Sassari

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Sassari (säs´särē), city (1991 pop. 122,339), capital of Sassari prov., NW Sardinia, Italy. It is an administrative and agricultural trade center, handling cheese, wine, fruit, and olive oil. Zinc and lead are mined nearby. Sassari was an important center in the Middle Ages and was held (13th cent.) by Genoa and (14th cent.) by the Aragonese. It passed to Piedmont in the early 18th cent. There is a cathedral (11th–13th cent.) with a baroque facade; a university (founded in the early 17th cent.); and an Aragonese castle.