Former Holy Annunciation Civil Hospital
The Sassari University Library is located in the monumental complex of the former 19th century hospital of “SS. Annunziata.” The building was built in its first core between 1843 and 1849, designed by Piedmontese engineer Carlo Berio.
The Monumental Complex of the Former Hospital SS. Annunziata covers an area of about 7,000 square meters and consists of five building bodies; it is adorned with a triangular tympanum pediment that gives it a neoclassical look. The imposing main pincer staircase that occupies part of the central core leads to the second floor, to the airy Benefactors’ Vestibule, which has numerous memorial plaques on its walls dedicated to the memory of the generous benefactors who contributed to the construction and development of the Hospital.
From the Vestibule one enters the Atrium of the Benefactors, a large hall that houses in niches or on shelves marble statues and busts depicting the most important benefactors, commissioned from the most important artists of the time: Giuseppe Sartorio, Antonio Usai, the Daneri brothers, and Piacenza artist Ugo Roncati. The Atrium of the Benefactors leads to the Chapel, dedicated to SS. Annunziata, with a semicircular floor plan, enclosed by large stained-glass windows made by cabinetmakers Fratelli Clemente. The imposing marble altar, erected in 1864 to a design by Don Simone Manca of Mores the first pre-unification mayor of Sassari, is topped by the sculptural group of the Annunciation by Salvatore Demeglio.
The Library has more than 300,000 volumes. The historical core includes about 1500 manuscripts, 74 incunabula, 3500 editions from the 16th century. The most important manuscript codices preserved are the Condaghe di San Pietro di Silki written between 1065 and 1180 and the Statutes of Castel Genovese, dating from 1334-1336. Autograph manuscripts of Domenico Alberto Azuni, Grazia Deledda and Salvatore Farina are also kept.
