The small square in front of the San Donato school, in Sassari’s historic centre, was named after Giulia Cecchettin on Monday, September 28, at a ceremony attended by pupils and Mayor Giuseppe Mascia. The initiative pays tribute to the young woman murdered in 2023 by her former boyfriend, Filippo Turetta, and is part of the school’s ongoing programme on legality.
Dozens of children attended the event. School principal Patrizia Mercuri, who is also the city councillor for Heritage Enhancement, Housing Policies, Civic Services and Contracts, explained that the pupils had been moved by Cecchettin’s story. The small square is also known as “Piazza della Legalità” (Legality Square), a theme at the heart of several school projects.
The proposal to name the square came from Roberto Demuro, a now-retired local police officer, and was supported by Mercuri. At the ceremony, the mayor thanked the people who live in the neighbourhood and work to make the historic centre a different place. Mascia then took part in painting a little red shoe on the wall opposite the school.
A new painting is planned alongside an existing mural, dedicated to female figures from Sardinian tradition, including cogas and janas, with the Mother Goddess at its centre. The square had been renovated as part of a project costing 1.5 million euros, funded by PNRR funds and completed in the preceding months. The September ceremony therefore marks the naming of the small square, not the inauguration of the renovation works, which took place on August 5.
The project, launched by the previous administration and completed with some changes by the current one, renewed the public space with trachyte and cobblestone paving, benches, bicycle racks and parking bays. The work was carried out alongside the installation of underground water and sewer services and the gas network. For more on the transformation of the space, read the report on the renovation of Piazza San Donato.
The school also received donations of pens, water, stationery and soap from the Muslim and Chinese communities. Ashraf and Buba, representatives of the communities, said they wanted to support the school and considered the neighbourhood their home. Turetta was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2024 for Cecchettin’s murder.