Sassari Attractions
Sassari, Sardinia's second largest town, the capital of the province of the same name, lies on a limestone plateau, in the northwest of the island, some 15km/9mi south of the Golfo dell'Asinara.
Sassari is an archiepiscopal see and a university town as well as an important commercial and administrative center. Two well-known festivals are celebrated in Sassari, the Cavalcata Sarda (riding competitions and procession with historical costumes) in May and the Festa dei Candelieri on August 14th.
The hub of the town's traffic is the palm-shaded Piazza Cavallino de Honestis, immediately southeast of which is the large Piazza d'Italia, with a monument to Victor Emmanuel II and a modern Prefecture.
Sassari is an archiepiscopal see and a university town as well as an important commercial and administrative center. Two well-known festivals are celebrated in Sassari, the Cavalcata Sarda (riding competitions and procession with historical costumes) in May and the Festa dei Candelieri on August 14th.
The hub of the town's traffic is the palm-shaded Piazza Cavallino de Honestis, immediately southeast of which is the large Piazza d'Italia, with a monument to Victor Emmanuel II and a modern Prefecture.
Alghero, Italy
(Near Sassari)
A very attractive trip is to the charmingly situated town and seaside resort of Alghero, whose inhabitants still speak a Catalan dialect (7m/23ft; pop. 38,000). Features of interest are the cathedral (1510; Spanish Gothic doorway), the church of San Francesco (cloister), the picturesque Spanish bastions and towers and many old houses.
Grotta di Nettuno
14km/9mi west of Alghero (also reached by motorboat), on the west side of the precipitous Capo Caccia is a beautiful stalactitic cave, the Grotta di Nettuno.
Fonte Rosello
On the north side of Sassari is the pretty Fonte Rosello, with a Baroque well-house of 1605.
Museo G. A. Sanna
From the Piazza d'Italia the tree-lined Via Roma runs southeast to the Museo G. A. Sanna, with the collections assembled by Giovanni Antonio Sanna, a member of the Italian Parliament, containing prehistoric, Punic and Roman antiquities and pictures of the 14th-19th centuries by Sardinian, Italian and foreign artists.
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San Nicola
Northwest of the Piazza Cavallino de Honestis, reached by way of Piazza Azuni, is the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Sassari's principal street. From this we turn left along Via del Duomo to reach the cathedral of San Nicola, with a Baroque façade and a restored interior. East of this in Via Santa Catarina is the fine Palazzo del Duca, now the Town Hall.
Santa Maria di Betlem
To the west of the cathedral in Sassari, in the spacious Piazza Santa Maria, stands the church of Santa Maria di Betlem, rebuilt in modern style but still preserving its Romanesque facade of the Pisan period. The interior has been remodeled in Gothic style.
Stintino, Italy
(Near Sassari)
Northwest of Porto Torres we come to the fishing village of Stintino (9m/30ft), and 5km/3mi beyond this is the Punta del Falcone, the northwest tip of Sardinia. Lying off the promontory to the north are the little Isola Piana (24m/79ft) and the long indented Isola Asinara (up to 408m/1,346ft high; area 52 sq.km/18 sq.mi).
