headquarters of "Brigata Sassari" is still located. Founded in 1915, it still consists mainly of Sardinian soldiers. At the end of the 19th century new urban developments grew on Cappuccini Hill and to the south of the city, architecturally dominated by Eclecticism, Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles, which created a movement towards the hybrid experimentation of new local architectural styles, known as the Sassarese Liberty. During the Fascist dictatorship the town had over fifty thousand inhabitants and new neighbourhoods were built, the most important of these being Monte Rosello and Porcellana, typical examples of Rationalist Architecture. On the other hand, the newspaper La Nuova Sardegna, considered subversive, was closed down. During the Second World War three Allied attempts to bomb the town failed: only the railway station was damaged, and there was only one casualty. Today Sassari is the main cultural, administrative and historical centre of Northern Sardinia. Culture University The University of Sassari is the oldest in Sardinia (founded by the Jesuits in 1562), and has a high reputation, especially in Jurisprudence, Veterinary Medicine, Medicine, and Agriculture. Its libraries contain a number of ancient documents, among them the condaghes, Sardinia's first legal codes and the first documents written in the Sardinian language (11th century) and the famous Carta de Logu (the constitution issued by Marianus IV of Arborea and updated later by his daughter the Giudichessa Eleanor of Arborea) in the 14th century. The University of Sassari gained first place in 2009 in the ranking for the best “medium-sized” Italian university, awarded by the Censis Research Institute. Language Sassarese (Sassaresu or Turritanu) is much closer to Corsican and Tuscan language than it is to Sardinian, although this fact has caused some political controversy. It originated as a lingua franca between the first Sardinians, Corsicans, Tuscans and Ligurian people, during the period of the maritime republics. The original Tuscan structure was influenced by the Sardinian Logudorese spoken in the area, with a strong influence that can be felt in its phonetics and vocabulary, and by Catalan and Spanish in vocabulary. Sassarese is spoken in Sassari and its immediate area by approximately 120,000 people out a total population of 175,000 inhabitants; it is also the language of the north-west of Sardinia, including Stintino, Sorso and Porto Torres; in the mid-northern areas of Sardinia, its Castellanesi dialects of Castelsardo, Tergu and Sedini are more similar to the Gallurese. Main sights Archeological