Milis, Church of San Sebastiano

The territory of Milis has returned archaeological traces that attest to the continuity of settlement starting from the pre-Nuragic age. In medieval times, Milis was the capital of curatorics. According to tradition, it was the church of Saint Paul that played the role of the first parish church of Milis. The current one, dedicated to San Sebastiano, is located in front of the 18th century palace, which houses an exhibition of ancient weapons and a collection of paintings.
The church of San Sebastiano, the parish church of Milis, was planted perhaps in the Aragonese age and in Gothic-Catalan forms, but it has undergone several important changes over the centuries.
The plant is longitudinal. The façade is characterized by a smooth wall, interrupted only by the three portals and the rose window. The large central portal has an lintel surmounted by a low-slung lunette that does not perform a static function but only decorative, thanks to the molded frame that runs along the base and the semi-curve that is set on the sides of the lintel. The smaller portals on the sides of the main one, almost close to the perimeter walls, are of the simple architraved type and differ from each other only in the size of the light (the left is slightly wider). In the upper part of the façade, in line with the main portal, the large oculus with a diameter close to that of the portal opens. Inside the oculus framed by a trumpeted and molded frame is the rose window, decorated with a geometric ray pattern. Along the top of the façade there is a slender flat frame surmounted in the middle by a simple cross in dark vulcanite that stands out on the plastered and whitewashed façade. The dark color returns to the color of the rose window and its frame.
Inside, the rectangular presbytery has turned like a cross with the strengthening of the ribs that rest on hanging bases decorated with four stylized anthropomorphic figures, perhaps representing the Evangelists. The arch-sharp triumphal arch is set on a wall diaphragm finished with a molding that simulates the profile of a polystyrene pillar, surmounted by a band with a phytomorphic decoration that acts as a capital. The side chapels are covered by a simple umbrelliform vault with pointed arches whose indent is decorated with geometric and floral patterns. The chapels are not all contemporary: the oldest is that of Saint Lucy next to the sacristy, while the dome dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin on the left as you enter dates back to the 19th century. The liturgical furnishings, from the Piedmontese school of the same century, were removed during the last of the numerous restorations that also led to the cancellation of wall paintings of which today only memory remains.

History of studies
The church was studied in recent times by Aldo Pillittu, who reported the changes undergone by the original plant.

Bibliography by
A. Pillittu, Archdiocese of Oristano, series “Churches and Sacred Art in Sardinia”, Cagliari, Zonza, 2003, p. 187.