Sassari
a city of Sardinia, ranking next after the capital, Cagliari; 12 miles from the Gulf of Asinara, where its port, Porto Torres, is situated, and 162 miles N. by W. of Cagliari. A prosperous-looking town, with both old and new houses, embosomed in orange and olive groves, it has a cathedral (1531), an old castle (1327-1331), a university (1677, reopened in 1766) with about 120 students, a museum of Roman antiquities, a natural history collection, and a library (1556) of over 25,000 volumes, and is the seat of an archbishop and of several of the old Sardinian nobles. There is a busy trade in grain, olive oil, cheese, and hides. Pop. about 43,000.