View source for Sassari

{{Short description|Second-largest city in Sardinia}}
{{About|the city|the metropolitan city|Metropolitan City of Sassari}}
{{Infobox Italian comune
| name                = Sassari
| official_name       = Comune di Sassari
| native_name         = {{native name|sdc|Sàssari}}<br />{{native name|sc|Tàtari}}
| image_skyline       = {{multiple image
| perrow               = 1/2/2/1
| border                = infobox
| total_width          = 300
| image1               = Sassari collage nuovo.png

}}
| image_caption       = '''on left''': Fountain of the Rosello; University main building; Faradda di li Candareri; Park of Monserrato;  '''in the centre''':View of the old town; '''on right''': Government building; Cavalcata sarda; Archeological national museum; Saint Mary of Betlem 
| image_flag          = Flag of Sassari.svg
| image_shield        = Sassari-Stemma.svg 
| shield_alt          = 
| shield_size         = 
| image_map           = 
| map_alt             = 
| map_caption         = 
| pushpin_map         = Italy#Sardinia#Europe
| coordinates         = {{coord|40|43|30|N|8|33|31|E|region:IT_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| region              = [[Sardinia]]
| metropolitan_city   = [[Metropolitan City of Sassari|Sassari]] (SS)
| frazioni            = {{flatlist|
*[[Argentiera]]
*Bancali
*Biancareddu
*Campanedda
*Canaglia
*Caniga
*La Corte
*La Landrigga
*La Pedraia
*Ottava
*Palmadula
*[[Platamona]]
*Saccheddu
*San Giovanni
*Tottubella
}}
| mayor_party         = 
| mayor               = Giuseppe Mascia
| area_footnotes      = 
| area_total_km2      = 547.04
| population_footnotes = <ref name="population">{{cite web|title=Resident population|url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=POS&l=en|publisher=[[Italian National Institute of Statistics|ISTAT]]}}</ref>
| population_total    = 120497
| population_as_of    = 2025
| population_demonym  = Sassaresi or Turritani
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m         = 225
| istat               = 
| saint               = [[Saint Nicholas]]
| day                 = 6 December 
| postal_code         = 07100
| area_code           = 079
| website             = {{official website|http://www.comune.sassari.it}}
| footnotes           = 
}}

'''Sassari''' ({{IPAc-en|US|ˈ|s|ɑː|s|ər|i|,_|ˈ|s|ɑː|s|ɑːr|i}} {{respell|SAH|sər|ee|,_|SAH|sar|ee}};<ref>{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|Sassari|access-date=5 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Sassari|access-date=5 May 2019}}</ref> {{IPA|it|ˈsassari|lang|It-Sassari.ogg}}; {{langx|sdc|Sàssari}} {{IPA|sdc|ˈsasːari|}}; {{langx|sc|Tàtari}} {{IPA|sc|ˈtataɾi|}}) is the second-largest city in the autonomous region of [[Sardinia]] in [[Italy]], as well as the capital and largest of its [[Metropolitan City of Sassari|metropolitan city]] with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025,<ref name="population" /> and a [[functional urban area]] of about 260,000 inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=urb_lpop1&lang=en |title=PIB et principaux composants - volumes |access-date=2016-09-26 |archive-date=2015-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903213351/http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=urb_lpop1&lang=en |url-status=dead }}</ref> One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains a considerable collection of art.

Since its origins at the turn of the 12th century, Sassari has been ruled by the [[Giudicato of Torres]], the [[Pisa]]ns, as an independent republic in alliance with [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]], by the [[Crown of Aragon|Aragonese]] and the [[Spain|Spanish]], all of whom have contributed to Sassari's historical and artistic heritage. Sassari is a city rich in art, culture and history, and is well known for its [[palazzo|palazzi]], the [[Fountain of the Rosello]], and its elegant [[neoclassical architecture]], such as Piazza d'Italia (Italy Square) and the Teatro Civico (Civic Theatre).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sardegnaturismo.it/index.php?xsl=126&s=2&v=9&c=3242&na=1&n=10&t=1 |title=Neoclassical – Artistic – Itineraries – Sardinia Tourism |publisher=Sardegnaturismo.it |access-date=2011-09-16 |archive-date=2011-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003150532/http://www.sardegnaturismo.it/index.php?xsl=126&s=2&v=9&c=3242&na=1&n=10&t=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

As Sardinia's second most populated city, it has a considerable amount of cultural, touristic, commercial and political importance in the island.<ref name="sardegna.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.sardegna.net/docs/citt%E0/citta_sassari_en.html |title=Sassari – History and culture |publisher=Sardegna.net |access-date=2011-09-16 |archive-date=2011-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002193846/http://www.sardegna.net/docs/citt%E0/citta_sassari_en.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The city's economy mainly relies on tourism and services, however also partially on research, construction, [[pharmaceutical]]s and the [[petroleum]] industry.<ref name="sardegna.net"/>

==History==

===Prehistory and ancient history===
[[File:Sassari - Complesso prenuragico di Monte d'Accoddi (27).JPG|thumb|left|Prehistoric [[step Pyramid]] of [[Monte d'Accoddi]]]]
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2024}}
Although Sassari was founded in the [[early Middle Ages]], the surrounding area has been inhabited since the [[Neolithic]] age, and throughout [[ancient history]], by the [[Nuragic civilization|Nuragics]] and the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]]. <br />Many archaeological sites and ancient ruins are located inside or around the town: the prehistoric [[step pyramid]] of [[Monte d'Accoddi]], a large number of Nuraghes and [[Domus de Janas]] (Fairy Houses), the ruins of a Roman aqueduct, the ruins of a Roman villa discovered under San Nicholas Cathedral, and a portion of the ancient road that connected the Latin city of [[Porto Torres|Turris Libisonis]] with [[Cagliari|Caralis]]. In the locality of ''Fiume Santo'' is also found a fossil site where an ''[[Oreopithecus bambolii]]'', a prehistoric anthropomorphic primate, was discovered, dated at 8.5 million years.

===Middle Ages===
{{More citations needed section |date=March 2024}}
[[File:Statuti Sassaresi XIV century 1a.png|thumb|left|The Sassari Republic's medieval statutes written in [[Latin language|Latin]] and [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]]]]
The origin of the city remains uncertain. Among the theses, according to folk tradition the first village was founded around the 9th–10th century AD by the inhabitants of the ancient Roman port of ''Turris Libisonis'' (current [[Porto Torres]]), who sought refuge in the mainland to escape the [[Saracen]] attacks from the sea.

It developed from the merger of a number of separate villages, such as San Pietro di Silki, San Giacomo di Taniga, and San Giovanni di Bosove. The oldest mention of the village is in an 1131 document in the archive of the Monastery of St. Peter in Silki where is cited a man named ''Jordi de Sassaro'' (George of Sassari), a serf from the nearby village of Bosove. Sassari was sacked by the [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] in 1166.<ref name=Catholic/> Immigration continued until, in the early 13th century, it was the most populous city in the [[Giudicato of Torres]], and its last capital. After the assassination of [[Michele Zanche]], the latter's last ruler in 1275, Sassari became subject to the [[Republic of Pisa]] with a semi-independent status.{{cn|date=October 2025}}

In 1284, the Pisans were defeated by the [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] fleet at the [[Battle of Meloria]], and the city was able to free itself: it became the [[Republic of Sassari]], the first and only early independent renaissance city-state of Sardinia, with statutes of its own, allied to Genoa; the Genoese were pleased to see it thus withdrawn from Pisan control. Its statutes of 1316 are remarkable for the leniency of the penalties imposed when compared with the penal laws of the Middle Ages.<ref name=Catholic/>
[[File:Proclamazione della Repubblica sassarese - Giuseppe Sciuti, 1880 - Sassari, Palazzo della Provincia.png|thumb|left|500px|''The proclamation of the Republic of Sassari (The Council)'', [[Giuseppe Sciuti]], 1880, Sassari]]
From 1323, the Republic of Sassari decided to side with the King of Aragon, in whose hands it remained for much of the following centuries, though the population revolted at least three times. The revolts ceased when King [[Alfonso V of Aragon]] nominated the town as a Royal Burg, directly ruled by the King and free from feudal taxation, during a period in which it may have been the most populous city in Sardinia. Further attempts made by [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]] to conquer the city failed. In 1391 it was conquered by [[Brancaleone Doria]] and [[Marianus V of Arborea]], of the independent Sardinian [[Giudicato of Arborea]], of which it became the last capital.<ref name=Catholic/>

However, in 1420, the city was sold along with the remaining territory for 100,000 [[Florin (Aragonese coin)|florins]] to the Crown of Aragon, replaced by Spain after 1479 on the joining of the Aragonese and Castilian thrones.{{cn|date=October 2025}}

===Renaissance===
[[File:Sassari carmona 2.jpg|thumb|Sassari view in 16th century]]
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2024}}
The city alternated years of crisis, featuring economic exploitation, the decrease of the [[maritime trade]], made unsafe by the daily raids of [[Saracen]] pirates, political corruption of its rulers, the sacking of Sassari in 1527 by the French, and two plagues in 1528 and 1652, with periods of cultural and economic prosperity. The [[Jesuits]] founded the first Sardinian [[university]] in Sassari in 1562. In the same year, the first [[printing press]] was introduced and the ideals of [[Renaissance humanism]] became more widely known. Several artists of the [[Mannerist]] and [[Flanders|Flemish]] schools practiced their art in the city.

===Modern history===
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2024}}
[[File:Ingresso a Sassari.jpg|thumb|[[Giovanni Maria Angioy]], the Emissary of the [[List of viceroys of Sardinia|Viceroy]] enters Sassari (1795).]]
After the end of the Spanish period following the European wars of the early 18th century, the brief period of [[Holy Roman Empire|Austrian]] rule (1708–1717) was succeeded by domination by the Piedmontese, who then took over the title of [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] (1720–1861). In 1795 an anti-feudal uprising broke out in the town, led by the Emissary of the [[List of viceroys of Sardinia|Viceroy]] [[Giovanni Maria Angioy]], a Sardinian civil servant, who later fought unsuccessfully against the [[house of Savoy]]. The city was occupied by troops at the time. The dynasty of the Piedmontese King of Sardinia went on to the monarchs of Italy. Sassari, along with the rest of Italy, became part of the newly created [[unification of Italy|Kingdom of Italy]].

At the end of the 18th century, the [[University of Sassari|university]] was restored. In 1836, after six hundred years, the [[city wall|medieval walls]] were partially demolished, allowing the town to expand. New urban plans were developed, on the model of the capital of the new regime ([[Turin]]), with geometric streets and squares.

Sassari became an important industrial center. In the 19th century, it was the second most important town in what was to become the future Italy for the production of [[leather]], and in 1848 the Sassarese entrepreneur [[Giovanni Antonio Sanna]] gained control of the mine at [[Montevecchio]], becoming the third richest man in the new Kingdom of Italy. The first railway was opened in 1872.

In 1877, the old [[Crown of Aragon|Aragonese]] castle was demolished, and on the site the "Caserma La Marmora" was built, where the headquarters of "[[Sassari Mechanized Brigade|Brigata Sassari]]" is still located. Founded in 1915, it still consists mainly of Sardinian soldiers.

At the end of the 19th century, new urban developments grew on Cappuccini Hill and to the south of the city, architecturally dominated by [[Eclecticism]], [[Art Nouveau]] and [[Art Deco]] styles, which created a movement towards the hybrid experimentation of new local architectural styles, known as the ''Sassarese Liberty''.

During the Fascist dictatorship, the town had over fifty thousand inhabitants and new neighbourhoods were built, the most important of these being Monte Rosello and Porcellana, typical examples of [[Fascist architecture|Rationalist Architecture]]. On the other hand, the newspaper ''[[La Nuova Sardegna]]'', considered subversive, was closed down. During the [[Second World War]] three Allied attempts to bomb the town failed: only the railway station was damaged, and there was only one casualty.

The 8th Stage of the [[2023 Giro Donne]] finished at Salassa on 8 July.

==Geography==
Sassari is located in north-western Sardinia, at {{convert|225|m|ft}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]]. The area rises up on a wide [[karst]]ic plateau that slopes gently down towards the Gulf of [[Asinara]] and the [[Nurra]] plain. The city is surrounded by a [[green belt]] of thousands of hectares of [[olive]] [[plantation]]s, which from the 19th century have partly replaced the mixed woodlands of [[oak]] and other Mediterranean trees as well as the [[maquis shrubland]].{{cn|date=October 2025}} The thinly populated Nurra Plain, located to the west, occupies the main part of the region of Sassari, while the [[urban agglomeration]], with a population of about 275,000 inhabitants, is located to the south east. The abundance of water, with about 400 springs and [[artesian wells]], has made for much development of [[horticulture]] over the centuries.{{cn|date=October 2025}}

{{wide image|Sassari Panorama.jpg|800px|Panorama of the central areas of Sassari as seen from the west|1400px|center}}

===Climate===
{{Weather box
|location = Sassari, [[Sardinia]]
|single line = y
|metric first = y
|Jan high C = 12.2
|Feb high C = 12.5
|Mar high C = 14.0
|Apr high C = 16.3
|May high C = 20.1
|Jun high C = 24.0
|Jul high C = 27.7
|Aug high C = 27.8
|Sep high C = 24.8
|Oct high C = 20.7
|Nov high C = 16.2
|Dec high C = 13.1
|Jan low C = 6.0
|Feb low C = 6.1
|Mar low C = 7.0
|Apr low C = 8.8
|May low C = 11.9
|Jun low C = 15.4
|Jul low C = 18.5
|Aug low C = 18.9
|Sep low C = 16.6
|Oct low C = 13.5
|Nov low C = 9.8
|Dec low C = 7.0
|Jan precipitation mm = 75 
|Feb precipitation mm = 76
|Mar precipitation mm = 68
|Apr precipitation mm = 65
|May precipitation mm = 42
|Jun precipitation mm = 20
|Jul precipitation mm = 0
|Aug precipitation mm = 17
|Sep precipitation mm = 54
|Oct precipitation mm = 98
|Nov precipitation mm = 96
|Dec precipitation mm = 85
|Jan precipitation days = 7
|Feb precipitation days = 7
|Mar precipitation days = 7
|Apr precipitation days = 6
|May precipitation days = 4
|Jun precipitation days = 2
|Jul precipitation days = 0
|Aug precipitation days = 1
|Sep precipitation days = 4
|Oct precipitation days = 6
|Nov precipitation days = 8
|Dec precipitation days = 8
|Jan sun = 127
|Feb sun = 152
|Mar sun = 186
|Apr sun = 223
|May sun = 270
|Jun sun = 310
|Jul sun = 350
|Aug sun = 316
|Sep sun = 257
|Oct sun = 202
|Nov sun = 143
|Dec sun = 115
|source = globopix <ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.globopix.net/clima/clima.asp?i=1187
|title = Climate Statistics for Sassari, Sardinia
|access-date = 23 November 2012}}</ref>
|date=March 2012}}

== Demographics ==
{{Historical populations|1861|25594|1871|32315|1881|34540|1901|37746|1911|43028|1921|43792|1931|51283|1936|54926|1951|69449|1961|89107|1971|106175|1981|118631|1991|122339|2001|120729|2011|123782|2021|122159|cols=1|align=right|source=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Popolazione residente dei comuni. Censimenti dal 1861 al 1991|trans-title=Resident population of the municipalities. Censuses from 1861 to 1991|url=https://ebiblio.istat.it/digibib/Censimenti%20popolazione/Censimentipopolazioneresidentedal1861/RML0050288Pop_res_cens_1861_1991.pdf|language=it|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]|access-date=2025-07-06|archive-date=2025-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250613172955/https://ebiblio.istat.it/digibib/Censimenti%20popolazione/Censimentipopolazioneresidentedal1861/RML0050288Pop_res_cens_1861_1991.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="timeseries">{{cite web |title=Dashboard Permanent census of population and housing|url=https://esploradati.censimentopopolazione.istat.it/databrowser/#/en/censtest/dashboards|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]}}</ref>}}
As of 2025, there are 120,497 people residing in Sassari, of whom 48.4% are male and 51.6% are female. Minors make up 12.4% of the population, and pensioners make up 26.6%. This compares with the Italian average of 14.9% minors and 24.7% pensioners.<ref name="population" />

==Culture==

===Language===
[[File:Maps of Corsican Dialects.svg|thumb|right|The Sassarese compared to Corsican dialects]]
{{see also|Sassarese language}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2024}}
[[Sassarese]] (''Sassaresu'' or ''Turritanu'') is much closer to [[Corsican language|Corsican]] and [[Tuscan language]] than it is to [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]], although this fact has caused some political controversy. It originated as a [[lingua franca]] between the first [[Sardinians]], [[Corsicans]], [[Toscana|Tuscans]] and [[Liguria]]n people, during the period of the [[maritime republics]]. The original [[Tuscan language|Tuscan structure]] was influenced by the [[Logudorese dialect|Sardinian Logudorese]] spoken in the area, with a strong influence that can be felt in its phonetics and vocabulary, and by [[Catalan language|Catalan]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]] in vocabulary.

Sassarese is spoken in Sassari and its immediate area by approximately 120,000 people out a total population of 175,000 inhabitants; it is also the language of the north-west of Sardinia, including [[Stintino]], [[Sorso]] and [[Porto Torres]]; in the mid-northern areas of Sardinia, its ''Castellanesi'' dialects of [[Castelsardo]], [[Tergu]] and [[Sedini]] are more similar to the [[Gallurese]].

===Main sights===
[[File:Sassari - Cattedrale di San Nicola (05).JPG|thumb|right|The baroque façade of [[St. Nicholas]]]]
* Archeological site of [[Monte d'Accoddi]]: a unique prehistoric monument with a [[step pyramid]] construction
*The [[Pisan]] City Walls that in the 13th century surrounded the city with 36 towers (at the moment only 6 remain), and the [[Crown of Aragon|Catalan-Aragonese]] Castle named Castello di Sassari, demolished in 1877, whose ruins, including some rooms, the basement, and part of a tower were rediscovered in 2008.
* The church of St. Peter in Silki, built in the 12th century but renovated in the 17th century. Here were found the medieval codes known as Condaghe di san Pietro in Silki.
* ''Corso Vittorio Emanuele'' is the main street of the medieval town, surrounded by interesting buildings of different ages, such as several examples of Catalan-gothic (as the so-called ''House of [[Enzio of Sardinia|Re Enzo]]''), the baroque church of ''Sant' Andrea'', built by Corsican community, the neoclassic ''Civic Theatre'' and ''Quesada's palace''.
* The Cathedral of St. Nicholas of Bari, built in the 13th century and enlarged in Catalan Gothic style from 1480; there is a monument to the Duca di Moria inside.<ref name=Catholic/> The façade, belonging to the [[Baroque]] Spanish colonial restorations of 1650–1723, has a rectangular portico surmounted by three niches housing statues of saints. The bell tower is in [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] style.
* The church and monastery of ''Santa Maria di Bètlem'' (13th–19th century). The original façade and parts of monastery are in [[Lombard Romanesque]] style, some chapels in [[International Gothic]], while the rest of the building, include the big dome, was rebuilt in [[Baroque]] and [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassic]] style, by the Sardinian architect Antonio Cano in 1829–34.
* The Church of the Most Blessed Trinity contains a beautiful picture by an unknown artist of the Quattrocento.<ref name=Catholic>{{Catholic|wstitle=Sassari|inline=1}}</ref>
* The [[:it:Cimitero comunale di Sassari|Cimitero comunale di Sassari]] (Sassari Cemetery) opened in 1837 adjacent to the Chiesa San Paolo al Cimitero just west of the [[Sassari railway station|main railway station]]
* ''Palazzo D'Usini'', most important example of civilian architecture of the Renaissance period in Sardinia (now housing the main Public Library, therefore open to visits from the public).
* The [[Fountain of the Rosello]], built in 1606 by Genoese craftsmen. It is made by two squared parts surmounted by two crossing arches supporting the statue of St. Gavino.
* University Palace (17th–20th century), originally a Jesuit school.
* The Ducal Palace (current Town Hall, 1775–1806), built for the Duke of the Asinara in the 18th century.
* ''Piazza d'Italia'' (19th century) is the main square in Sassari. It is surrounded by interesting buildings such as the [[Neo-Gothic]] "Palazzo Giordano" and the [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] "Palace of Sassari's Province", where the ancient royal apartments of the [[House of Savoy]] were once located.
* ''[[Teatro Verdi (Sassari)|Teatro Verdi]]'', opera house and theater for concerts and plays

===Museums===
[[File:Sardinia, Sassari, Museo Nazionale G. A. Sanna.jpg|thumb|right|National Archaeological and Ethnographic "G.A. Sanna" Museum]]
[[File:Sassari, mus'a (pinacoteca), interno 04.JPG|thumb|right|National Pinachoteca]]
* National Archaeological and Ethnographic "G.A. Sanna" Museum
* National Pinacotheca "Mus'A"
* Historical Museum of "[[Sassari Mechanized Brigade|Brigata Sassari]]"
* Museum of Science and Technology (it is constituted by many collections located in several university faculties: [[mineralogical]], [[Botany|botanic]], [[Entomological]], [[zoological]], [[anatomical]] collection "[[Luigi Rolando]]", [[physics]] and [[agronomic]] collection)
* Ethnographic Museum "Francesco Bande"
* Contemporary Art Museum "Masedu"
* Museum and Treasury of the Cathedral
* Museum of History of Sassari
* Museum of Sassari's Diocese
* Museum of Candelieri
* [[Mario Sironi]] art collection
* Art gallery "[[Giuseppe Biasi]]"
* Pavilion of Sardinian handicraft EXPO "I.S.O.L.A."
{{wide image|Sassari piazzaItalia.jpg|1000px|Piazza d'Italia (Square of Italy)|2000px|center}}

===Festivals and traditions===
[[File:Discesacandelierisassari.jpg|thumb|right|''Faradda di li candareri'']]
* The ''Faradda di li candareri'' ("Descent of the Candelieri") is a devotional procession, in which enormous wooden candles are carried by members of the city [[guilds]] from the town centre to the church of Santa Maria of Betlem, in commemoration of the end of the plague in 1582, but it probably has older origins, from a cultural tradition from [[Pisa]] that as early as in the second half of the 13th century was practiced in some parts of Sardinia.The Candelieri were inscribed in 2013 (8.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by [[UNESCO]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/celebrations-of-big-shoulder-borne-processional-structures-00721|title=Celebrations of big shoulder-borne processional structures - UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage|website=ich.unesco.org|access-date=2025-08-24|archive-date=2023-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820110907/https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/celebrations-of-big-shoulder-borne-processional-structures-00721|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The ''Cavalcata Sarda'' ("Sardinian Cavalcade"), a main event in Sardinia. On the last Sunday of May thousands of people come from all over Sardinia to Sassari to parade through the city in their local folk costumes on foot and ride on hundreds of the best Sardinian horses.
* ''Sardinia Film Festival'' was founded in 2006.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} With 500 films, [[short subjects]], [[animated cartoons]] and [[documentaries]] in 2009, it has become the most prominent [[film festival]] in Sardinia.

==Sport==
[[File:PalaSportSassari.jpg|[[Palasport Roberta Serradimigni]] is the biggest indoor arena in Sardinia for capacity.|thumb|right]]

===Football===
The city of Sassari has [[U.S.D. Latte Dolce]], the [[A.S.D. Torres Calcio Femminile|Torres Calcio Femminile]] that won seven [[Serie A (women's football)|Serie A]] titles, eight [[Italian Women's Cup|Coppa Italia]], seven Supercoppa Italiana and two [[Italy Women's Cup]]. The main football team is [[Sassari Torres|S.E.F. Torres 1903]] who won the two [[Lega Pro Seconda Divisione|Serie C2]] in 1986–87 and 1999–00. The club is also famous for lanching players like [[Gianfranco Zola]], [[Pietro Paolo Virdis]], [[Antonello Cuccureddu]], [[Comunardo Niccolai]], [[Theofilos Karasavvidis]], [[Walter Mazzarri]].

===Basketball===
Sassari has the main basketball team that [[Dinamo Sassari]] in the [[2014–15 Lega Basket Serie A|2014–15]] won [[Lega Basket Serie A|Italian League]], the club won also the [[Italian Basketball Cup|Italian Cup]] in [[2014 Italian Basketball Cup|2014]] and [[2015 Italian Basketball Cup|2015]] and the [[Italian Basketball Supercup|Italian Supercup]] in 2014 and 2019. in [[2018–19 FIBA Europe Cup|2018–19]] the club won the [[FIBA Europe Cup]].

===Handball===
* HC Tangram 1 Sassari women's team handball club, playing in Serie A1.

===Infrastructure===
The city has the main [[Stadio Vanni Sanna]] where it is held some concerts and where plays the [[A.S.D. Torres Calcio Femminile|Torres Calcio Femminile]], [[Sassari Torres|S.E.F. Torres 1903]] and [[U.S.D. Latte Dolce]]. The [[Palasport Roberta Serradimigni]] is the indoor basketball arena where the basketball team of [[Dinamo Sassari]] plays and where it is held some concerts.

==Government==
{{See also|List of mayors of Sassari}}

===Administrative subdivision===
The Municipality of Sassari was subdivided into ten ''circoscrizioni'' (administrative districts), reduced to six since the elections of May 3, 2000, and four since the elections of May 31, 2010.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Circoscrizioni
! Population
! Neighborhoods included
|-
| 1° Circoscrizione
| 62,981
| Center, Carbonazzi, Porcellana, Rizzeddu, Monserrato, San Giuseppe, Cappuccini, Luna e Sole
|-
| 2° Circoscrizione
| 37,814
| [[Sant'Orsola, Sassari|Sant'Orsola]], Latte Dolce, Monte Rosello, Santa Maria di Pisa
|-
| 3° Circoscrizione
| 24,969
| Bancali, Caniga, La Landrigga, Li Punti, Ottava, Pian di Sorres, San Giovanni,
|-
| 4° Circoscrizione
| 3,258
| Argentiera, Villassunta, Biancareddu, Campanedda, Canaglia, La Corte, La Pedraia, Palmadula, Tottubella, Rumanedda 
|}

[[File:Bds entrata sassari.jpg|thumb|right|[[Banco di Sardegna]]'s headquarters.]]
[[File:Sassari, Province of Sassari, Italy - panoramio (1).jpg|thumb|right|Cala della Frana beach]]

==Education==
[[File:Université de Sassari.JPG|thumb|right|University of Sassari]]
{{see also|University of Sassari}}
The University of Sassari is the oldest in Sardinia (founded by the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]] in 1562), and has a high reputation, especially in Jurisprudence, Veterinary Medicine, Medicine, and Agriculture. Its libraries contain a number of ancient documents, among them the [[condaghe]]s, Sardinia's first legal codes and the first documents written in the [[Sardinian language]] (11th century) and the famous [[Carta de Logu]] (the constitution issued by [[Marianus IV of Arborea]] and updated later by his daughter the ''Giudichessa'' [[Eleanor of Arborea]]) in the 14th century.

==Transportation==
[[File:Sasstram.jpg|thumb|right|Metrotram ''[[Hitachi Sirio|Sirio]] '' – Terminal of ''[[Sassari Tram-train|line 1 in Railway Station Square]]'']]
{{see also|Sassari railway station}}
The nearest airport, [[Fertilia Airport|Fertilia International Airport]], is {{convert|25|km|0|abbr=on}} from the city center, and the closest seaport is located at [[Porto Torres]], {{convert|16|km|0|abbr=on}} away.

Urban and suburban [[Public Transport|public transport]] is operated by about 25 bus lines of ''Azienda Trasporti Pubblici'' (ATP) and by a [[Sassari Tram-train|light rail transit]] of ''Azienda Regionale Sarda Trasporti'' (ARST). Two different railway companies connect the town to the rest of the island: [[Trenitalia]] links Sassari to [[Porto Torres]], [[Oristano]], [[Cagliari]], [[Olbia]], [[Golfo Aranci]], and the ARST reaches [[Alghero]], [[Sorso]], [[Nulvi]] and [[Palau, Sardinia|Palau]].

Dual carriage motorways link Sassari to [[Porto Torres]], [[Platamona]], [[Cagliari]] (''[[Strada statale 131 Charles Felix|SS131]]''), [[Olbia]] (''[[SS199]]'') and to Alghero (''[[SS291]]''). High-capacity traffic roads connect Sassari to [[Tempio Pausania]] (''[[SS672]]'') and [[Ittiri]].

==Notable people==
{{See also|Category:People from Sassari}}
Notable people born here include the former presidents of the Italian [[Republic]], [[Antonio Segni]] and [[Francesco Cossiga]], and [[Enrico Berlinguer]], secretary of the [[Italian Communist Party]].

Sassari is also the birthplace of [[Domenico Alberto Azuni]], a jurist expert in commercial law.
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break}}
'''Notable historical personages'''
* [[Salvatore Alepus]], theologist and poet (Morilla – Valencia)
* [[Edina Altara]], artist
* [[Giovanni Maria Angioy]], politician
* [[Domenico Alberto Azuni]], jurist
* [[Enrico Berlinguer]], leader of [[Italian Communist Party]]
* [[Mario Berlinguer]], politician
* [[Giuseppe Biasi]], painter
* [[Daniel Bovet]], biochemist (Nobel Prize)
* [[Italo Calvino]], writer
* [[Antonio Cano]], sculptor and architect<ref>[https://www.paradisola.it/cultura/storia-della-sardegna/personaggi-sardi/1775-antonio-cano/amp "Antonio Cano 1775-1840"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106105630/https://www.paradisola.it/cultura/storia-della-sardegna/personaggi-sardi/1775-antonio-cano/amp |date=2023-01-06 }}, paradisola.it, 4 January 2021, accessed 6 January 2023 (in Italian)</ref> 
* [[Francesco Cetti]]
* [[Fernando Clemente]], architect
* [[Francesco Cossiga]], [[President of the Italian Republic]]
* [[Enrico Costa (physicist)|Enrico Costa]], astrophysicist, known for studies of [[gamma-ray burst]]s
* [[Giovanni del Giglio]], painter better known as ''Maestro di Ozieri''
* [[Eva Mameli]], botanist and naturalist
* [[Vico Mossa]], architect
* [[Costantino Nivola]], artist
* [[Antonio Pigliaru]], jurist and philosopher
* [[Luigi Rolando]], anatomist
* [[Aligi Sassu]], painter
* [[Antonio Segni]], President of the Italian Republic
* [[Mario Sironi]], painter of creator of the ''Novecento'' 
* [[Giovanni Spano]], writer
* [[Eugenio Tavolara]], artist
* [[Palmiro Togliatti]], leader of the [[Italian Communist Party]]
* [[Pasquale Tola]], politician and magistrate
* [[Michele Zanche]], politician named by [[Dante]] in the ''[[Divina Commedia]]''<ref>"''With him is his cohort Michel Zanche of [[Logudoro|Logodoro]], and their tongues never tire with constant chatter about Sardinia.''"</ref>

{{Col-break}}
'''Contemporary personalities'''
* [[Gavino Angius]], member of the [[Democrats of the Left]] 
* [[Paola Antonelli]], senior Curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at the [[Museum of Modern Art]] in New York
* [[Giovanni Berlinguer]], one of the main members of the Democrats of the Left
* [[Enzo Calzaghe]], boxing trainer, father of [[Joe Calzaghe]]
* [[Elisabetta Canalis]], actress and television host
* [[Toni Demuro]], illustrator
* [[Bruno Dettori]], politician
* [[Antonello Grimaldi]], film director
* [[Filomena Moretti]], guitarist
* [[Arturo Parisi]], former minister of Defence and member of [[The Daisy]]
* [[Giuseppe Pisanu]], former [[Italian Minister of the Interior]] and now president of the [[Antimafia Commission]]
* [[Giovanni Puggioni]], runner
* [[Roberto Tola]], musician, composer, Recording Academy Member (Grammy Awards) 
* [[Mario Segni]], member of European parliament
* [[Tazenda]], ethno-pop-rock band
{{col-end}}

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2025}}
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Italy}}
Sassari is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:
*[[Gorizia]], Italy, since 1983
*[[Timișoara]], Romania, since 1990
*[[Gubbio]], Italy, since 2002, between the [[Faradda di li candareri|Faradda]] and the [[Saint Ubaldo Day]]
*[[Viterbo]], Italy, since 2006, between the ''Faradda'' and the [[Macchina di Santa Rosa]]
*[[Nola]], Italy, since 2006, between the ''Faradda'' and the Festa dei Gigli
*[[Palmi, Calabria]], Italy since 2006, between the ''Faradda'' and the [[Varia di Palmi]]
*[[Napoli]], Italy since 2009, between the ''Faradda'' and the [[Dedication of Saint Mary Major]]
*[[Campobasso]], Italy since 2009, between the ''Faradda'' and the Festival dei Misteri
*[[Barcelona]], Spain, since 2010 ("''artistic twinning''")

==See also==
{{Portal|Italy|European Union|Cities}}
* [[Metropolitan City of Sassari]]
* [[Sassari Mechanized Brigade]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sassari}}

{{Metropolitan City of Sassari}}
{{Cities in Italy}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Sassari| ]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in Sardinia]]