Fordongianus, Crypt and Church of San Lussorio

The site where the sanctuary of San Lussorio stands corresponds to a necropolis area, originally pagan, of the ancient city of Forum Traiani, located on the eastern side of the Roman road “to Turre Karales”.
The identification of the place where the saint's martyrdom took place and the sanctuary dedicated to him was built is entrusted, respectively, to the inscription now walled on the S side of the Romanesque church of San Lussorio di Fordongianus and to the “Passio Sancti Luxurii”, whose author knew the crypt.
It is likely that already in the fourth century a 'memory' existed in honor of Lussorio, in an existing underground environment, probably used previously for funerary or cultural purposes. To this rectangular semi-hypogeal room, a small apse was added to O, while on the N side a square room was built, at the center of which was placed the quadrangular funerary monument, set on an earthen pit believed to be the tomb of the martyr. Around the burial of Lussorio, a U-shaped ambulatory was created through which pilgrims visited the holy place.
The late antique martyrial structure was expanded in the late Vandal Age or in the early Byzantine period, adding an environment with an apse and an altar table. In the first half of the 7th century, the plant fell into disrepair and, during the renovation phase, a new worship hall was built, to which a baptismal bath would also be pertinent, perhaps attributable to a small baptistery. It is still possible to see the remains of this Byzantine building under the floor of the Romanesque church.
The Romanesque church of San Lussorio was built in blocks of vulcanite at the beginning of the 12th century. It has a single barrel-vaulted aisle plan with an E-shaped apse of this first structure, only the N side and the apse remain today. Along the base, sculptural elements with anthropomorphic figurations are inserted.
The original roof and the S wall collapsed; the reconstruction took place between 1250-70 and it was decided to install a wooden roof to replace the previous stone roof. The façade was rebuilt in the Aragonese age: the Gothic-Catalan portal stands out.

History of excavations
The first investigations were carried out between 1899 and 1902 by Filippo Vivanet. Subsequently, the research was led by Ferruccio Barreca starting in 1969, by Carlo Tronchetti in 1980, by Raimondo Zucca in 1989, and finally by Paolo Benito Serra. Studies and insights are still in progress.

Bibliography
R. Delogu, L'architettura del Medioevo in Sardegna, Roma, La Libreria dello Stato, 1953, pp. 14-15, 56-58, 184;
R. Zucca, Le iscrizioni latine del martyrium di Luxurius (Forum Traiani-Sardinia), Oristano, 1988;
R. Zucca, Forum Traiani alla luce delle nuove scoperte archeologiche", in Il Suburbio delle città in Sardegna: persistenze e trasformazioni, Atti del III convegno sull'archeologia tardo-romana e altomedievale in Sardegna, Taranto, 1989, pp. 125-143;
R. Zucca, "Fordongianus (Oristano). Località San Lussorio", in Bollettino di Archeologia, 3, 1990, pp. 141-142;
R. Coroneo, Architettura romanica dalla metà del Mille al primo '300, Nuoro, Ilisso, 1993, scheda 7;
F. Segni Pulvirenti - A. Sari, Architettura tardogotica e d'influsso rinascimentale. Nuoro, Ilisso, 1994, scheda 5;
P.G. Spanu, La Sardegna bizantina tra VI e VII secolo, collana "Mediterraneo tardoantico e medievale. Scavi e Ricerche", Oristano, S'Alvure, 1998, pp. 65-74;
R. Zucca, "Martyrium Luxurii", in La Sardegna paleocristiana tra Eusebio e Gregorio Magno. Atti del Convegno Nazionale di studi, Cagliari, 1999, pp. 515-523;
P.G. Spanu, Martyria Sardiniae. I santuari dei martiri sardi, collana "Mediterraneo tardoantico e medievale. Scavi e Ricerche", Oristano, S'Alvure, 2000, pp. 97-114;
C. Oppo, "Il santuario di San Lussorio a Forum Traiani. Alcune note sulla chiesa bizantina", in Città, territorio, produzione e commerci nella Sardegna medievale. Studi in onore di Letizia Pani Ermini, a cura di R. Martorelli, Cagliari, AM&D, 2002, pp. 169-186;
R. Coroneo-R. Serra, Sardegna preromanica e romanica, Milano, Jaca Book, 2004, pp. 252-253;
R. Coroneo, Chiese romaniche della Sardegna. Itinerari turistico-culturali, Cagliari, AV, 2005, pp. 69-70.

How to get there
From the SS 131, turn at the crossroads for Simaxis and take the SS 388. The sanctuary of San Lussorio is located on a modest hill about 2 km before the town of Fordongianus.

Tag

Structure category: Monument or Monumental Complex

Content type: Religious architecture

Usability: Open

Province: Oristano

Common: Fordongianus

Macro Territorial Area: Central Sardinia

POSTAL CODE: 09083

Address: SS 388

Telephone: +39 0783 60157

E-mail: info@forumtraiani.it

Website: www.forumtraiani.it

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ForumTraiani

Information on tickets and access: The Church of San Lussorio can be visited all year round, by reservation only, by contacting Soc. Coop. Forum Traiani at +39 0783 60157.

Access mode: For a fee

Tickets :

Reduced : 2.5 €, from 6 to 14 years, .

Integer : 5 €, 15 years and over, .

Services information: For didactic-educational workshops, advance booking is required, based on the calendar of scheduled activities. The audio guides are multilingual (French, English, German and Spanish).

Update

13/12/2024 - 10:28

Services

Teaching room