Sindia, Church of San Pietro

The territory of Planargia is dotted with archaeological sites from the Nuragic era and crossed by numerous watercourses. The church of San Pietro was probably dependent on the Cistercian abbey of Santa Maria di Corte, outside the town of Sindia.
So far, no documentary evidence has been found on the date of the erection of the church of San Pietro, hypothetically traced back to Cistercian workers operating in the abbey of Santa Maria di Corte around the middle of the 12th century.
The building, in dark vulcanite, has a single room, with an apse oriented to N/E and an ogival barrel vault. The façade is essential: in the center, the arched portal surmounted by a raised relief arch opens, while in the upper part a cruciform window opens, also present in the pediment of the apse. The nave also draws light from the single-window apse and from two openings in the S side of the building. The apse ends with a theory of arches on decorated feet, while a carved frame runs through the sides.

History of studies
For the church of San Pietro di Sindia, we start from the entry “Sindia” (1850) by Vittorio Angius, in the Casalis “Dictionary”. A few years later he wrote an article by Giovanni Spano (1864). The historical-artistic analysis proceeds in the twentieth century with the contributions of Raffaello Delogu (1948 and 1953). A more recent study by Giuseppe Masia (1982), followed by Renata Serra (1989), Maria Cristina Cannas and Alma Casula (1990). Finally, the brief summary by Roberto Coroneo (1993) in his volume on Romanesque architecture in Sardinia is worth mentioning.

Bibliography
V. Angius, “Sindia”, in G. Casalis, Historical-Statistical-Commercial Geographical Dictionary of the States by H.M. the King of Sardinia, XX, Turin, G. Maspero, 1850, p. 180;
G. Spano, “Sindia, and Santa Maria di Corte, or Cabu Abbas”, in Sardinian Archaeological Bulletin, X, 1864, pp. 43-47; R. Delogu, “Cistercian Architectures of Sardinia”, in Sardinian Studies, VIII, 1948, pp. 113-114; R. Delogu, “Cistercian Architectures of Sardinia”, in Sardinian Studies, VIII, 1948, pp. 113-114; R. Delogu, “Cistercian Architectures of Sardinia”, in Sardinian Studies, VIII, 1948, pp. 113-114; R. Delogu, “Cistercian Architectures of Sardinia”, in Sardinian Studies, VIII, 1948, pp. 113-114;
R. Delogu, “Cistercian Architectures of Sardinia”, in Sardinian Studies, VIII, 1948, pp. 113-114 The architecture of the Middle Ages in Sardinia, Rome, The State Library, 1953, p. 140;
G. Masia, The Abbey of Cabuabbas di Sindia (1149) and its spiritual and social influence in the 12th and 13th centuries, Sassari, Sassari, Sassari Artisan Typography, 1982, pp. 87-89;
R. Serra, Sardinia, series “Romanesque Italy”, Milan, Jaca Book, 1989, p. 417; M.C. Cannas, “Sculptural decorations in the Cistercian churches of Sardinia”, in The Cistercians in Sardinia. Aspects and problems of a Benedictine monastic Order in medieval Sardinia, edited by G. Spiga, Nuoro, Provincial Administration of Nuoro, 1990, pp. 250-254;
A. Casula, “Testimonies of Cistercian Architecture in Northern Sardinia”, in The Cistercians in Sardinia. Aspects and problems of a Benedictine monastic Order in medieval Sardinia, edited by G. Spiga, Nuoro, Provincial Administration of Nuoro, 1990, pp. 226-227;
R. Coroneo, Romanesque Architecture from the Mid Thousand to the Early '300, Nuoro, Ilisso, 1993, sheet 57; R. Coroneo, Romanesque Churches of Sardinia. Tourist-cultural itineraries, Cagliari, AV, 2005, p. 57.