Siligo, Church of Santa Maria di Mesumundu

The area where Santa Maria di Mesumundu is located is rich in both mineral and thermal waters. The church stands on the ruins of ancient Roman baths from the late imperial age. The Byzantine phase is attested by burials that have returned funeral kits consisting of gold, silver and bronze jewelry. In the 11th-12th century, the place probably hosted a Cassino Benedictine monastery.
The church of Santa Maria di Mesumundu is one of the most fascinating monuments of medieval Sardinian architecture, due to its unique forms and the opus listatum construction technique, which alternates rows of red bricks with courses of small dark-colored basalt stones.
It is identified with that of Santa Maria di Bubalis, donated in 1065 by the Turritan judge Torcotorio Barisone I de Lacon-Gunale to the abbey of Montecassino. However, it was built in the Byzantine era, as evidenced not only by the surrounding burials, but also by the walls with alternating rows of terracotta brick and basalt, and was expanded during the judicial age, as evidenced by the apses in basalt ashlars, with the entrance that falls under the tax line. The discovery of an inscription dated to the 7th century provides an ad Quem term for the plant.
It consists of a central roundabout of considerable height, about 7 m, to which four differently shaped buildings are inserted. The whole takes on a vaguely cruciform shape, with the N/E arm 4 m long, in whose east wall a small apse opens. The N/O arm, of the same length, ends with a parabolic curved wall. At N/E and S/O there are two other apses, the first large in size, the second smaller.
The architectural forms are not the only peculiarity of this church. The use of terracotta bricks has made it possible to create large openings both in the central body and in the S/O apse. Different characters can be seen on the opposite side, relating to the interventions of the eleventh century, where the walls are made of basalt ashlars and limestone, implemented with a so-called “sack” technique. Another inconsistency is represented by the monophora, a narrow slit that is not compatible with the large openings on the S/O side. The apses facing E have an entrance receding on the tax wire.

History of studies
In the second half of the 20th century, the church was the subject of interest by art historians and archaeologists. Raffaello Delogu and Dionigi Scano, Renata Serra and Roberto Coroneo stand out among the first. Among the archaeological contributions, those of Guglielmo Maetzke on the pre-existences of the Roman age and of Roberto Caprara, who ascribed the church to the Byzantine era, stand out. A review of the monument was proposed by Alessandro Teatini (1996).

Bibliography by
D. Scano, History of Art in Sardinia from the 11th to the 14th Century, Cagliari-Sassari, Montorsi, 1907, pp. 217-221;
R. Delogu, The Architecture of the Middle Ages in Sardinia, Rome, The State Library, 1953, pp. 82; G. Maetzke, “Siligo (Sassari).
Remains of a Roman building and late imperial tombs around Santa Maria di Mesumundu”, in News of the Excavations of Antiquity, XIX, 1965, pp. 307-314;
R. Caprara, “Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages”, in The Sanna Museum in Sassari, Cinisello Balsamo, Amilcare Pizzi, 1986, pp. 169-184; R. Caprara, “The Early Medieval Age in the Territory of the Logudoro Meilogu”, in The Santu Antine Nuraghe in the Logudoro Meilogu Ogu, Rome, 1988, pp. 397-432;
R. Serra, Sardinia, series “Romanesque Italy”, Milan, Jaca Book, 1989, pp. 402-403;
R. Coroneo, Romanesque architecture from the mid-thousand to the early 1300s. Nuoro, Ilisso, 1993, sheet 31;
A. Teatini, “Some remarks on the primitive architectural form of the Church of Our Lady of Mesumundu in Siligo (Sassari)”, in Sacer, III, 1996, pp. 119-149; R. Coroneo-R. Serra, Pre-Romanesque and Romanesque Sardinia, series “Italian Artistic Heritage”, Milan, Jaca Book, 2004, pp. 345-347; R. Coroneo, Romanesque Churches of Sardinia. Tourist-cultural itineraries, Cagliari, AV, 2005, pp. 39-40.

How to
get there Leave the SS 131 near the Siligo exit. The church of Santa Maria di Mesumundu is visible from the road, on D. for those coming from S.