Semestene, Church of San Nicola di Trullas

Semestene is in the Campeda plateau, near the Riu sa Puntigia. The fertile and intensely cultivated territory has returned important archaeological documents of human presence since prehistoric times. The church of San Nicola di Trullas or Truddas is located in the open countryside, on the site of a Roman Dominican villa, on which a Camaldolese monastery was built in the Middle Ages.
The church of San Nicola di Trullas is one of the most interesting buildings in the entire Sardinian Romanesque landscape. Added to the purity of its architectural forms is the value of the frescoes from the first decades of the 13th century, which decorate the interior.
It was built by the will of the Athen family before 1113, when it was donated to the Camaldolese, who annexed it to their own monastery. The administration of the latter is known thanks to the papers of the “Condaghe di San Nicola di Trullas” (12th-13th century).
The monowave classroom is divided into two square bays, turned crosswise and separated by an undercrow set up on pilasters.
The façade is divided by a horizontal frame: in the lower part, the architraved portal opens with a raised relief arch, and in the upper part a series of arches on columns creates a false loggia. Each column is surmounted by a peduccio with the function of a capital, decorated with very low engravings or reliefs. Between one arch and the other there are ashlars with housing for ceramic basins.
Arches run along the terminal of the flanks and the apse, punctuated by a median pilaster. On each side, there are two single-light windows, with both smooth and stepped trumpets like those of the apse.

History of studies
The history of studies concerning Saint Nicholas of Trullas is rich in contributions: the entries “Sassari” and “Semestene” (1849) by Vittorio Angius, in the Casalis Dictionary, followed by the news of Dionigi Scano (1907) and Raffaello Delogu (1953). Giovanni Lilliu's article dates back to 1959, while Ginevra Zanetti's monograph on Camaldolese monks in Sardinia (1974) is more recent. The article by Michele Pintus (1976) and the study by Renata Serra in her volume on Romanesque Sardinia (1989) were then published. Roberto Coroneo's summary record (1993) is more recent.

Bibliography
V. Angius, “Sassari”, in G. Casalis, Historical, Statistical and Commercial Geographical Dictionary of the States by H.M. the King of Sardinia, XVIII, Turin, G. Maspero, 1849, p. 323;
V. Angius, “Semestene”, in Goffredo Casalis, Historical and Statistical and Commercial Geographical Dictionary of the States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia, XVIII, Turin, G. Maspero, 1849, pp. 833-834; D. Scano, History of Art in Sardinia from the 11th to the 14th Century, Cagliari, Montorr, 1907, pp. 121-124; R. Delogu, The

architecture of the Middle Ages in Sardinia, Rome, The State Library, 1953, pp. 109-111;
G. Lilliu, “Trulla “cupola” in Sardinia”, in the Sardinian Historical Archive, XXVI, 1959, pp. 509-521;
G. Zanetti, The Camaldolese in Sardinia, Cagliari, Fossataro, 1974, pp. 81-112;
M. Pintus, “The Church of San Nicola di Trullas”, in Proceedings of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Cagliari, 4, 1976, pp. 275-302; R. Serra, La Colle Sardegna, Coll. ana “Romanesque Italy”, Milan, Jaca Book, 1989, pp. 389-
391;
R. Coroneo, Romanesque architecture from the mid-thousand to the early 1300s. Nuoro, Ilisso, 1993, sheet 10;
R. Coroneo-R. Serra, Pre-Romanesque and Romanesque Sardinia, series “Italian Artistic Heritage”, Milan, Jaca Book, 2004, pp. 102-110; R. Coroneo, Romanesque Churches of Sardinia. Tourist-cultural itineraries, Cagliari, AV, 2005, pp. 56-57.

How to get there
Semestene is about 50 km from Sassari. Driving along the SP 8 in the direction of Pozzomaggiore, after 2.5 km you can find the Romanesque church of San Nicola di Trullas on the road.