"We're in prison." Tonino Bullitta and Giovanna Senes , married for 56 years, have lived at Via Bellini 23 in Sassari since 1977. For nearly half a century, opening the window overlooking Via Kennedy , they saw dozens of trees, including persimmons, oranges, and medlars. "Now there's nothing left," they say. "Apart from the olive trees, they've uprooted everything. It was like you could hear them screaming, those poor trees."
It was March 28, 2025, the beginning of the deforestation, and the day the husband and wife learned that something unexpected was about to happen right there: "In all these years, no one has bothered to warn the residents."
In place of the vegetation, there are now the walls of the sports hall under construction, which will be able to accommodate up to 2,000 people for volleyball, handball, and futsal events . And from the living room, the view now looks right onto those walls, ready to rise to over 15 meters, looming over the building where eight families live.
“They have deprived us of sun, air, and any view,” residents complain, “taking away a green lung from the neighborhood.”
It's the result of the project, financed with nearly €5 million from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), ministerial funds, and the Municipality. Commissioned by the previous Campus administration, and now carried forward by Mayor Giuseppe Mascia, it's slowly arriving—amidst delays and work stoppages—in the Latte Dolce neighborhood. Right across the street from the apartments of the residents, and of a married couple who are not living there. "I understand," says 83-year-old Bullitta, a retired surveyor from Sassari, "that they didn't respect the 10-meter distance from the window wall, and that there will be problems with the emergency exits."
“They will then paint the walls orange,” continues Senes, a former employee of Palazzo Rosa and originally from Cossoine, “transforming the house into an oven in the summer.”
The couple no longer have any secrets about the construction site, just look out from their balcony. "We've seen water leaks for months. There's a spring below, and the problem will recur. Abbanoa is a different story." The forecasts are grim for future parking and traffic management, which will need to be reconsidered if, as the city administration hopes, thousands of spectators arrive. But we're still a long way from that goal, as it's uncertain whether the construction site will be completed by December 2026, the deadline on the schedule.
Meanwhile, Tonino and Giovanna have little hope of ever seeing the sun again, having seen it through their window for 50 years. "They told us it's a public project and there's nothing we can do about it." Tonino is actually considering filing a complaint with the prosecutor's office to stop everything . Meanwhile, they recall what they consider an insult, on top of the damage. "A technician came to tell us the house will increase in value this way. But who would buy a prison?"