404 Biccone
prompt one to consider the possibility of some form of participation or coach-
ing of local artisans in the phases of production. The incised date in Catalan
characters might be an indicator of this. Even the presence of bowls with ear-
shaped handles—a form uncommon in central Italy and typical of Catalan
production, which was widespread in regional markets—within the repertoire
of majolica from Sassari might indicate that manufactured items circulating
mainly on the island had an influence on artisans who settled in the cities.
The moment of this workshop’s rise coincides with a highly dynamic period
in the city, which was also linked to the arrival of the Jesuits, who came to Sassari
in 1559. The fathers of the congregation initiated a series of important construc-
tion yards for building the new Casa Professa, the church of Gesù e Maria, as
well as the university. Through this fervent activity, the city’s physiognomy was
utterly changed to comply more closely with late Renaissance taste, and thus lost
its Catalan Gothic form. Not finding a sufficiently specialized workforce on the
island, the Jesuits called in architects, engineers, and stonemasons, chiefly from
Latium, in order to construct new majestic buildings.40 We may thus presume
40 Marisa Porcu Gaias, Sassari. Storia architettonica e urbanistica dalle origini al ‘600 (Nuoro,
1996), p. 123; Raimondo Turtas, La casa dell’Università. La politica edilizia della Compagnia
di Gesù nei decenni della formazione dell’Ateneo sassarese, 1562– 1632 (Sassari, 1986).
Figure 15.12 Sassarese majolica bowl with incised date.