Cagliari, Church of the Holy Mount of Piety

Located in the ancient district of Castello, the building stands in the space bounded by Via Corte d'Appello, the buildings of the Mauritian Complex and Via Santa Croce, which is connected to the square overlooking the church by stairs.
The church of Santo Monte di Pietà is a fine example of the Plateresco style (fusion of Gothic styles with Renaissance-inspired elements) that developed between the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century. This fusion of languages, resulting from the simultaneous presence of the Catalan tradition and the new influences coming from the Italian Peninsula, is well documented by a large number of architectural (as well as pictorial) works and constitutes a very original artistic moment.
The plan is Gothic-Catalan in inspiration: the single nave consists of two bays separated by a pointed transverse arch and covered with ribbed cross vaults and a pendulous gem. A triumphal arch separates the hall from the presbytery with a square plan with a star vault. Classically inspired are the mutuli that run through the arch embedded in the bottom of the presbytery, the Doric capitals on which the ribs of the vault rest, the choir, later built, attached to the presbytery and covered by an octagonal dome underlined, on the tax, by a frame, following the example of the Rosary Chapel in San Domenico in Cagliari. The right chapel on the right, rectangular and barrel-vaulted, was also of Renaissance design.
The façade, a simple wall, is characterized by a window curved in a semicircle (opened in the 19th century) and an arched portal surmounted by a pointed exhaust arc.
The construction of the building is attributable to a period of time between the seventh and eighth decade of the 16th century. An archival document dated 1571, relating to the completion of the church's altar cap, reveals the advanced state of construction. The chapters of the commission contract also specify that the picapedres Gaspare and Pietro Barrai must build it in the same way as that of the church of Santa Lucia, from 1539, built in the same neighborhood. Both presbyterial rooms, in fact, are covered with a starry vault in liernes and tiercerons with five gemstones decorated in the recess and framed by phytomorphic motifs.
The Fara in his 'De corographia Sardiniae' (1580), remembers the building as: 'templum Pietatis, sodalitium Confraternitatis confalonis dictae'.
In the pages dedicated to the church of Santo Monte di Pietà, Canon Spano, reports 1530 as the date of creation of the homonymous brotherhood, which was confirmed in 1551, the year in which it was joined to the disbanded Archconfraternity of Saint John the Baptist, or of the Mercy of Rome. The brotherhood was responsible for assisting convicts and was the oldest in Cagliari.
In 1822, the church housed the body of Saint Lucifer, found in 1766 in the Roman catacombs of Sant'Agnese. From here it was transported to the church of San Giuseppe in 1866, the year in which the church was transformed and used as the second seat of the Assize Court.
For a long time, the building became the refectory and dormitory of the Little House of Providence, it was even a warehouse for the urban cleaning service as well as, in 1969, the gym of the University Center. Currently, after an excellent restoration, it is a multipurpose center that hosts interesting cultural events.

Bibliography
G. Spano, Guide to the city and surroundings of Cagliari, Cagliari, Timon 1861;
M. Freddi, R. Salinas, The Church of Santa Maria del Monte in Cagliari, in “Technical Bulletin of the Cultural Circle of Sardinian Engineers and Architects”, 1959;
T. K. Kirova, F. Masala, M. Pintus, Cagliari Historic districts: Castello, Silvana Editoriale, Cinisello Balsamo, 1985; F. Segni Pulvirenti, A. Sari, Late Gothic and Renaissance-influenced Architecture, Ilisso, Nuoro 1994;
Mereu, For a History of the Late Gothic in Southern Sardinia: New Acquisitions and Archival Documents, excerpt from “Sardinian Studies” volume XXXI (1994-1998), Edizioni Della Torre, Cagliari, 1999.