A controversial history made up of judicatures and maritime republics, realms, pirate invasions, great characters of both ancient and modern history of which the city can be proud.

It all started in 1131, when it appears in the Condaghe (stories) of San Pietro in Silki the name of Jordi de Sassaro.

It became a free city in 1236, promulgating under the domination of Pisans the Statutes of Sassari, a code that regulated the civil, legal and economic life of the citizens . This important document is written in Latin and Logudorese Sardinian.

There are only five copies of this manuscript, two of which date back to the foundation of the city.  It was in this period that the city, disputed between the maritime republics, stipulated an act of confederation with the Republic of Genoa in 1294, and completed the walls for protection.

The Royal City of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1331, still retains the traces of the passage of Aragon and the Spanish. The castle of Sassari, _ the seat of the Spanish Inquisition in Sardinia was demolished in 1877 and now only a few parts remain that still tell a piece of history of the bourgeoisie and of the Aragon presence: the foundations, and two corridors of the old wall that housed the artillery.  After being invaded by the French in 1527, Sassari faced several periods of severe social and economic crisis, and was decimated by the plague in 1582.  With the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, it began a brief period of Austrian domination, then the Savoy took their place in 1720.  Everything else is part of its cultural renaissance and urban development until the nineteenth century.

The city expanded beyond the walls, partially torn down during a cholera epidemic. Following the example of the capital city, Turin, new districts arose with a new hospital, prison, schools and town squares, and a new Civic Theater.  Nearby Porto Torres was restored with the first ferry connections with Genoa and new entrepreneurship grew: it became the second most important city in Italy for the production of leather.

But there is more to Sassari than just its history: it is a city with at least twelve reasons for being so special ...

... This is the city where the first university of Sardinia was born and still is the city of the young who can follow studies of excellence in law, agriculture and veterinary medicine.

... Its the city whose symbol is a fountain that is a true masterpiece: the Fountain of Rosello, previously famous as the major well of the area since 1295

... Its the city where the city gathering spot is a large nineteenth-century square, Piazza Italia, where the Palace of the Province and the neo-Gothic Palazzo Giordano overlook the city center

... Its the city where enormous Candlesticks, recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage Site, on August 14 are carried on the shoulders of the devout in a magic dance through the narrow and crowded streets of the city to the Cathedral of the city

... Is a city full of beautiful historical buildings built between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries that host municipal offices and museums

... Its the city of politics and where presidents of the Italian Republic were born and raised.  Here Enrico Berlinguer, Antonio Segni and Francesco Cossiga were born

... Its the city where you will find the command of the Brigata Sassari, whose origins date back to the First World War, when the Sardinians distinguished themselves in fierce fighting on the front that earned them numerous awards and citations for the first time in the Bulletin of the Supreme Command.  Written for Sardinians, the hymn Dimonios (devils) commemorates the valor and courage typical of the islanders

... Its the city with the best fast food: the fainè

... Its the city that has a special prenuragic monument, Mount Accoddi, unique in all the Mediterranean with a pyramidal structure with steps similar to the ziggurat of Mesopotamia

... Its the city in whose territory is located the only natural lake in Sardinia: Lake Baratz

... Its the city in whose territory you can find the atmosphere of the Scottish highlands in the Argentiera

... Its the city in whose territory it is possible to see the Asinara Gulf with the crystal-clear sea of Sardinia and pink flamingos