S had a busy day at her conference, so I decided to bus over to Castelsardo. Easy one-hour ride on the ARST where you can buy a day pass on your phone for e7.
Armor at Castelsardo
There are several ways to ascend to the castle in order of decreasing directness — climb stairs straight up the hill from new-town, take the service road, or walk the old-town streets on the sea-side of the castle hill.
Houses in old-town CastelsardoPart of the multi medium small-object art show at the castle.A trattoria in old-town Castelsardo.
I explored old town on the way down and spent some time looking out over the city and sea over the several tiers of battlements and layers of apartments.
A view of town walking east along the cliffside beaches.Pigeons hiding from the heat.The castle overlooks the sea.
On returning back to Sassari, I met up with M, fresh off her hike of the East coast of Sardinia, for appertivo and dinner with S, which turned out to be a bit of a travail. L’Assissino had come highly recommended from several sources and they sat us. After perusing the tripe and veal-brain stocked menu for an hour, the staff refused to acknowledge us. Pizza around the corner for us!
I don’t want to bury the lead and the biggest news of the day – S won best translation tonight. That alon made the trip worth it. She’s elated tonight….
But on to the rest of the say. This morning I met up with M to have breakfast on the Piazza d’Italia — lazy cappuccini and chocolate croissants. We decided to wander over to the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Sassari — the Sassari National Picture Gallery. There was just a small sample in four galleries focusing on portraits of African immigrants from circa 1935. The images were striking, novel (to me), and beautiful.
There were signs listing additional paintings around the corner at the ducal palace housing the mayor’s office. Visiting the palace we were greeted by a sleepy security guard and his cheery little dog, both waiving us in to wander and search for paintings.
The three standards flying at Piazza d’ItaliaVittorio Emanuele II at the piazza.
Staying in the neighborhood, we visited the Cattedrale di San Nicola. The limestone duomo was surrounded by blooming jacaranda trees. The sanctuary lighting was much brighter and inviting than I had expected from the high thick walls. The treasury displayed supernaturally shiny silver jewelry and other artifacts.
The gargoyles at San Nicola have been worn down, but at least are framed by lovely jacaranda blossoms.The sanctuary at the Cattedrale di San Nicola.The baroque facade above the main entry at the Cattedrale di San Nicola
We paused for sorbetto and espresso to catch up on family happenings before chatting with S on break from her conference and going to Museo Sanno, an archeological museum featuring artifacts ranging from Paleolithic to Medieval periods of Northern Sardinia.
Roman-era marble statue at Museo Sanna.
We met up with S and had gelato in the park before walking her to Saint Peters Gardens for her conference gala. It was nice to see the living city. Lots of residents were enjoying post-work aperitivi in the cafes. There was live music.
With S at her conference event, M and I had a fantastic dinner at Ristorante L’Ora down the street from where S and I were staying. L’Ora is a hidden gem. It’s on a tiny side street, so it’s easy to miss, but that also means there’s hardly any traffic passing. The service was cheerful and careful. The food was astounding. M and I split the mussels and the branzino catch of the day and a bottle of vermentino. The mussels were uniformly and ideal, each medium-sized, with rich color, and meaty texture. Served whole with potatoes and cherry tomatoes, it was easily the best fish I’ve had in a year. The seasoning was subtle, with the chef trusting the quality of the fish (and olive oil and butter) to bring out the flavor.
It was so good, we decided to bring S back for the following night.
We took what felt like the world’s smallest train from Olbia to Chilivani, where we boarded a bus to Sassari. The countryside we passed is sparsely populated filled by rugged hills, resembling Tuscany without the towns dotting the skyline. I wish we had time to stop and clearer windows so that I could show off the gorgeous landscape.
Sassari cobblestonesClosed street front — this one for more than just the holiday.The view up our? street.
From the bus station at the bottom of the hill, we lugged our bags over cobblestone roads. The route seemed interminable jumping from one narrow alley to another, but the trip was broken up by obstacle hopping. Olbia’s name comes from city of happy people. From our walk today, I’d guess Sassari means land strewn with tiny-dog poops.
June 2 is Republic Day in Italy, celebrating 80th aniverssary of the reformation of the government after the Second World War and rejecting the fascists and monarchy. Much of the town was closed and our plans to find the best lunchtime restaurants were dashed by steel shutters.
For the evening, S made dinner reservations at a pizzeria for us and a couple of friends. Because of the holiday, the kitchen was closed — actually the restaurant was closed, but the owner had neglected to disable the on-line reservation system. He graciously took time away from his family to open just for us, but operating solo, there was no pizza. I settled for carbonara and S antipasto.
Alley lighting, without which Sassari evenings would feel grimCattedrale di San NicolaEvening gathering at Piazza d’Italia
After flailing with faulty credit-card readers after dinner, S went to the conference pre-event gathering — a drag show, of course — and I meandered town, finding locals gathered at the bars and a couple of piazze.
This morning we dragged our jetlagged corpses out of bed to breakfast at a cafe. The pastries here are amazing — even a simple jam cornetto is fabulous. The cappuccino met expectations, which is to say it was lovely… but the card readers also met expectation. The cashier at the cafe was unfazed and trusted us to come back later with cash. Coming back to pay, I met a different cashier who seemed to understand my Duolingo-Italian story of needing to pay for breakfast an hour earlier, probably because the story was a common rerun, but Duo I want my plushy bonus toy now!
Early evening sky above Sassari.Cattedrale di San Nicola against the evening clouds.Flower pots leading up to the Palazzo della Provincia, the prefettura HQ, at the Piazza d’Italia.
I spent the morning wandering the neighborhood, getting a feel for the geography, while S was at the conference. The streets here are oddly almost grid like, except for lots of side streets spurring into or bisecting a block here and there. Street signs aren’t always prominent and most streets don’t run more than a few blocks, so map navigation isn’t trivial.
We had a tough time finding lunch again today. There was no holiday for excuses — it’s just a tough time for businesses here judging from the large number of blocked by rolling shutters. We settled for “sandwiches,” because panino means something else to waitstaff here. Overcoming the language barrier, our bar waitress was happy to imagine a menu and forage for some bread, prosciutto, mayo, and eggplant together for us.
Cattedrale di San NicolaThe steel grate blocking entry to the front of Cattedrale di San Nicola.Sassari store fronts.
We’re off to pizza now (fingers crossed), but here are some insights of the day:
Lunch pickings are slim, at least mid-week, in Sassari. Pizza is harder to find in Sardinia than I could have imagined.
Google’s business opening times cannot be trusted here.
Kindness from strangers is more reliable than credit-card readers.
