Chiaramonti, Church of Santa Maria Maddalena

The church is located in the open countryside. In the nineteenth century, it was considered the parish church of the abandoned village of Orria Picinna, annexed to a Benedictine monastery.
The church of Santa Maria Maddalena represents a beautiful example of minor Romanesque architecture, which draws its main source of charm from its organic insertion into the landscape.
The church was built shortly after 1205, when the Turritan noblewoman Maria de Zori donated the title of “sancta Maria de Orria Pithinna” to the Camaldolese abbey of San Salvatore. An ashlar is walled up on the façade with an inscription relating to building work carried out in 1335.
The church has a “commission” cross plan, with a mononave room and an apse in S/E, and was built in two stages, by two different workers, one of whom worked with the technique of bichrome work. The apse and the low walls are made of small limestone and volcanic stones. The façade and the tall walls alternate rows of volcanic stone ashlars with rows of limestone ashlars.

History of studies
The church is mentioned by Pietro Martini (1841) and studied by Ginevra Zanetti in her work on the Camaldolese in Sardinia (1974). The historical-artistic analysis is due to Aldo Sari (1981) and Roberto Coroneo (1993).

Bibliography by
P. Martini, Ecclesiastical History of Sardinia, III, Cagliari, Stamperia Reale, 1841, pp. 419-420;
G. Zanetti, The Camaldolesi in Sardinia, Cagliari, Fossataro, 1974, pp. 113-121;
M. Botteri, Guide to the medieval churches of Sardinia, Sassari, Chiarella, 1978, pp. 44-45;
A. Sari, “New architectural evidence for the knowledge of the Middle Ages in Sardinia”, in Archivio Storico Sardo, XXXII, 1981, pp. 113-116; R. Coroneo, “New architectural evidence for the knowledge of the Middle Ages in Sardinia”, in Archivio Storico Sardo, XXXII, 1981, pp. 113-116; R. Coroneo, “New architectural evidence for learning about the Middle Ages in Sardinia”, in Archivio Storico Sardo, XXXII, 1981, pp. 113-116; R. Coroneo, “New architectural evidence for learning about the Middle Ages in Sardinia”, in Archivio Storico Sardo, XXXII, 1981, pp. 113-116; R. Coroneo, “New architectural evidence Romanesque architecture from the mid&
agrave; del Mille al Primo '300, Nuoro, Ilisso, 1993, card 52;
G. Piras, “Un miles della Cohors III Aquitanorum in a funerary inscription from Ardara (Sassari): preliminary note”, in Roman Africa. Proceedings of the 15th study conference, Rome, 2004, pp. 1543-1555;
R. Coroneo, Romanesque Churches of Sardinia. Cultural tourist itineraries, Cagliari, AV, 2005, p. 36.

How to get there
You leave Ploaghe to travel 4.5 km along the SP 68. Turn right and take the SS 672. After about 6.5 km, turn south on the SS 132. After two km you reach Chiaramonti