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The church of Sant'Agostino is located on the eastern border of the historic district of Marina or Lapola.
The church of Sant'Agostino Nuovo contributed to the introduction of the new classical aesthetic in Sardinia.
In 1576, during the renovation work of the city walls of the city of Cagliari wanted by Philip II, the ancient church of Sant'Agostino, built in Catalan Gothic forms at the beginning of the 15th century, was destroyed. The sovereign promptly financed the construction of a new building dedicated to the Saint, whose project was entrusted to the same engineers who were then in charge of the fortifications, the Ticino brothers Jacopo and Giorgio Palearo Fratino. It is not known precisely which of the two materially drew up the project, but it is possible that it was Jacopo, who was present in Cagliari in 1576; his brother Giorgio, on the other hand, would have directed the work, which began in 1577 and ended in 1580, being in Sardinia until 1578. Precisely his departure from the island before the works were completed can provide an explanation for the presence in the architectural party of some inconsistencies with respect to the classicistic code that characterizes it.
The building, in accordance with the artistic policy of Philip II, appears to be based, in its completeness, on the spatial and decorative modes of the Italian Renaissance.
The implant is shaped like an imperfect Greek cross, for one arm being slightly longer than the others. These are all the same width and are covered by a barrel vault reinforced by transverse arches; at their intersection there is a hemispherical dome connected to the cubic compartment below by means of conical plumes. Along the curtain of the vault, around the entire perimeter, there is a protruding frame decorated at the bottom with a theory of denticles, a motif that also returns to the circumference on which the dome is placed. The back façade is adorned with the choir supported by a low Gothic-Catalan arch.
The classicistic repertoire appears in all the ornamental apparatus, in the shelves, in the niches set in newsstands with a tympanum supported by smooth pilasters and especially in the roof of the presbytery, entirely decorated in boxes with rosettes of various shapes, whose scheme refers to the cassette perspective built by Bramante in the choir of Santa Maria presso San Satiro in Milan in about 1482.
There are some inconsistencies compared to the Renaissance forms, in the heaviness of the decorative parties, in the lowered arch of the choir and in the hemispherical dome, which recalls that of the Basilica of Saint Saturn in Cagliari: it is possible that, in addition to the execution, the design of these elements was also due to local workers.
Bibliography
G. Spano, Guide to the city and surroundings of Cagliari, Cagliari, Timon, 1861;
R. Salinas, “The architecture of the Renaissance in Sardinia. The first examples”, in Studi Sardi, XIV-XV, 1955-57, part II, pp. 355-375;
C. Maltese, Art in Sardinia from V to XVIII, Rome, 1962;
C. Maltese, “The architecture of the sixteenth century in Sardinia and the artistic policy of Philip II”, in Proceedings of the XIII Congress on the History of Architecture. Sardinia, I, Rome, 1966, pp. 271-277;
C. Maltese-R. Serra, “Episodes of an Anti-Classical Civilization”, in Sardinia, Venice, 1969, pp. 177-408;
V. Mossa, From Gothic to Baroque in Sardinia, Sassari, 1982;
M. Pintus, “Architecture”, in Cagliari Historical Districts. Marina, Cinisello Balsamo, Amilcare Pizzi, 1989, pp. 93-170;
A. Sari, “The Architecture of the Sixteenth Century”, in Sardinian society in the Spanish Age, edited by F. Manconi, I, Quart, 1992, pp. 74-89; F. Segni Pulvirenti - A. Sari, Late Gothic and Renaissance-influenced architecture. Nuoro, Ilisso, 1994, sheet 57;
M. Dadea-S. Mereu-M.A. Serra, Archdiocese of Cagliari, series “Churches and sacred art in Sardinia”, Sestu, Zonza, 2000.
Content type:
Religious architecture
Province: Cagliari
Common: Cagliari
Macro Territorial Area: South Sardinia
POSTAL CODE: 09124
Address: via Lodovico Baylle, s.n.c.
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Cagliari, Chiesa di Sant'Agostino Nuovo Images number: 1
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