The Basilica di Sant'Antioco of Bisarcio is a countryside church near Chilivani, a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

''of

Ozieri Ozieri ( sc, Otieri) is a town and ''comune'' of approximatively 11,000 inhabitants in the province of Sassari, northern Sardinia (Italy), in the Logudoro historical region. Its cathedral of the Immacolata is the episcopal see of the Roman Cath ...

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 re ...

. Located on an isolated volcanic hill, it is one of the largest Romanesque churches in Sardinia. A Catholic diocese with seat in ''Bisarcium'', in what was then the

giudicato of Torres The Judicate of Logudoro or Torres ( sc, Judicadu de Logudoro or ''Torres'', ''Rennu de Logudoro'' or ''Logu de Torres'') was a state in northwest Sardinia from the tenth through the thirteenth century. Its original capital was Porto Torres. The r ...

(one of the four independent quasi-kingdoms in which Sardinia was divided) or ''Guisarchium'' is documented from 1065 to 1503, when it was annexed to that of

Alghero Alghero (; ca, label= Alguerese, L'Alguer ; sc, S'Alighèra ; sdc, L'Aliera ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northwestern Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ...

. A first

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

was built here in the late 11th century, but was later damaged by a fire, so that a document from 1139 suggests that the bishop had moved his seat to Ardara. The new cathedral was finished in 1174, when the two storey portico on the façade was completed. Today scanty remains of the medieval village of Bisarcio remain. Ozieri - Basilica di Sant'Antioco di Bisarcio (23)

Ozieri - Basilica di Sant'Antioco di Bisarcio (23)

Overview

The church shows clear influences from the workers who were called to build it, and which belonged to the Lombard and Pisane schools. The portico, inspired by French models, has a lower storey with three rounded arcades, two of which included

mullioned window A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

(the left one closed). The middle arcade leads to the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

, which has six

groin vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: L ...

s supported by cruciform

pier image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...

s. On the narthex' right side is a staircase leading to the upper floor with three rooms, the central of which, provided with an altar, was the private chapel of the bishops of Bisarcio. Behind the altar is a mullioned window opening towards the interior of the cathedral, sided by two decorative lozenges which can be seen also on the exterior walls of the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

, and are typical of the Pisane Romanesque style. The right room houses instead a characteristic

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

-shaped fireplace. From the narthex is also accessible the true interior of the church, which has a nave and two aisles divided by columns, with a semicircular apse. The nave is covered by wooden

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

es, while the aisles are groin-vaulted. Light is provided by narrow single mullioned windows, six in each side plus another in the apse and two at the end of the aisles. On the southern side is a bell tower, whose upper part is missing after crumbling down in an unknown date. It has a square plan and is decorated by false columns and

Lombard band A Lombard band is a decorative blind arcade, usually located on the exterior of building. It was frequently used during the Romanesque and Gothic periods of Western architecture. It resembles a frieze of arches. Lombard bands are believed to ha ...

s, which are also present on the church's external sides and apse.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Antioco di Bisarcio 11th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Antioco di Bisarcio Romanesque architecture in Sardinia