” by Giovanni Marghinotti from the 14th century. By going through the Capella Aragonese, you get to the Museo del Duomo, which presents paintings, silver work and statues of high value and amongst others a silver figure of San Gavino.

The Palazzo Ducale (1775 – 1805), which is located directly behind the cathedral on the Piazza del Comune, contains the town hall and the city library inside.

One of Sassari’s oldest churches is the Santa Maria di Betlem, located on the Piazza Santa Maria. At first, it was built for the Benedictine monastery at the beginning of the 12th century. Then in the 13th century, the Franciscans carried on the construction of the powerful dome and from then on, it developed itself into the religious centre of the city. After several restorations and rearrangements, only the original façade of the 13th century remained. Inside, altars and pulpits are gleaming in their Baroque glory. The candelieri are also stored here, nine wooden candles of up to 300 kilos, which symbolically stand for the nine Sassarian “gremi” (the city’s medieval guilds). In 1652, exactly those guilds’ members walked through the city with their candles in a light procession to thank the Madonna Assunta for the end of the terrible epidemic. Nowadays, the people still walk from the Chiesa del Rosario to Santa Marian di Betlem on the Assumption of Mary at the instance of the “Li Candareri”, also called Candelieri.

An additional sacred building besides the Roman church Sant Pietro in Silki (17th century), with the “Madonna delle Grazie” and the probably 14,000 volumes covering library of the monastery Frati Minori, most certainly is the Sant’Antonio Abate at the Piazza Sant’Antonio. This church, which dated from the 18th century, owns one of the city’s most beautiful, with gilded carvings adorned high altars and amazing altarpieces by Barolomeo Augusto. At the same place, you can also find a post dedicated to the holy Antonius from 1954 as well as a relic of the former city wall, which once was placed on this Piazza Sant’Antonio: a fortified tower.

Someone, who does not want to accept such remains to be satisfied with and wants to have a deeper insight into the city’s history, should visit the amazing Museo Nazionale G.A. Sanna, named after the patron Giovanni Antonio Sanna from whose private collection the museum resulted. This museum consists of 18 halls, in which discoveries from the early Stone Age, Nuraghian culture, Phoenician-Punian-, Roman Époque and High Middle Ages are displayed. Burial objects from the Copper- and Bronze Age, arrowheads, bronze figures, amphorae, weapons, tools, jewellery, models to display the early history, such as reconstructions of prehistoric buildings, rock tombs (Domus de Janas) and giant tombs (Tombe dei Giganto) offer a clear and broad insight into the region’s history. In addition to that, the "pinacotheque", which is linked to the museum, also presents works of Sardian artists of the 14th – 20th century and dedicates a separate section to the traditional handcrafts with a focus on costumes and musical instruments.

If you are more interested in handcrafts, then you are in the right place at the permanent collection of the “Mostra Permanente dell’Artigianato Sardo” opposite of the city park “Emiciclo Garibaldi” where ceramics, macramé and weaving works are shown.
The Museo Storico della Brigata at the Piazza Castello presents the history of the legendary Sardian Brigarde Sassari in an exhibition, in the barracks’ parade yard “Caserma Alberto La Marmora”, using photos and newspaper articles. Its members were awarded due to exceptional courage in the WWII. This brigade’s veterans, by the way, founded the Partio Sardo d’Azione (Sardian movement party) in 1921.

The city’s political activities, however, did not end with the opposition against the Spanish or with the previously mentioned constitution of the party. The university (founded in1617) “cullezio (college), is well known for its large number of graduates who started a successful career in politics. Two of them are, amongst others, the Italian presidents Antonio Segni and Francesco Cossiga as well as the presidents of the self-governing Sardinia, Saddu and Melis.

One thing that you should definitely not miss, is a visit to Sassari’s emblem, while you are on the city tour. The Renaissance fountain “Fontana del Rosello” that is located in the Valverde canyon from the 17th century. In former times, this amazing fountain made of green-white marble was the city’s most important drinking water source and the meeting point of the inhabitants, nowadays the water that is running out of the lion mouths of the richly adorned Fontana certainly is no drinking water anymore since a long time.

If you can arrange your visit into the month May, you will get the opportunity to take part in the celebration at the Cavacata Sarda (Sardian ride), the biggest and most colourful folklore festival in Sardinia. For the first time, this festival was celebrated to honour the Italian Royal Couple Umberto I and Margherita, in 1889, but nowadays the festival has developed itself into a cheerful spectacle with costume groups from every part of the country, music- and dancing shows, processions and rider tournaments.