"No to the theft of the Academy of Fine Arts of Sassari to the advantage of Cagliari and in the name of Cagliari-centrism". Giuseppe Mascia, mayor of Sassari, reacts harshly to the proposed law by the deputy of Fratelli d'Italia Salvatore Deidda with which he would like to create an Academy of Fine Arts also in the lower cape or to realize a detachment of the Academy "Mario Sironi" of Sassari. "After a few years of similar attempts", comments the mayor, "there are those who try again to take away our institute of higher education, considered an excellence at a national level, on the basis of numerical arguments that have no foundation and that in any case cannot be the only reason to implement a plan that must absolutely be thwarted".

Mascia calls for a " very harsh reaction from institutional, economic, social and cultural representatives of Sassari and Northern Sardinia , but also for the commitment of the entire coalition that governs Sardinia, including its representatives in Parliament, to take action to prevent, with the unprovable pretext that the numbers on the Island legitimize the presence of two Academies, the creation of the conditions to dismantle Sassari and open in Cagliari". The appeal is also launched towards the representatives of Fratelli d'Italia and the center-right belonging to the territory of Sassari, Gallura and Nuoro. According to the mayor, they would like to put at risk "the very existence of a talent factory that has always allowed Sardinians, all Sardinians, to train and establish themselves in the national and international artistic and cultural scene".

Mascia then disputes Deidda's arguments: «The establishment of a second Academy on the Island is motivated by the number of students enrolled in art high schools in Cagliari and Southern Sardinia. That data cannot be the only one taken into consideration because it is really necessary to take into account what the actual potential catchment area of a Fine Arts Academy is, before deciding that two are needed in our region». The suspicion is that the data is being “manipulated”. «The second step», fears the first tenant of Palazzo Ducale, «will be the closure of Sassari to the advantage of Cagliari, always on the basis of numerical elements that will not justify the survival of both , without taking into account the history, the coat of arms, the results and the importance of the Sironi Academy».