Ploaghe, Church of San Michele di Salvenero

The rural site, now affected by industrial plants, corresponds to the village of Salvénero, abandoned at the end of the 18th century. The church is not far from that of Sant'Antonio Abate. The “Condaghe di San Michele di Salvenor” (12th-13th century) refers to his possessions in medieval times.
The church of San Michele di Salvenero, significant for its size and significance in the Sardinian Romanesque landscape, was unfortunately altered in the restorations of the early twentieth century.
The first documentary mention dates back to 1138, when the title 'blessed Michaelis de Salvenero' corresponds to an abbey dependent on the Benedictine monks of Vallombrosa. In the church, in limestone and volcanic stone, two construction phases can be identified.
The first phase is characterized by a technique typical of Sardinian buildings between the end of the eleventh and the beginning of the twelfth century, with the use of small and medium-sized limestone cantons in the apses, on the façade and on the sides. The second phase is fully evident in the sacristy, with rows of calcareous ashlars regularly alternating with rows of volcanic stone ashlars. The workers who worked in nearby Sant'Antonio di Salvenero worked at this factory, in the first quarter of the 13th century.
The church has a “commission” cross plan, with a single-aisle room and a transept with three apses in S/E. The nave has a wooden roof, while the arms of the transept are turned like a cross, with the N/E one connected to the sacristy.
The façade has sturdy corner pilasters and is divided into three mirrors, with an oculus in line with the portal and a cruciform light. As can be seen from the archive photos, the apses were rebuilt without reinserting the cantons with housing for the ceramic basins.

History of studies
The church is mentioned by Vittorio Angius (1847), but the first historical and artistic studies are by Dionigi Scano (1907) and Raffaello Delogu (1953). Marina Righetti Tosti Croce (1987) and Renata Serra (1989) took care of it. The most up-to-date contribution is by Roberto Coroneo (1993).

Bibliography
V. Angius, entry “Ploaghe”, in Goffredo Casalis, Historical and Statistical Geographical Dictionary of the States by H.M. the King of Sardinia, XV, Turin, G. Maspero, 1847, pp. 452, 456-457;
D. Scano, History of Art in Sardinia from the 11th to the 14th Century, Cagliari-Sassari, Montorsi, 1907, pp. 221-226; R. Delogu, The Architecture of the Middle Ages in Sardinia, Rome, The State Library, 1953, pp. 78-80;
M. Righetti Tosti Croce, “Monastic architecture: buildings.
Lines for an Architectural History”, in From the Hermitage to the Cenobio. Monastic civilization in Italy from its origins to the age of Dante, Milan, Scheiwiller, 1987, p. 518;
R. Serra, Sardinia, series “Romanesque Italy”, Milan, Jaca Book, 1989, pp. 394-396;
R. Coroneo, Romanesque Architecture from the mid-thousand to the early 1300s. Nuoro, Ilisso, 1993, sheet 54;
R. Coroneo-R. Serra, Pre-Romanesque and Romanesque Sardinia, series “Italian Artistic Heritage”, Milan, Jaca Book, 2004, pp. 273-274; R. Coroneo, Romanesque Churches of Sardinia.
Cultural tourist itineraries, Cagliari, AV, 2005, pp. 41-42.

How to get
there Take the SS 131 state road from Sassari in the S direction, and then turn after about 16 km in the direction of Florinas. After a few hundred meters you can see the church of San Michele Arcangelo.