Santa Maria del Regno, Ardara, Italy

Santa Maria del Regno church, together with the annexed castle of which ruins remain today, was built in the 11th century by Giorgia, daughter of the Giudice of Torres, as a Palace Chapel. The church is mentioned in the Libellus Judicum Turritanorum of the 13th century.

The church was built in dark basalt stone by Pisan workers (the island in the Middle Ages was under strong influence from the maritime Republic of Pisa). The façade is divided into five sectors and has a salient-shaped façade. In the middle is the portal, surmounted by a double mullioned window. The whole exterior of the edifice is characterized by false columns (lesenes) and Lombard bands; on the right are the remains of the square bell tower, which is missing the upper part.

The interior, on a rectangular plan, has a nave and two aisles divided by columns whose capitals have flower motifs. The nave has a wooden trusses ceiling, while the aisles are groin vaulted. In the semi-circular apse is the large retablo, the largest 16th-century polyptych in Sardinia, located behind the high altar. The table portrays several prophets and saints, as well as episodes in the life of the Virgin Mary. In the middle, within a niche, is the wooden statue of Nostra Signora del Regno, a 'Madonna with Child' wearing royal symbols. The polyptych is dated 1515.

The church's columns have 17th-century paintings with Apostles and other Saints, while also present is a lesser retablo from the same school, a carved wooden pulpit and an epigraph celebrating the consecration of the church on May 7, 1107.

Religious sites in Italy

User Reviews

Marialuisa Basoli (3 years ago)
Beeello

Fabio Fontana (4 years ago)
When you get close to this church it seems to enter another world, almost like in a book by Umberto Eco. The outside is gorgeous. Unfortunately, it was not possible to visit the interior because it opens on Tuesdays. (I went on Monday). Anyway it is worth going there

AGB (5 years ago)
Romanesque church of the eleventh century. The plan is longitudinal and has 3 naves and 9 spans. The central nave is subtended by an exposed wooden truss, the 2 side aisles by cross vaults. The facade has salient features and has countless Romanesque testimonies including a mullioned window, a blind arch and 4 pilasters. From the side it is possible to see the cleristorio and the single lancet windows. The apse is single and majestically overlooks the valley.

pts pts (5 years ago)
Sadly, not open. Beautiful place with very nice pictures.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Infomastern

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Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.

Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.

There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.

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