Villaputzu, Church of San Nicola di Quirra

Close to the Sarrabus hills, Villaputzu is located in an alluvial stretch of the Flumendosa river. The church of San Nicola is located in the plain of Quirra, near the river of the same name and near the medieval castle of the same name.
The church of San Nicola di Quirra is one of the most original and fascinating architecture in the island's Romanesque landscape. The almost uniqueness of the monument consists of the material with which it is made, the terracotta brick, modeled with clay taken and processed in place, where the remains of the quarry and the kiln used to bake the bricks were found. In Sardinia, only one other Romanesque church, San Gavino di Lorzia (Bono), was built entirely of bricks.
So far, no documentary evidence has been found on the date of installation of San Nicola di Quirra, built a short distance from the homonymous castle, probably in the second half of the 12th or the beginning of the 13th century. Dimensions, plan and elevations were designed on the basis of units of measurement and very precise geometric patterns, including the 'Tuscan cane' and the 'quadrature'.
The church is single-aisle, with an E-shaped apse. The room is covered with a wooden roof on trusses resting on frames decorated with engraved geometric patterns. On each side there are two single-light windows that give light inside; a single-light window opens into the apse, ended externally with a series of arches set on peducci, also decorated with engraved geometric patterns.
A series of arches also run parallel to the slopes of the E-pediment, to continue along the sides of the church to the façade, where seven arches mark the surface horizontally, moved only by the opening of the portal in the center. At the top of the façade, not gable, rises the sailing bell tower with an pointed opening.

History of studies
The history of studies proceeds from the entry 'Chirra' (1839) by Vittorio Angius, in the Casalis' Dictionary '. Salvatore Rattu's work dates back to 1942, accompanied by a complete graphic relief. In 1984, Giorgio Cavallo's article was published, which reconstructs the modular schemes that guided the composition of the prospectuses. Finally, there is the study by Natascia Paschina (2004), which presents an innovative study of the signs engraved in church peducci and their meaning.

Bibliography
V. Angius, “Chirra”, in G. Casalis, Historical and Statistical-Commercial Geographical Dictionary of the States of His Excellency the King of Sardinia, V, Turin, G. Maspero, 1839, pp. 20-25;
S. Rattu, The Church of San Nicola di Quirra in Sardinia, Turin, 1942;
R. Delogu, The Architecture of the Middle Ages in Sardinia, Rome, The State Library, 1953, p. 135; F. Fois, “The Castle of Quirra, Rocca dei Carroz. Contribution to the history of fortifications in Sardinia”, in Studi Sardi, XXIII, 1973-74, part I, pp. 217-227;
G. Cavallo, “New acquisitions on the church of San Niccolò di Quirra”, in Studi Ogliastrini, II, 1984, pp. 51-69;
R. Serra, La Sardegna, series “Romanesque Italy”, Milan, Jaca Book, 1989, pp. 351-352; R. Coroneo, Romanesque architecture from the middle of the thousand to the early '300, Nuoro, Ilisso, 1993, sheet 64;
R. Coroneo, Romanesque architecture from the middle of the thousand to the early 1900s. Serra, Pre-Romanesque and Romanesque Sardinia, series “Italian Artistic Heritage”, Milan, Jaca Book, 2004, pp. 285-286;
N. Paschina, “The squares in the peducci of the church of San Nicola di Quirra”, in Research on medieval sculpture in Sardinia, edited by R. Coroneo, Cagliari, AV, 2004, pp. 107-122; R. Coroneo, Romanesque Churches of Sardinia.
Tourist-cultural itineraries, Cagliari, AV, 2005, p. 100.

How to get there
Villaputzu is located along the SS 125. The church of San Nicola di Quirra is next to the road, a few kilometers from the town.