Tula, Church of Santa Maria di Coros

Tula is located in a geographically significant area, between the peaks of Mount Sassu and the banks of the artificial lake fed by the Coghinas River. The territory is rich in archaeological documentation that dates back to prehistoric times. In the Middle Ages, the church of Santa Maria di Coros was annexed to a Camaldolese monastery, whose ruins could be found until the end of the 19th century.
The first documentary mention of the title “sancte Marie di Tula” dates back to 1175, as a dependency of the Vallombrosan abbey of San Michele di Plaiano. The construction of the church can therefore take place around the middle of the 12th century.
The floor plan has a single aisle, with an S/E apse and a wooden roof. The original wall covering has been removed in its entirety and replaced during recent restorations, sparing only the lowest rows of the apse, in volcanic stone ashlars.
Large corner protectors insert the elevations, punctuated by pilasters and concluded by arches. In the center of the façade, the arched portal opens with a raised corner of the drain. The light enters the room through single-light windows open in the sides and in the apse, as well as through a cruciform opening in the façade.

History of studies
Studies on the church of Santa Maria di Coros began with the entry “Tula” (1853) by Vittorio Angius in the Casalis “Dictionary”. After more than a century, there is the monograph by Ginevra Zanetti (1968), followed by the article by Giuseppe Della Maria (1974); in 1981 it was the contribution of Aldo Sari, followed by a brief summary by Roberto Coroneo in the volume on Romanesque architecture in Sardinia (1993).

Bibliography
V. Angius, “Tula”, in G. Casalis, Historical, Statistical and Commercial Geographical Dictionary of the States by H.M. the King of Sardinia, XXIII, Turin, G. Maspero, 1853, p. 365; G. Zanetti, The Vallombrosani in Sardinia, Sassari, 1968, p. 45;
G. Della Maria, “An Unknown Romanesque Church”, in Tutto Quotidiano, September 10, 1974, pp. 4-5;
A. Sari, “New architectural testimonies for the knowledge of the Middle Ages in Sardinia”, in Archivio Storico Sardinian, XXXII, 1981, p. 95;
R. Coroneo, Romanesque architecture from the mid-thousand to the early 1300s. Nuoro, Ilisso, 1993, sheet 50;
R. Coroneo, Romanesque Churches of Sardinia. Tourist-cultural itineraries, Cagliari, AV, 2005, p. 53.