At about 10 km from Castelsardo, at the edge of the village of Tergu, lies one of the most famous monuments of Sardinian Middle Age: the basilica of Santa Maria.

Built in Romanic-Pisan style, it was the main Abbey Church of the monastery (of which there are few traces of structures and foundations) of the Benedictines of Monte Cassino in Sardinia. The existence of the church is attested from 1122, but its construction is probably a few decades earlier (last quarter of the eleventh century).

Built originally with a single nave with a semicircular apse and roof with wooden trusses, the church underwent various additions and alterations: two side chapels were open during the Aragonese period (1323/1718) almost forming a transept, the apse was changed and a sacristy built. An interior simple and stark is in contrast to the exterior with a strong scenografic impact. The church is built in red trachyte, with bloody, warm shades which contrast with the bright green of the surrounding fields. The facade follows a compositional scheme that divides it into two orders: the first with arched and the second with false loggias. The ornamental decorations, made using white limestone, consist of blind arches, capitals with acanthus leaves, a rosette quatrefoil and four columns, two of which, the outer, have an unusual zigzag pattern.

The beautiful church, austere and elegant at the same time, receives the morning of Monday after Palm Sunday the historic procession of Lunissanti.

Getting there

Leave the marina of Castelsardo; take SS 200 towards Lu Bagnu. Pass through the village and turn in Via Sardegna. Continue on SP15 towards Tergu for about 6 km. Once in Tergu go straight onto the Avenue of the Benedictines for 2 Km.