Luogosanto, Castello di Balaiana

The ruins of the castle rise on an outcrop of granite rocks, covered with Mediterranean scrub. A few meters from the military facilities is the church of San Leonardo, which gave the name to the hill. The castle is called Balaiana after the name of the Balari, one of the native populations that inhabited Sardinia, presumably Gallura, before the Roman conquest.
The castle of Balaiana, fascinating because of its picturesque insertion into the landscape, is among the oldest surviving island fortifications. We have his news in the “Condaghe di Santa Maria di Bonarcado”, where around 1130 there was a dispute between the ruler of Gallura Costantino and the sons of his predecessor, precisely because of the possession of the fortified building.
The remains of a rectangular room and a tower are identified, enclosed by the remains of a wall that was supposed to enclose and defend the fortification. Nothing can be deduced about the environments inside the walls, destroyed by collapses and landslides. The church of San Leonardo was supposed to serve as a palatine chapel.
The peculiarity of the castle of San Leonardo lies in the construction technique, entirely in granite, implemented by means of a series of joints that are independent of mortar or lime. The walls are double-curtained, made with rows of square ashlars both internally and externally, filled with minute stone without any type of binder. The corners are reinforced by large blocks shaped ad hoc.

History of studies
For the history of Luogosanto, reference can be made to some studies, including that of Antonio Murineddu, in 1962, and the most recent one by Mario Scampuddu, in 1996. For the castle, refer to the contribution in Foiso Fois's volume “Castles of Medieval Sardinia”, from 1992.

Bibliography
V. Angius, “Gallura”, in G. Casalis, Historical, Statistical and Commercial Geographical Dictionary of the States by H.M. the King of Sardinia, VII, Turin, G. Maspero, 1840, pp. 41-196;
Gallura: historical, geographical and economic aspects, edited by A. Murineddu, Cagliari, 1962, pp. 244-252; F. Fois, Castles of Medieval Sardinia, edited by B. Fois, Cinisello Balsamo, Amilcare Pizzi, 1992, pp. 188-189; R. Coroneo, Romanesque Architecture, edited by B. Fois, Cinisello Balsamo, Amilcare Pizzi, 1992, pp. 188-189; R. Coroneo, Romanesque Architecture, by
F. Fois, Castles of Medieval Sardinia, edited by B. Fois, Cinisello Balsamo, Amilcare Pizzi, 1992, pp. 188-189; R. Coroneo, Romanesque Architecture, From the middle of the thousand to the early '300
, Nuoro, Ilisso, 1993, p. 160;
M. Scampuddu, Countries of Gallura: Luogosanto: History and Images, Sassari, 1996;
G. Serreli, All the Castles of the Four Kingdoms, “Darwin. Notebooks”, n. 1 (July-August 2006), pp. 104-109.

How to get there
To reach Luogosanto, take the SS 133 from Tempio Pausania towards Palau. At km 22 there is the junction for the town, reachable after a few kilometers. As soon as you pass the town, you find the San Leonardo hill, on top of which stands the homonymous castle or Balaiana.