The Church
At the heart of the village is the church of Santa Croce, now showing the subsequent changes made throughout the different ages. The edifice still keeps traces of the original Romanesque construction on the façade and the nearby wall portions. The territory to the south of Sassari presents a series of minor monuments, yet inserted in a varied landscape alternating green hills to large blocks of sedimentary rock.
Description »
Built in the 13th century as a single-nave hall, the church was originally dedicated to the Virgin, then to the Holy Cross by virtue of the homonymous brotherhood charged with its conservation. Now it appears modified by a number of side chapels, a sacristy and a bell tower, built in a post-medieval age. The presbyterial area is marked by vertical soaring lines. Referring to the construction phase are the noteworthy lancet arches on the façade and in the adjacent wall face parts, resting on small corbels decorated with geometrical patterns. The portal on the façade does not refer to the earliest construction phase, while the single-light opening on the right side is Romanesque.
History »
The title of Sancta Maria d’Usune is mentioned in the Condaghe di San Pietro di Silki. On the contrary, no documents report the church construction, attributed to the second half of the 13th century and the first quarter of the following one, based on a formal analysis.
Bibliography »
Roberto Coroneo, Architettura romanica dalla metà del mille al primo ‘300, Nuoro, 1993. Roberto Coroneo, Renata Serra, Sardegna preromanica e romanica, collana “Patrimonio artistico italiano”, Milano, 2004.Roberto Coroneo, Chiese romaniche della Sardegna. Itinerari turistico-culturali, Cagliari, 2005.
Location
Hanging arch
Main body
Apse
Nave/Aisles
