Villacidro, Former Oratory of the Rosary

The former Rosary Oratory, now used as a parish museum, overlooks Piazza Santa Barbara, in the center of the town, in front of the parish church, dedicated to the Saint herself, and the Oratory of the Souls of Purgatory.
It was originally the seat of the homonymous brotherhood, probably established at the beginning of the 17th century (its oldest accounting register dates back to 1634) and disbanded a few decades ago.
The first structure of the building, presumably contemporary with the establishment of the association, had a single nave and a façade with a flat and crenellated terminal, according to the scheme, deriving from the contemporary civil architecture, which characterizes the Gothic-Catalan religious buildings of southern Sardinia.
On the façade there was a loggia, bordered by columns and covered with trusses, which has been known since 1680-87, when maintenance work was carried out there. Today, the perimeter walls and the flat end of the façade remain of it, devoid, however, of the original battlements.
In 1740, expansion work began, characterized by a now baroque architectural taste: the ancient presbytery was demolished and the current one was built, connected to the hall through the apsidal arch. It continued until 1754, when the roof of the nave and the roof above were redone in tiles, a sailing bell tower was raised, then equipped with a new bell and a cross and, at the entrance, two juniper portals were mounted.
The solemn inauguration took place in April 1754.
The oratory thus acquired its current forms: a barrel-vaulted nave punctuated by two sub-arches enclosing a molded frame that runs continuously up to the imposition of the arch that enters the presbyterial chapel; the latter, with a square plan, is surmounted by a dome, set on an octagonal drum and concluded by a lantern, deriving from that of the cathedral of Cagliari, erected during the restoration and expansion work begun in 1669 and concluded in 1674.
In 1779, the entrance porch was restored, which was also equipped with a wrought iron gate.
In 1804, the sacristy was expanded to its current size.
The loggia, enlarged between 1819 and 1820, was practically rebuilt after the serious damage caused by the snowfall of 1956; part of its columns are now preserved in the museum, where statues, silver, canvases and votive paintings made between the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 19th century are also kept.

History of studies
News related to the Oratory of the Rosary can be found in numerous publications on Villacidro.

Bibliography
I. Farci, “The former Oratory of the Rosary”, in the Santa Barbara Museum. Villacidro between architecture and sacred furnishings, edited by A. Piras, Santa Barbara Parish editions - Villacidro, 2000.

How to get there
The town of Villacidro is about 80 km from Cagliari; it can be reached along the Carlo Felice (SS 131) to the Serrenti junction, then turn to Samassi and continue for about 30 km.