Second in size after Cagliari, the Sassari Province is in the north of Sardinia, including the sub-regions of Angelona, Gallura, Nurra (Alghero and Sassari), Goceano, Logudoro south of Sassari, also including nine islands, the most important being Asinara, Arcipelago della Maddalena with Caprera, Tavolara and Molara.
It is mostly mountainous and hilly, with marshy plains, edged by uneven indented coastline, above all towards the Tyrrhenian Sea, alternating with flat coast with dunes.
The city of Sassari started to be mentioned in documents of the 12th Century and was probably found by the inhabitants of Turris Libisonis (Porto Torres) to escape from the Saracen invasion from the sea.
The centre is characterised by narrow roads where the main monuments and buildings are. The 15th Century Gothic-Aragonese cathedral of S. Nicola, presents a beautiful baroque façade and the inside with abundant works of art. In the oldest part of the centre is the S. Maria di Beltemme church (18th Century), one of the most ancient of the city, with a Romanesque-Gothic façade. Of interest is also the S. Antonio Abate church and the Rosello fountain built in the 7th Century by late Renaissance Genoan artists.
In Via Roma there are the Municipal Buildings – palazzo del Comune (18th Century), palazzo Ducale (18th Century), Governo (late 9th Century), Giustizia (1939), Museo Archeologico Nazionale G.A. Sanna. In the main square (Piazza Italia) is a monument to Vittorio Emanuelle II erected in 1899. The city boasts a beautiful public garden and the modern Quartiere Porcellana that hosts the university.
Near Sassari, towards the west coast, an excursion to the Argentiera is advisable. This is a mining village, not in use since 1952, today is a growing tourist centre with its beaches, Cala dell’Argentiera – Cala Onanu, Porto Palmas, Porto Ferro, reachable from Alghero and surrounded by pine woods, where the only natural fresh water basin in Sardinia is found, named Lago Baratz. The S.S. 131 takes you to the Platamona beach and the prehistoric altar of Monte d’Accoddi. Not far from here on the way to Olbia, another stop off point is the S.S. Trinità di Saccargia church, in the territory of the nuragic town of Codrongianus erected in 1116, among the most important examples of Romanesque-Sardinian architecture on the island.
Continuing along the S.S. 131 a long itinerary can be started. The first stop being Ittiri, bordering the Lago Bidighinzu then Thiesi where you can make a diversion to visit the nuragic royal palace Santu Antine near Torralba. Taking the Sassari-Tempio road you pass Perfugas and from there go towards the plain of Anglona, reaching Castelsardo on the coast. From there the beautiful coast road takes you to Porto Torres, finally reaching Alghero.