The Chiesa di San Nicola di Silanis (English: "Churc of San Nicola di Silanis") is a church in a state of ruins in the ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of

Sedini Sedini ( sdc, Séddini) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sassari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about northeast of Sassari. It is part of the Anglona traditional subregion. Sedini borders t ...

, northern

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

History and description

The church was built before 1122, when it is mentioned in a deed of donation in favor of the abbey of Montecassino, by the spouses Furatu de Gitil and Susanna de Zori, whose names appear carved on the facade of the church. Its architecture, influenced by the

Basilica of San Gavino The Basilica di San Gavino (Basilica of Saint Gabinus) is a proto- Romanesque church in Porto Torres, Sardinia, Italy. A former cathedral, it is now a place for the veneration of local martyrs and a parish church. History Turris Libisonis (Lati ...

in Porto Torres presents a synthesis between the First Romanesque and Pisan Romanesque ways: in particular there are several similarities with the cultural environment of

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...

at that time.Renata Serra, ''Sardegna Romanica'', Jaca Book, Milano, 1988, p. 388 This adhesion to that cultural model is also highlighted in the classical taste that emerges in the decorations of the capitals Corinthians on the facade and in the surviving column of the presbytery, and in particular in the

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

where, in the decorations of the frame, appear

Egg-and-dart Egg-and-dart, also known as egg-and-tongue, egg-and-anchor, or egg-and-star, is an ornamental device adorning the fundamental quarter-round, convex ovolo profile of moulding, consisting of alternating details on the face of the ovolo—typicall ...

completely similar to those present in the canopy of the side portal of the church of

Sant'Alessandro, Lucca Sant’Alessandro Maggiore is a Romanesque-style, Roman Catholic parish church in Lucca, region of Tuscany, Italy. History First mentioned in a document dated 893, the layout is that of a Romanesque basilica, with little decoration, giving the ...

Notes

Bibliography

* Frank Pittui, "Fra i ruderi i frammenti di un sogno medievale. Note sulla chiesa di San Nicola di Silanos. Sedini", in ''L'almanacco gallurese'' 2004–2005. * Aldo Sari, ''Un antico priorato cassinese in Anglona: S. Nicola di Solio'', in “L'Anglona. Periodico politico-culturale della Comunità Montana n. 2, Anno IV, n. 1, maggio-giugno 2005. * Frank Pittui, "Note sulle genealogie e la poetica della chiesa di San Nicola di Silanos. Sedini.", in ''Sacer'', 12, 2005 * R. Coroneo, Architettura romanica dalla metà del Mille al primo ‘300, collana “Storia dell'arte in Sardegna”, Nuoro, Ilisso, 1993. * Renata Serra, ''Sardegna Romanica'', Jaca Book, Milano, 1988 ISBN 88-16-60096-9 * Silva R., ''La chiesa di Sant'Alessandro Maggiore in Lucca'', Lucca, 1987 * Raffaello Delogu, ''L'architettura del medioevo in Sardegna'', Roma, 1953 (ristampa anastatica, Sassari, 1992) * I. Pellizzaro, ''La chiesa di San Nicola di Silanos e l'architettura romanica in Sardegna'', Padova, 1936 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicola di Silanis 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Nicola di Silanis Romanesque architecture in Sardinia