Siligo, Church of Sant'Elia di Monte Santo

Siligo is located in Logudoro, in the territory bathed by the Riu Mannu. The area is rich in archaeological documentation that dates back to prehistoric times. The church of Sant'Elia was the seat of a Benedictine hermitage. It is located on the plateau at the top of Monte Santo, a few kilometers from the town and reachable with difficulty even today.
The church of Sant'Elia di Monte Santo was donated to the Benedictine abbey of Montecassino together with the church of Santa Maria di Bubalis in 1065, by Judge Torchitorio-Barisone I of Lacon-Gunale di Torres.
The plan has two naves, turned in barrels but built at different times. The original single-aisled classroom system was in fact enlarged, demolishing one side and building in its place the dividing septum with arches on pillars. The first construction phase corresponds to the N-aisle and can date back to the end of the 11th century. The two-tone extension, on the other hand, can be attributed to the second half of the 12th century.
In the façade, altered by subsequent interventions, the portal opens, which gives access to the S aisle, and a cruciform window at the head of the northern aisle. From a nineteenth-century drawing, we can deduce the existence of the two apses, now collapsed: the S one was made of bichrome work, the N one was lower and together with the N side it had monochrome vestments. The bichromia can also be found in the arches between the two naves.

History of studies
Studies on the church of Sant'Elia include the citation in the entries “Sassari” (1849) and “Siligo” (1850), edited by Vittorio Angius for the Casalis “Dictionary”; a few years later was the article by Giovanni Spano (1857). In 1927, the article by Agostino Saba was placed, while the most recent is the contribution included in Renata Serra's volume on Romanesque Sardinia. Finally, the profile of Roberto Coroneo (1993) should be noted.

Bibliography
V. Angius, “Sassari”, in G. Casalis, Historical-Statistical-Commercial Geographical Dictionary of the States by H.M. the King of Sardinia, XVIII, Turin, G. Maspero, 1849, p. 321;
V. Angius, “Siligo”, in G. Casalis, Historical and Statistical Geographical Dictionary of the States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia, XX, Turin, G. Maspero, 1850, pp. 144-145; G. Spano, “Cenobium of Sant'Elia di Monte Santo”, in the Sardinian Archaeological Bulletin, III, 1857, pp. 161-167;
A. Saba, Montecassino and the Medieval Sardinia. Historical notes and Sardinian Cassinese diplomatic code, Montecassino, 1927, pp. 21-23;
R. Serra, Sardinia, series “Romanesque Italy”, Milan, Jaca Book, 1989, pp. 402-403; R. Coroneo, Romanesque Architecture from the mid-1000 to the early '300. Nuoro, Ilisso, 1993, sheet 32;
R. Coroneo, Romanesque Churches of Sardinia. Tourist-cultural itineraries, Cagliari, AV, 2005, p. 39.

How to get there
You can reach Siligo from SP 41, about 30 km from Sassari. To reach the church of Sant'Elia, it is necessary to climb the terminal part of Monte Santo on foot, to the plateau that occupies its top.