Santa Maria is a medieval church 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

Uta, Sardinia Uta, Uda in Sardinian language, is a ''comune'' (municipality) of the Cagliari metropolitan area in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northwest of Cagliari. The main attraction is the Romanesque c ...

, Italy. The exact date of construction is unknown, although it is generally assigned to the mid-12th century by monks from the Abbey of St. Victor in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, perhaps on the ruins of a pre-existing structure. It is an example of Provençal and Tuscan Romanesque styles' influence on the local medieval architecture (at the time the area was under the rule of the

Republic of Pisa The Republic of Pisa ( it, Repubblica di Pisa) was an independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa, which existed from the 11th to the 15th century. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated ...

The oldest known mention of the church is in a 1363 document, by which king

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV, ; an, Pero, ; es, Pedro, . In Catalan, he may also be nicknamed ''el del punyalet'': "he of the little dagger". (Catalan: ''Pere IV''; 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''el Cerimoniós''), w ...

switched it from the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

to the

Order of Sant Jordi d'Alfama Knights of Saint George appear at different historical periods and in different countries as mutually independent bodies having nothing in common but the veneration of Saint George, the patron saint of knighthood. Saint George of Lydda, a martyr o ...

. The edifice was later held by the

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

, who, in the late 16th century, gave it to the

archdiocese of Cagliari The Archdiocese of Cagliari ( la, Archidioecesis Calaritana) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese centred on the city of Cagliari. It holds the Primacy of Sardinia.sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

, with parts in marble and basalt. The walls feature

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s at the corners, and are divided by

lesene A lesene, also called a pilaster strip, is an architectural term for a narrow, low-relief vertical pillar on a wall. It resembles a pilaster, but does not have a base or capital. It is typical in Lombardic and Rijnlandish architectural building s ...

s among which are

Lombard bands 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 ...

(triple in the façade and double at the sides and in the apse area). The Lombard bands are characterized by bases with various sculptures of human and animal figures. The main façade, pointing westwards, has a flat central bell tower and is divided into four levels by frames. The lower part is in turn divided into three sections: the middle one houses the portal, which is surmounted by a rounded arch in two colors and a finely sculpted motif in the frame. The upper section has a small double mullioned window. The church has a nave and two aisles with wooden ceilings, separated by round arches; these are supported by columns from older Roman edifices. The capitals are instead contemporary of the church, aside from two (including one acting as

holy water font A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing holy water which is generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is often placed at the base of a crucifix or religious representation. It is used in the Catholic Church, Anglican Churches ...

). The presbytery is elevated and accessed by two steps. Under the

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...

are two sculpted lions, which were originally placed at the sides of the façade. The presbytery ends in a semicircular apse. Light is provided by two double

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 ...

s in the eastern and western walls and by single mullioned windows in the main walls and the apse.

Sources

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External links

Official website
{{coord, 39.2863, 8.9699, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Romanesque architecture in Sardinia Maria Uta 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy