Monumenti Aperti 2024 - Spaces for Dreams

When we visit a museum, an archaeological site, a historic garden, a villa from the last century, a modern palace, contemporary architecture, and, in general, when we come into contact with cultural heritage, it speaks to us of processes, research, work, passages, crossings, and lives more or less known: of dreams, precisely, realized, which form memory and cultural heritage, thus, community heritage.

All this will be offered to the public in the twenty-eighth edition of Monumenti Aperti, the richest ever. From May 4th to October 27th, 78 municipalities will compose a rich program that will cross Sardinia, Emilia Romagna, and Puglia, showing 800 places open for free and told by thousands of volunteer guides.

The University participates in the initiative by promoting some guided tours on May 4th and 5th:

Visit to Monte d'Accoddi - Sant'Agostino's Cripta - Palace of Largo Porta Nuova - Historical Palace of the University - MUNISS Museum - Tavolara Pavilion.

On May 18th-19th, it will be possible to visit the nuragic site of Sant'Imbenia in Alghero.

The Palazzo di Porta Nuova, adjacent to the historic building of the University of Sassari and recently restored, is part of the complex historical-urban stratification of the city. It is located along the 13th-14th-century city walls, at the site of the ancient Torre della Munizione, where the most recent of the city gates was opened in 1614. The development of the University (founded in 1562) had intensified the interest and movement of people and activities in this area. We know the appearance of the area thanks to some maps and nineteenth-century drawings by Giuseppe Cominotti and Alfonso Garovaglio.

Following the demolition of the walls and the gate itself around 1874, the Municipality, owner of the area, built the large palace, separated from the university building by a closed alley. The narrow street had already been used by the University for the arrangement of scientific laboratories related to the teaching of chemistry. The corner garden between the Palazzo di Porta Nuova and the University, facing the Public Gardens, was fenced by the University in 1888 at the initiative of Professor Augusto Corona, head of the teaching and laboratory of Physiology. The Palazzo di Porta Nuova, after initially serving as the seat of the Court of Appeal (1881), primarily functioned as an educational institute, initially as an elementary school and since 1923 as the first headquarters of the city's scientific high school named after Giovanni Spano. Later, it housed municipal offices, particularly Technical and Maintenance offices, passing to the University, through an exchange, in 1999.

Hours:
Sunday, May 5th, 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM

Guided tours organized by the University of Sassari's Third Mission and Territory Office and students from the Department of History, Human Sciences, and Education.

Image: The Porta Nuova in a watercolor by Giuseppe Cominotti (1825)

The exhibition space MUNISS, Scientific Museum of the University of Sassari, is located in the Piandanna Bionaturalistic Center. Among period furnishings and laboratory benches, watched over by "Gavina" the gharial, mascot of the museum, unfolds the historical-scientific path presenting evidence and materials from various collections, recounting the history of the University of Sassari (since its foundation in 1562), scholars' research, and the variety of collections. The exhibition is virtually expanded through links to audiovisual products, with contributions from researchers and experimental demonstrations. The collections of the Departments, which gather an estimated heritage of about 200,000 mineralogical, zoological, botanical, and instrumental assets, are represented in the MUNISS space, each with some significant objects.

In addition to the functions of conservation, exhibition, and historical research, the museum contributes to the University's research dissemination and scientific animation activities through the "Third Mission," promoting debate on current scientific topics and public participation.

Visitors can also participate in the Entomology laboratory, aimed at curious people of all ages: "Insects: Food of the Future?", organized by the Department of Agriculture.

Hours:
Saturday, May 4th, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Guided tours organized by the University of Sassari's Third Mission and Territory Office.

On the occasion of the XVIII Edition of Open Monuments, which will take place in Sassari on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 May 2024, the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences will deal, in collaboration with the Department of History, Human Sciences and Education, of the organization of guided tours in the Tavolara Pavilion. The building, designed by Ubaldo Badas, was recently returned to public use thanks to the series of exhibition events organized by the Nivola Foundation. At the moment the space hosts L'Onda Nuragica - Art, craftsmanship and design tested by prehistory, an exhibition that explores the influence that the archaeological discoveries of the twentieth century have had on the island's cultural production. The organization of the itinerary is by Doctor Luca Poddighe, with the supervision of Professor Giuliana Altea and Professor Antonella Camarda.