Civico Museo Archeologico Ittireddu

The Church of Santa Croce (Holy Cross Church)

Around the church, the Itiri Fustialbu village was built as a result of two construction phases. The first phase, which dates back somewhere between the 6th century A.D. and the 7th century A.D., saw the construction of a building characterised by a Greek-cross plan and a single apse; later, the cross-arm was provided with two recesses.

The transformation into a Latin cross church was achieved by the lengthening of the western arm during the  enlargement of the building (2nd construction phase – approximately 12th century A.D.) and through the lengthening of the nave and the realisation of the simple Romanesque façade.

This addition, besides being easily identifiable in the masonry, was also documented in a different type of foundations, studied during an excavation work in the adjacent cemetery.

The façade, of small dimensions, is characterised by the entrance door with ogival centering supported by dark basalt shaped capitals; dark basalt is used also for the centering and a row of the façade, creating a two-colour definition effect. In line with the portal at the top of the façade rises the belfry.

The interior is characterised by a barrel vault (longitudinal and transverse) and saddleback roofing with plain tiles, replaced later. At the crossing point, instead of a dome, we can observe an elevated element functioning as dome cladding (with a rectangular base).