Sassari, Garden of the Palazzo della Provincia

Garden of the Palace of the Province of Sassari. Photo by Angela Nieddu, 2025, from Catalogo BBCC

The Palazzo della Provincia dates back to the second half of the 19th century (1873-1880). The design assignment was entrusted to cav. Giovanni Borgnini, who wanted to be supported by the engineer Eugenio Sironi in the design and construction management. The building occupies the north-east side of Piazza Italia and has a quadrangular floor plan, with two fronts facing the back Viale Umberto I, including the private garden. The green space is contemporary with the original layout of the building. The current organization of the garden appears consistent with the formal language of the building, recalling a stylistic imprint of neoclassical and neo-Renaissance matrix. The garden has a symmetrical layout on the central axis where a staircase and the gate to Viale Umberto I are located. The garden is divided into two lateral lawn areas with a scattered cover of vegetation, consisting of tree and shrub species. In the center, a circular raised flowerbed, the fulcrum of the formal layout of the garden, located in a paved area that is also circular. Pitosphorus hedges highlight the central area, while other privet hedges surround some sections of the green perimeter and draw the floor plan. In the southern area there is a gazebo covered with a climbing false jasmine plant and stone furniture that occupies the interior space. The vegetation includes medium-sized evergreen trees of Mediterranean and exotic origin, laurels, palm trees, ornamental banana trees arranged in groups or in individual specimens.

Interesting aspects
The distribution of plant masses in the two lateral sectors creates shaded areas, humid microenvironments and backdrops that connect the green space with the monumental nature of the building and at the same time emerge from it with the play of volumes full of trees and voids with the lawn. The plant maintains the recognizability of the ornamental structure.