Olmedo, Church of Our Lady of Talia

Immersed in the heart of Nurra, the town of Olmedo is spread over a calcareous and volcanic area, rich in archaeological evidence. The church of Our Lady of Talia is located a short distance from the parish church. The title is due to a simulacrum found in the countryside of Olmedo, at the archaeological site of Talia, named after the “Madonna of Italy”. Equally used is the name of Santa Maria di Ulumetu or Olmeto, from the ancient toponym.
The church of Our Lady of Talia fascinates because of the archaic appearance of its forms linked to the architectural simplicity of the first Romanesque island.
Built in limestone and volcanic stone, it dates back to the first half of the 12th century. The lower walls of the church are in little worked corners, which are transformed into perfectly squared ashlars in the upper part, perhaps the result of an ancient reconstruction.
The plant is triched. The side aisles are barrel-vaulted with a raised corner, while the median aisle has a wooden roof. The space, very small, is punctuated by arches on columns that reach the raised presbytery, preceded by two square-shaped pillars and on the sides of which two semi-columns are embedded. The capitals on which the arches rest are cubic with rounded corners.
The façade is essential: in the center, the arched portal opens with a round drain arch; along the heads of the aisles as well as along the sloping sides, there is a series of arches that also continues on the sides of the church. The central part of the façade is made more solid by sturdy corner pilasters and is completed by a cruciform opening and some ashlars with housing for ceramic basins. Some single-light windows open in the sides, as in the apse, whose surface is divided by pilasters connected by arches that rest on legs.

History of studies
Studies concerning the Church of the Madonna begin with the entry 'Olmedo' by Vittorio Angius, contained in the 'Dictionary' by Goffredo Casalis (1845). It takes a leap of almost a century to identify subsequent ones, including two contributions by Aldo Sari (1977, 1981) and the card in Renata Serra's volume on Romanesque Sardinia (1989). Finally, the fact sheet in Roberto Coroneo's volume on Romanesque architecture in Sardinia dates back to 1993.

Bibliography
V. Angius, “Olmedo”, in G. Casalis, Historical, Statistical and Commercial Geographical Dictionary of the States by H.M. the King of Sardinia, XIII, Turin, G. Maspero, 1845, pp. 91-93;
A. Sari, “The Romanesque Church of Our Lady of Talia in Olmedo (Sassari)”, in Sardinian Studies, XXIV, 1975-77, pp. 241-250;
A. Sari, “New architectural evidence for the knowledge of the Middle Ages in Sardinia”, in Sardinian Historical Archives, XXXII, 1981, 1981 pp. 65-116; R. Serra, Sardinia, series” Romanesque Italy”, Milan, Jaca Book, 1989, pp. 404-405;
R. Coroneo, Romanesque architecture from the mid-thousand to the early 1300s. Nuoro, Ilisso, 1993, sheet 77;
R. Coroneo-R. Serra, Pre-Romanesque and Romanesque Sardinia, series “Italian Artistic Heritage”, Milan, 2004, pp. 266-268;
R. Coroneo, Romanesque Churches of Sardinia. Tourist-cultural itineraries, Cagliari, AV, 2005, p. 29.

Tag

Structure category: Monument or Monumental Complex

Content type: Religious architecture

Usability: unmanaged site

Province: Sassari

Common: Olmedo

Macro Territorial Area: Northern Sardinia

POSTAL CODE: 07040

Address: piazza Giovanni XXIII, s.n.c.

Telephone: +39 079 901900 +39 079 9019017

E-mail: areasocioculturale@comune.olmedo.ss.it

Website: www.comune.olmedo.ss.it

Information on tickets and access: The facility is temporarily closed and unmanaged; it is currently not possible to indicate a probable date of the facility's reopening to the public. Exteriors that can be visited freely.

Update

11/12/2023 - 09:33

Where is it

Olmedo, Chiesa della Madonna di Talia Images number: 2